by 
ABERDEEN, S.D.—Seconds before tip-off, as the final stanzas of pregame music fade and fans begin to cheer for their teams, a high-pitched shriek cuts through the air.
Was it a baby crying? Or an animal crying out? No, it was the war cry of Presentation men’s basketball player, Justice Beautiful Bald Eagle.
“It’s a huge build up—it starts in my stomach and then just comes out,” said Beautiful Bald Eagle. “Tony Redman and I were laughing about it back and forth when Coach (Jeremy) Reigle asked about it, and we explained that it’s kind of a native thing. When the men were praying before they went into battle sometimes they’d yell or screech.”
“The guys said I should do it right before we break out of the huddle. I was nervous about it the first time so it wasn’t very loud, but I was louder the second time and I guess the whole gym heard,” he said.
Beautiful Bald Eagle, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and a freshman on the Presentation football and men’s basketball teams, is using his Lakota culture to enhance his time at Presentation College.
Before the Saints’ final game of the season on Saturday, Beautiful Bald Eagle showcased part of his culture, by reading the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference sportsmanship creed in the Lakota language.
“My goal is to have other people see how important your traditions and nationalities are,” he said. “Usually people are proud of their nationalities, but I want to show people how important my spirituality and my Lakota culture is to me.”
Beautiful Bald Eagle was born on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, but has spent much of his life living in Aberdeen. He was a standout athlete at Central High School, before deciding to transfer to Red Cloud High School, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwest South Dakota, for his senior year.
He believes the decision to transfer to Red Cloud made a positive impact on his life. “Down there, you learn the whole Lakota culture, and you really start to learn what’s important to you. They teach you about the good spirits and the bad spirits, and what to pray for and what to be thankful for. I really learned to be thankful for everything around me—what’s been given to me in my life. I learned to put others before me, and then worry about myself.”
While he only spent a year of his high school career at Red Cloud, he sees its effects trickling through his experiences at Presentation College.
“I hadn’t played football for a year, but when I was approached to play, I knew I should use the opportunity to better myself,” he said. “Because of it, I was able to share my background with my teammates who came from different places, and we were all able to share where we’ve come from and find out we’ve had similar experiences.”
While his time on the basketball team differs from that of the football team, he appreciates the different role he plays. “In basketball I come off the bench, and I think it’s a good thing, because I’m able to see what’s going on—good and bad—and I can step in and make changes that I might not be able to make if I started.”
Beautiful Bald Eagle is also eager to do more to show how important his Lakota culture is to him. Recently, Beautiful Bald Eagle legally added Beautiful to his name—his family’s original last name that had been changed while his grandfather served in the military during World War II.
Along with his war cry and reading the creed in the Lakota, Beautiful Bald Eagle would like to share more with his teammates. “We pray after our games here, but before our games at Red Cloud we would have a medicine man come pray with us in Lakota and we’d sing a song and pass the herb sage around. The sage would help open up our minds and I would break it up and put it in my shoes,” he said. “To me, I think that would be cool to do with my team because that would be a whole different experience for the guys on my team.”
Beautiful Bald Eagle also plans to participate in a sundance with his father this summer. The two of them will honor the spirit of his uncle who passed away a year ago by fasting and hanging from a tree by eagle talons inserted under their chests.
“I think it will be a good experience for me because it will strengthen my spirit and my mentality,” Beautiful Bald Eagle said.
When it comes to his goals for the future, Beautiful Bald Eagle knows the sky’s the limit. An athletic training major, he hopes he can take his degree and help other students in athletics. “When I think about my goals I think of so many because I know I have so many opportunities ahead of me,” he said. “Right now, though, I want to focus on doing well in school so eventually I can help others.”
Story @ http://www.pcsaints.com/news/2012/2/19/MBB_0219125934.aspx
