by By Dan Ninham, contributing writer
Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ (she brings the daylight) is a member of the bear clan and she’s Oneida. “I competed on the U19 Team Wisconsin Girls Soccer team in the 2023 North American Indigenous Games,” she said. “I am 17 years old and will be a senior this fall at Preble High School in Green Bay, WI.
“My inspiration to play came more with the love of the sport and the continued support from my parents and family members,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ. “I have been playing soccer since I was very young and watching my older cousins become successful in their respective sports has inspired me to continue to make a presence in the community as a successful indigenous student athlete.”
“Through my years of being a student athlete I have always held myself to a higher standard. I am working hard to maintain a high GPA and to continue to share our language, cultures, and traditions with my peers,” added Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ.
“Over my years in high school, I have worked hard at achieving many awards and roles within my school community,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ. “Freshman year being virtual, I continued to attend online classes and meetings for my extra-curriculars. That year, I was in numerous clubs and won a silver medal at state for my MMIW speech in forensics.”
“Soccer-wise, I had the privilege of being a captain on JV and worked hard to maintain a GPA higher than 3.5 throughout the year. Sophomore year became more of a challenge as I was adjusting to harder classes and attending high school in person. I continued to work hard and earned a high honor roll status for both semesters. I also ended up receiving my varsity letter as I earned a spot on the girls’ varsity team for soccer,” added Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ.
Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ was a co-founder for the Native American club where the small population of indigenous students gathered together and worked on sewing little creatures to give to indigenous youth in our community. She was also nominated and ended up receiving the WIEA Wisconsin Indian Education Association (WIEA) Student of the Year Award for eighth through 10th grade.
During her junior year, she became the president of both Multicultural Achievement Club Scholars and Diversity Leadership. “Both of these clubs work hard in creating a safe space for POC to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions while working to mend gaps between students and teachers,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ.
“I was also appointed as a Sting Cancer student advisor, a part of the Preble Pride Student Board, and as a Link Crew leader, all of which help plan activities to help create a more comfortable and appealing space to students,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ. “On top of that, I had the honor to be Junior Class president and earned a district student success award, all while continuing to hold my high honor roll status. This year was my most successful sports wise as I became a captain on the Varsity Soccer team, was unanimously voted as Team Leader of the Year, and achieved Second Team All-Conference. I am super excited for what my senior year will bring as I continue to make a name for myself and our people.”
“Being a soccer player, I have had to learn to adapt to new players with different playing styles, new coaches with new expectations, and overall more competitive environments,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ. “As I grew older and started to take the sport more seriously.”
“With these changing environments and the small percentage of indigenous athletes it can be easy to start to lose yourself and your cultural and traditional teachings in order to try to fit in,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ. “For me, these traditional teachings are what have continued to carry me through my soccer career. Always remembering to carry compassion for others, being respectful not only to your teammates but opposing teams, refs, spectators and anyone that come across your path, and to always carry a strong mind and heart are what have continued to push me to become a better indigenous student athlete and better person overall.”
Katie Vande Castle coached Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ on the Green Bay Preble HS soccer team, and was her advisor for multiple clubs and leadership communities. Coach Vande Castle said, “Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ character is unmatched by many. She leads her teams and herself with integrity at all times. She will take the initiative to make the world around her better.”
“On the soccer field, she was constantly working to improve her skill and the success of her team. She would often work one on one with coaches and trained hard during the off-season. She was constantly leading by example by her effort, and her attitude,” added Coach Vande Castle.
“My highlight from being at NAIG 2023 was scoring a hat trick in my last game leading our team to a win to finish off our time playing,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ. “Being able to soak in the experience of being surrounded by over 5000 other indigenous athletes with many who have shared the same experiences that come with being an indigenous student athlete was extremely eye opening.”
“The countless opportunities to engage and converse with the other athletes and the overall friendly environment allowed me to make lifelong friends and create everlasting memories,” added Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ.
“Throughout meeting new people and sharing cultures and experiences, it was always important to share a positive image of what it means to be from Oneida, WI,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ.
“Representing our nation and state means being willing and able to have a conversation and pour your heart onto the field in the most sportsman’s like manner. It means having fun playing your sport no matter what the outcome is and being super open minded and flexible, soaking in the environment around you,” added Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ.
“Representing my nation and state meant sharing my smile, playing my game and leaving everything out on the field knowing that at the end of the day, all that matters is that everyone gave 110%,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ.
“Throughout my experience at NAIG Coach Leah Stroobants was always looking for opportunities to have our team together and enjoying each other’s company,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ. “She helped us get better each and every game as we got more comfortable and understood each other more.”
Leah Stroobants was the 19U Team Wisconsin head coach of the soccer team at the North American Indigenous Games 2023.
“Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ is a force on and off of the field,” said Coach Leah Stroobants. “She is a very skilled player and doesn’t mind taking on extra responsibilities that help the team overall.”
“Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ has no problem with position changes that benefit the team, and she
also realized her breaks were very limited to none at all because she was needed on the field. She not only plays well, but also offers encouraging words to help uplift her teammates and tries to breathe life into them when needed,” added Coach Stroobants.
Coach Stroobants continued to talk about her star athlete. She said, “I was honored to get the opportunity to coach her and watch her in action and she is the type of player that every coach dreams of.”
“Another highlight from being at NAIG was being able to take the field with my sister for the first time in our live,” said Yakʌtaha·wine̲ˀ. “Alongside our team, it was a privilege to stand alongside her as a player, person and as my younger sister.”
Excellent story that clearly defines a student athlete dedicated to working hard to be a leader in the community, classroom and on the field! Leading the way for others by doing!