November is the celebration of Native American Heritage Month which celebrates the rich, diverse cultures and traditions of Indigenous people. Currently in the United States there are 325 American Indian reservations with the Navajo reservation being the largest in the country, which is situated in the Northeastern part of Arizona, crossing over into northwest New Mexico and parts of southeast Utah.
According to AZCentral.com, in the 2021 Fall semester, Arizona State reported 1,213 indigenous undergraduate students which is the largest American Indian population in the state. But the margin of Indigenous students who played collegiate sports is even fewer according to the NCAA. In 2021, less than half of one percent of collegiate athletes were American Indian, which is 2,100 athletes out of about 493,000 student-athletes. Sun Devil Athletics is proud to celebrate the stories of Indigenous cultures, athletes and students at Arizona State University.
Malcolm Flaggs is a freshman from Tuba City, Arizona and is a member of the men's basketball team. He's Navajo and was born on the Reservation before moving to Chandler when he was two years old, but occasionally travels back-and-forth to visit his family on the reservation.
Tuba City is a small town on the Navajo Reservation with a population of around 9,000 people and about four hours from Tempe. His dad, Earl Flaggs worked with NBA scouts and was a high school basketball coach which introduced Malcolm Flaggs to basketball at an early age. Marlene Brown helped Flaggs play basketball growing up, as she was Malcolm's godmother growing up.
Basketball on the Navajo Reservation is the primary sport around the community, with the phrase being called rez ball which is commonly used around the high schools on the reservation as a fast-paced way to play the game to run the opposing team out of the gym rather than using a slow tempo to play the game. The majority of reservation high schools don't have the height to compete with teams across the state, but they do have the speed to stay in any game during basketball season.
"I was in the gym with him all the time. He kept the basketball in my hand and spent time, with Marlene Brown and, those people." Flaggs said. "They really helped me, they really helped me get into basketball and love it more, as time went on, I really fell in love with basketball at a young age."
The Arizona native grew up in Chandler but remains true to his indigenous beliefs. He played high school basketball at Hillcrest Prep before committing to Arizona State and has a tattoo on his arm featuring four symbols that he stays true by.
"I wear an arm sleeve on my left arm and make a purpose to leave out the four symbols," Flaggs said. "The four symbols mean strength, courage, prosperity, and change. Those four things mean a lot to me."
Flaggs says that Arizona State was his dream school growing up as a child. He remembers when his dad was playing games at Desert Financial Arena as a kid. It felt like home immediately and when the opportunity came to become a Sun Devil. Flaggs didn't have to think twice about it.
With the opportunity to play basketball at ASU, Flaggs is a sports business major and has the ambition to give back to Tuba City one day. Living on the Navajo reservation comes with its difficulties since some people still have to go into urban cities to get fresh water and food, with sometimes families that live in rural areas struggling to get electricity.
"My main goal is to have the money so I can give back to the people that took care of me when I was young." Flaggs said.
Pauletta Riggs has worked with Sun Devil Athletics for more than 20 years in the human resources department and is from Leupp, Arizona which is in the western part of the reservation with a population of less than 1,000.
Growing up on the reservation presented the importance of having an education. Riggs' grandfather, graduated from Sherman Indian School in Irvine, California and preached the importance of getting an education.
"He was the main one that stressed education, he made all his kids go to school. He had 11 kids, including my mom." Riggs Said. "My mother went on to graduate from Northern Arizona University. She was an elementary teacher, and I have three older siblings, and we're ASU graduates."
She says a big part of coming to ASU was her family's history. She didn't expect to be working within the athletic department but the people are one of the biggest factors in why she's stayed for so long.
"I really enjoy the people. It's the people I work with that I would say are one of the reasons why I'm still here 20 years later. I've just worked with great people, and I've had great supervisors. If anything, that's the main reason I've stayed." Riggs said.
Riggs and her family graduated from ASU and try to provide more guidance and examples for Native Americans to get their education across the reservation. She encourages her cousins to go to school and to take it seriously since it will pay off once they grow up.
"I don't think I don't consider myself inspirational. It's just who I am and I try to provide a good example for young people, especially my relatives." Riggs said.
According to AZCentral.com, in the 2021 Fall semester, Arizona State reported 1,213 indigenous undergraduate students which is the largest American Indian population in the state. But the margin of Indigenous students who played collegiate sports is even fewer according to the NCAA. In 2021, less than half of one percent of collegiate athletes were American Indian, which is 2,100 athletes out of about 493,000 student-athletes. Sun Devil Athletics is proud to celebrate the stories of Indigenous cultures, athletes and students at Arizona State University.
Malcolm Flaggs is a freshman from Tuba City, Arizona and is a member of the men's basketball team. He's Navajo and was born on the Reservation before moving to Chandler when he was two years old, but occasionally travels back-and-forth to visit his family on the reservation.
Tuba City is a small town on the Navajo Reservation with a population of around 9,000 people and about four hours from Tempe. His dad, Earl Flaggs worked with NBA scouts and was a high school basketball coach which introduced Malcolm Flaggs to basketball at an early age. Marlene Brown helped Flaggs play basketball growing up, as she was Malcolm's godmother growing up.
Basketball on the Navajo Reservation is the primary sport around the community, with the phrase being called rez ball which is commonly used around the high schools on the reservation as a fast-paced way to play the game to run the opposing team out of the gym rather than using a slow tempo to play the game. The majority of reservation high schools don't have the height to compete with teams across the state, but they do have the speed to stay in any game during basketball season.
"I was in the gym with him all the time. He kept the basketball in my hand and spent time, with Marlene Brown and, those people." Flaggs said. "They really helped me, they really helped me get into basketball and love it more, as time went on, I really fell in love with basketball at a young age."
The Arizona native grew up in Chandler but remains true to his indigenous beliefs. He played high school basketball at Hillcrest Prep before committing to Arizona State and has a tattoo on his arm featuring four symbols that he stays true by.
"I wear an arm sleeve on my left arm and make a purpose to leave out the four symbols," Flaggs said. "The four symbols mean strength, courage, prosperity, and change. Those four things mean a lot to me."
Flaggs says that Arizona State was his dream school growing up as a child. He remembers when his dad was playing games at Desert Financial Arena as a kid. It felt like home immediately and when the opportunity came to become a Sun Devil. Flaggs didn't have to think twice about it.
With the opportunity to play basketball at ASU, Flaggs is a sports business major and has the ambition to give back to Tuba City one day. Living on the Navajo reservation comes with its difficulties since some people still have to go into urban cities to get fresh water and food, with sometimes families that live in rural areas struggling to get electricity.
"My main goal is to have the money so I can give back to the people that took care of me when I was young." Flaggs said.
Pauletta Riggs has worked with Sun Devil Athletics for more than 20 years in the human resources department and is from Leupp, Arizona which is in the western part of the reservation with a population of less than 1,000.
Growing up on the reservation presented the importance of having an education. Riggs' grandfather, graduated from Sherman Indian School in Irvine, California and preached the importance of getting an education.
"He was the main one that stressed education, he made all his kids go to school. He had 11 kids, including my mom." Riggs Said. "My mother went on to graduate from Northern Arizona University. She was an elementary teacher, and I have three older siblings, and we're ASU graduates."
She says a big part of coming to ASU was her family's history. She didn't expect to be working within the athletic department but the people are one of the biggest factors in why she's stayed for so long.
"I really enjoy the people. It's the people I work with that I would say are one of the reasons why I'm still here 20 years later. I've just worked with great people, and I've had great supervisors. If anything, that's the main reason I've stayed." Riggs said.
Riggs and her family graduated from ASU and try to provide more guidance and examples for Native Americans to get their education across the reservation. She encourages her cousins to go to school and to take it seriously since it will pay off once they grow up.
"I don't think I don't consider myself inspirational. It's just who I am and I try to provide a good example for young people, especially my relatives." Riggs said.