Calumet Players Wear Uniforms Honoring Native American Culture, Heritage

  • Calumet Players Wear Uniforms Honoring Native American Culture, Heritage
    Calumet Players Wear Uniforms Honoring Native American Culture, Heritage
  • Calumet senior basketball players don the turquoise uniforms provided through a partnership with Nike in honor of Native American heritage and culture. Calumet is one of 270 schools, communities and organizations to benefit from the program
    Calumet senior basketball players don the turquoise uniforms provided through a partnership with Nike in honor of Native American heritage and culture. Calumet is one of 270 schools, communities and organizations to benefit from the program

The Calumet high school basketball teams might look slightly different on Friday night. The Chieftains and Lady Chieftains will be donning new Nike N7 jerseys that feature a turquoise design.

The N7 line was designed by Nike to honor Native American heritage and culture. With November being Native American Heritage Month, the girls and the boys will debut the alternate jerseys on Friday night against Union City. The Chieftains will wear the jerseys sporadically throughout the '23-'24 basketball season. School color uniforms will also make regular appearances during the season.

The team is in good company. Gonzaga, a frequent visitor to college basketball playoffs, also kicked off the season in the N7 turquoise. They have done so in five seasons and have gone unbeaten in the bright blue threads.

“GU and Nike N7 are teaming up to leverage basketball as a way of showing Native American youth that physical activity can have a profound effect on future generations,' a press release from GoZags.com stated. 'The N7 philosophy is inspired by Native American wisdom of the Seven Generations: In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the seventh generation.'

More on the program came from Nike.com, which posted 'Nike believes kids aren't meant to sit still, they're Made to Play. The N7 collection supports Nike's commitment to get kids moving through the N7 Fund, which supports organizations to provide sport and physical activity programming to kids in Native American and Aboriginal communities so that they can lead healthier, happier and more successful lives. Since its creation in 2009, the Nike N7 Fund has awarded more than $8 million in grants, administered by the Charities Aid Foundation of America, to more than 270 communities and organizations. Harnessing the power of sport as a unifying force, the N7 Fund helps kids reach their greatest potential and reflects Nike's belief in creating more equal playing fields for everyone.'