Description

In honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day, we wanted to dive into the life of the incredible Indigenous American athlete, Jim Thorpe.

Despite a life marked with abuse, racism, alcoholism, and loss, Jim became the greatest athlete of the 20th century (we’d say ever), as well as an exceedingly generous member of his community. On top of his athletic accomplishments, Jim created a legacy of selflessness and love, truly living up to the name given to him by his Sac and Fox family: Wa-Tho-Huk, or Bright Path. 

Jim’s story also leads us to a discussion of the government-sanctioned abduction and abuse of Indigenous American children by "residential schools." It’s an emotional journey that we hope you find infuriating but inspiring. 

Content Warning: Racial violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse

References

https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/jim-thorpe-backlash-olympic-medals-debacle-and-demise-carlisle

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=TH016

https://www.pbs.org/native-america/blog/warrior-spirit-jim-thorpes-lasting-impact-on-sports

https://oklahomasportshalloffame.org/jim-thorpe-museum

https://www.wrhistoricalsociety.com/thorpe-jim

https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-thanksgiving-reminder-jim-thorpe-is-a-native-american-hero/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jim-Thorpe-American-athlete

https://www.biography.com/athlete/jim-thorpe

https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/akapamata-forgotten-hollywood-legacy-jim-thorpe

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pop-Warner

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/11.09.html

https://www.olympics.com/en/athletes/jim-thorpe

https://www.tribaltribune.com/sports/article_292f1e78-df3f-11e6-906f-0f16a174ec94.html

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/17163767/heated-debate-now-lawsuit-burial-ground-jim-thorpe-remains-continues-today

https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/oorang-indians/

https://mcgrath.nd.edu/assets/390540/expert_guide_on_the_assimilation_removal_and_elimination_of_native_americans.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/30/us/native-american-boarding-schools.html

https://www.ou.edu/gaylord/exiled-to-indian-country/content/remembering-the-stories-of-indian-boarding-schools

https://boardingschoolhealing.org/us-indian-boarding-school-history/

https://www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2017/04/1818-james-monroe-indian-civilization.html?view=classic

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/resources/pdfs/978-1-4438-4976-0-sample.pdf

https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/mar/03

https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/us-residential-schools

https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/kids-were-marched-everywhere-was-concentration-camp

https://www.history.com/articles/jim-thorpe-athlete-indian-boarding-school

https://www.pbs.org/articles/the-history-and-impact-of-residential-schools

https://eji.org/news/federal-investigation-finds-at-least-973-children-died-in-federal-indian-boarding-schools/

https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/us-residential-schools

https://apnews.com/article/indigenous-boarding-schools-biden-apology-reaction-666f5d55496a36bd0dc40a357714273e

https://nativephilanthropy.org/blog/2022/09/29/how-to-learn-more-about-national-day-of-remembrance-for-indian-boarding-schools#:~:text=September%2030%20th%20is%20National%20Day%20of%20Remembrance,deep%20generational%20trauma%20caused%20by%20Indian%20boarding%20schools.

https://boardingschoolhealing.org/national-day-of-remembrance-for-us-indian-boarding-schools/https://ictnews.org/news/i-would-not-cry-national-day-of-remembrance-recognizes-boarding-school-survivors-and-families/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/18/us-truth-and-healing-commission-indigenous-boarding-schools-long-overdue

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/761/all-actions

https://www.congress.gov/legislative-process/calendars-and-scheduling

https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/code-talkers/boarding-schools/

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