NFL players are an incredibly diverse bunch. Today, there are Samoan players and Australian players, as well as players from Guinea and Nigeria and Cameroon. Still, most rosters in the league are overwhelmingly American.
Yet there’s one kind of American that has never before been signed to an NFL team: Navajo. That is, until now.
First Navajo NFL player makes his debut
Shiyazh Tastohyinya Pete was a standout offensive tackle for New Mexico State and Kentucky. But even as a massive and talented player, his odds for the NFL were a longshot.
Not only was the 6-foot-9-inch player viewed as a fringe draft prospect, but he is also a proud member of the Navajo Nation. Pete had history working against him: No Navajo had ever been signed or played in the NFL before.
Though he went unselected in the draft, the Dallas Cowboys reached out shortly afterwards and offered him a free agent contract. Together, they made history.
On August 15, Pete made his NFL preseason debut in a game against the Seattle Seahawks. The following week, he played much closer to home when the Cowboys took on the Arizona Cardinals.
Stunningly, thousands of members of the Navajo Nation showed up to demonstrate their support for Pete, including the nation’s President, Buu Nygren.
After his brief but historic performance and a Cowboys win, head coach Brian Schottenheimer asked Pete to address the team in the locker room following the game.
“I saw something tonight I’ve never seen before [in] 25 years in the NFL,” Schottenheimer marveled. “An entire section cheering for one man.”
Pete speaks after historic debut
“That was an incredible win. I am very fortunate to be amongst you and to play on the same field, wear the same star on our chest,” he said to his teammates. “I’m proud of us, proud of how far we’ve come. Fate brought us here as strangers, but this star, this team, will make us brothers.”
Of course, Pete is talking about football. He’s proud of the accomplishments of the team and their loyalty to one another.
But it’s not hard to see that his words also paint a much bigger picture.
Pete’s clip has gone viral across YouTube and social media, with commenters in awe of his journey:
“You can literally hear our ancestors in his voice. That speech is so powerful!”
“That man speaks with earned wisdom. What an incredible voice for his people.”
“He won the team, the fans and the country over with just a few heat felt words! Well [done] young man!”
“Congratulation to Pete! Congratulation to the NFL and Congratulation to America, showing that we are still growing towards more greatness”
As for Pete, when asked later what he saw when he looked up at the crowd of several thousand Navajo giving him a standing ovation, he simply said, “Hope. Courage.”
A massive man and a massive win for native representation
It’s hard to overstate how meaningful it is to see Pete take the field in a Dallas Cowboys uniform. The Cowboys are widely regarded as America’s team, the blue star completely synonymous with classic Americana.
Representation of Native Americans in American media and institutions has, for decades, been subpar. They’ve been the enemy (Cowboys vs Indians), the stereotype (the Washington Redskins), or completely invisible. There are over 400,000 enrolled members of the Navajo, with a little less than half of them living on the reservation where they’ve chosen to maintain their own sovereignty. Pete’s journey, his speech, and his viral moment might just show young Navajo that there is a place for them to be accepted and celebrated in American culture, if they want it.
For example, one mother told CBS News that her son had been bullied for wearing a braid in his hair, as per Navajo tradition, and that it meant the world to him to see Pete take the field doing the same. And that’s just the beginning.
“Now he’s got a line of small boys that are ready to take the challenge and be able to say, ‘Hey, I’m right behind you,’” she said.
