One of those players trying to make a name for themselves in baseball is Bryce Raven from Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, who lives in Winnipeg. The 19-year-old plays softball, slo-pitch and is part of a junior-level travel baseball team in Manitoba.
Bryce was at the NAIG in Halifax, pitching for Team Manitoba and earning a gold medal.
His great-grandfather, his grandmother, his dad and older brothers also play and he said he was swinging a bat before he could join a team officially for T-ball.
“I’m a little older now these days, but I still try and play. I actually get to enjoy my kids playing ball, seeing my team play ball every time we hit the field, it’s just a great, great feeling.”
Bryce wasn’t aware of Louis Sockalexis’s story, but was able to name a retired Native American Major Leaguer in Jacoby Ellsbury, who played for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees as an outfielder from 2007 to 2017.
Like Ellsbury, he is a natural left-hander (a player who throws and hits lefty) and spends some time in the outfield, like the former pro.
In order to grow the game so more Indigenous players can chase major league dreams, Bryce said teams and organizations should be in their communities, or reaching out to them.
“There’s always kids out there. They don’t really get a chance to play or anything like that,” he said.
“Seeing if they want to join, and starting up camps and things like that, would be a good thing. [You could] see where it takes off.”
Bryce said he’s looking at colleges in the United States where he can play baseball and it leaves his dad Cory with mixed emotions.
“It’s something he needs to do,” Cory said.
“It’s kind of a good feeling, but it’s kind of sad because he’s got to go away.”
See the full article here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/louis-sockalexis-indigenous-baseball-1.7247549
