University of Tennessee, Knoxville Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2019 COMPLETING THE CIRCLE: NATIVE AMERICAN ATHLETES GIVING BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY Natalie Michelle Welch University of Tennessee Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Recommended Citation Welch, Natalie Michelle, "COMPLETING THE CIRCLE: NATIVE AMERICAN ATHLETES GIVING BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2019. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/5342 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMPLETING THE CIRCLE: NATIVE AMERICAN ATHLETES GIVING BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Natalie Michelle Welch May 2019 Copyright © 2019 by Natalie Michelle Welch All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my elders and ancestors. Without their resilience I would not have the many great opportunities I have had. Also, this is dedicated to my late best friend, Jonathan Douglas Davis. Your greatness made me better. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank the following people for their help through my doctoral program and the dissertation process: My best friend, Spencer Shelton. This doctorate pursuit led me to you and that’s worth way more than anything I could ever ask for. Thank you for keeping me sane and being a much-needed diversion when I’m in workaholic mode. Your kind heart and patience makes me a better person. I have to express the utmost gratitude to my mom, she is my biggest supporter and without her love and support I would never had made it this far. Thank you for always being in my corner. To my Grandpa Ham, the greatest man I have ever known. You have the biggest heart and I am so proud to be your granddaughter. To my Granny Lucille, I love all the ways that I am like you. You have always been my biggest cheerleader and I credit you with my love for reading. Too my Granny Carol, thank you for always being there for me and willing to cook or teach me how to make your best recipes. To my favorite cousins, Shelby and Mike Parker, Kristina Cloer, and Gerena Parker. To Spencer’s amazing family, Diane, Mike, Steve, Lindsey, Karen, Allen and Matt. Thank you for welcoming me into your family. And of course, all of my Bradley and Blankenship families. There are too many of you to list but please know your love and support does not go unappreciated. To the entire Cherokee community. So many of you have supported my journey. Thanks for amusing my family as they brag about me. Special thanks to Tim Swayney, Michael Slee, Micah Swimmer, Gerri Grady, Keyonna Hornbuckle, Dorcey Arch, LeChay Arch, Kayla Arch, Tiff Panther, Shannon Bark, Sheena Bark, Shawnee Bark, Emra Arkansas, Robin Swayney, Osh Stephens, Rooster Crowe, Karina Bottchenbaugh, Frances Stamper, Miranda Long, Eddie Swimmer, Darius Lambert, Stacy and Julian Ledford, Neko Smith, Austin Smith, and Hawk Walkingstick. Thank you for all the support and friendship. To my dissertation committee, Dr. Robin Hardin, Dr. Steven Waller, Dr. Adam Love, Dr. Erin Whiteside, Dr. Nicholas Geidner, and Dr. Alisse Ali-Joseph. Rob, if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be where I am today. I thank you for your continued guidance. Dr. Waller, you have always made me feel like an amazing person and scholar. Dr. Love, thank you for helping me become a more critical thinker. Dr. Whiteside, you have been an inspiration and awesome mentor. Alisse, I’ll never forget discovering your dissertation and how it made me feel like my dreams were possible. I’m so happy to have found a Native research sister. Thank you all for making me a better scholar. To my awesome doctoral cohort – Zach Smith, John Magliocca, Lauren Beasley, Alexander Deeb, Sam Winemiller, Sam Bernstein, and Robin Cooley. You all inspire me and I love the work you are doing. Go Vols! iv To my UCF family, Dr. Richard Lapchick, Dr. William Sutton, and Dr. Keith Harrison for showing me how impactful a professor could be. To my former bosses, Patty Brebner, Bill Davenport, Sally DeSipio, Reme DeBisshop, and Danny Sheniak for teaching me so much more than advertising and media. To Sam McCracken, Brent Cahwee, Wilson & Brenda Pipestem, and Stacy Leeds being kickass Native leaders for me to look up to. To my dearest friends - Rachel Gardell, Catherine Liu, Michelle Krening, Alvina Begay, Christina Russell, Cristi Ecks, Jessie Gardner, Kristin Hurst, Michael Connelly, Austin Moss, Chris Kaiser, David Benoit, LaVera Morris, Devan Dignan, Ivanna Liberato, JT Louviere, Lisa Feldhusen, Phoebe Owens, Mandy Alperin, Gina Folston, Jessica Siegele, Allison Smith, Yoav Dubinsky, Sara Mitchell, Shanna Browning, Elizabeth Brock, Nolan Morrell, Jesse Christenson, Alex Palowski, Tim Morris and Isaac Fowler. Y’all know how much you rock. To Vickie Chien coming in the clutch to help edit. Finally, to my athletes, Caitlyn, Damen, and Notah, you inspire me every day. v ABSTRACT Giving back is a crucial part of Native American culture (Kidwell, 1990), and can be a motivator for youth to leave their Native communities to obtain an education (Reyes, 2016). There is logical connection between giving back and Native American athletics as sport can be a catalyst for social capital, but it has only briefly been studied in this context among the Native American community (Ali-Christie, 2013). The dominant narratives of Native Americans are as peoples of the past or individuals facing insurmountable odds and destined to be another statistic of ill-health and loss. The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand giving back amongst Native American athletes and to produce a counter-narrative to the deficit perspective by highlighting the voices of three successful Native American athletes using documentary film as a research medium. TribalCrit framed this research because of its emphasis on the importance of the Native American experience and storytelling. Public and visual sociology are also important to this work because of the need to showcase these findings in a way that is more accessible to the larger public and provide representation for Native people. Several storylines were developed based on the comprehensive data collection alongside three Native American athletes. The storylines were: (a) Sports are Family, (b) Sport is a Vehicle, (c) Giving Back is Greater Than Sport, (d) Giving Back is Gratitude, and (e) Role Model Role. On the surface, sport appeared to be everything to these athletes but ultimately what mattered the most to them was giving back to their community. These findings can help us better understand the dynamics of the Native community beyond the grim statistics linking Natives to alcohol abuse, drug problems, diabetes and other health issues. This work can also provide the vi community with personal stories of success and ensure the continuation of the circle of giving back. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Purpose & Rationale ............................................................................................................................... 2 A Note About Terminology .................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................ 9 What is “Giving Back”?........................................................................................................................ 13 Philanthropy ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Humanitarianism ................................................................................................................................. 14 Civic Engagement & Community Service .......................................................................................... 14 Native Americans & Giving Back ........................................................................................................ 15 “Giving Back” as Protection & Reinforcement .................................................................................. 18 Barriers to “Giving Back” ................................................................................................................... 20 What is Community? ............................................................................................................................ 22 Sense of Community ........................................................................................................................... 23 Benefits. ......................................................................................................................................................... 24 Sense of Community & Sport ............................................................................................................. 25 Native Americans & SOC ................................................................................................................... 27 Native Americans, Community & Sport