Dallas Cowboys rookie Shiyazh Pete makes Navajo Nation history in NFL debut
Dallas Cowboys rookie Shiyazh Pete is making history and inspiring a new generation of athletes. Many North Texas Native Americans celebrated Pete's debut Saturday with joy.
"We all got emotional, honestly. Just seeing him out there, seeing everyone with their Navajo Nation flags out," said Kristy Moses-Parkinson, the chair of the board for the Intertribal Community Council of Texas.
Pete is the first member of the Navajo Nation to sign with an NFL team. When Moses-Parkinson heard him speak after Saturday's preseason game, she said his words hit home.
"Some of my cousins, we were like 'wow, he sounds like an elder already.' That reminds us of our grandpas and our uncles, the way he was speaking," she said.
Priscilla Villanueva said her son, Dakota Cabrera, has been bullied for wearing his hair in a braid, but seeing Pete do the same gives him hope.
"Representation does matter, but seeing him on an NFL team, which we grew up watching. My dad is a diehard Cowboys fan," said Villanueva. "It was just a lot of feelings coming through of excitement and joy."
"It's a goal to try to be him, and a competition for all of us, and for little kids that have long hair and getting bullied about it," said Cabrera.
Thousands of Navajo Nation members traveled to Arizona to cheer the 23-year-old on in his first NFL preseason appearance, including the nation's president Buu Nygren, who said, "Shiyazh Pete's journey is a powerful example of what hard work, dedication and believing in yourself can accomplish. Every step he takes onto that field carries the pride of his family, his community, and the Navajo Nation. He is showing our young people that no dream is too big and that where you come from can be your greatest source of strength. Shiyazh is not only competing for a place in the NFL. He is representing our Diné people with humility, courage and determination. We are incredibly proud of him, and we will continue to stand behind him and cheer him on every step of the way."
For the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the country that's endured centuries of trauma, Pete's journey represents resilience.
"This is so inspiring and amazing for Diné to see you can become a pro football player. You can become whatever," said Farina King, University of Oklahoma, Professor of Native American studies. "This — it is showing that someone, you know, with a background, our relative, our kin, they can really overcome those hurdles, and we can show up for each other, cheer for each other."
Pete is becoming a pathway finder for the next generation.
"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,'" Villanueva said.
