I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
March 26, 1997
By Devlyn Brooks
Staff Writer
REDLAKE -- An estimated 2,500 Red Lake Reservation residents took time out Tuesday to celebrate the beginning of their boys basketball state tournament dream.
The beginning? They must mean the end.
No. To the Red Lake Reservation, it means the beginning of a dream.
They were celebrating the dream of the first all-American Indian school basketball team to participate in the Minnesota State Boys Basketball Tournament, and the dream head coach Jack Desjarlait had more than 20 years ago about "playing basketball in a large building."
Maybe they were even celebrating the dream of Red Lake's first section title and state tournament win that culminated with a fourth-place finish in the state tourney -- all with a team that starts two sophomores and two juniors.
But most all, the Red Lake community was celebrating a common bond the boys team gave to people across the reservation.
As Red Lake Superintendent Roger Schmidt said, "These boys have done more to bring Indian people together than anything I can remember."
In honor of that dream, Red Lake held a community feast here in honor of those boys that placed fourth in Class A in the state and the cheerleaders, parents and fans who contributed to the experience.
"The last three weeks have been a very exciting time -- an exciting time for the High School and for the community," Schmidt said.
Signs such as "No. 4 in the state -- No. 1 on the rez," "Warriors are champions" and "We love our Warriors" adorned the Humanities Building adjoined to the Red Lake Casino, while residents from around the reservation filled rows upon rows of folding tables and entire bleacher sections.
"This team touched the hearts of more than just the Red Lake Nation," Schmidt said. "There were people cheering for us from all over the state this weekend."
Assistant coach Bill Rutledge told the crowd a trip to the state tournament had been a dream of his since he played high school basketball, but he had not accomplished the feat until he was a coach.
"I was thinking earlier of what the definition of a warrior is. So I looked it up," he said. "It says, 'A person who is involved in a battle; a brave, courageous person.' Anybody can write that down, but it takes a special person to go out and play in front of thousands of people."
Rutledge added that the dream of the state tournament was not ending Tuesday at the feast, but it was just beginning because the team was young and could easily repeat their performance next year.
"I was just glad that dream finally came true," Desjarlait said about his dream 20 years ago. "I would like to challenge the young kids to dream because dreams come true if you work hard."
He said he has heard nothing but positive comments about the trip to state, and told the story of receiving a phone call from a 70-year-old Anoka, Minn., woman who watched Red Lake play Friday.
"She said she had never seen anything like the (Wabasso game)," he said. "She got choked up and almost started to cry. I said, 'Don't cry -- you'll make me cry.'
"I think these boys made a believer out of me. I told them, 'You got to believe it,' and before you know it we were back in the game. I hope these kids remember that. No one can take that away. You just gotta believe."
Look out, Minnesota, the Warriors will be back next year, and so will their fans.
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