A note from Junior Competition Coordinator Elizabeth Deerinwater on Native American Heritage Month

Siyo (hello), and happy Native American Heritage Month!

My name is Elizabeth Deerinwater, and I’m a member of the ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ/Cherokee Nation. I’m also the junior competition coordinator for USTA Heart of America.

Tennis is considered a non-Native sport, partially due to cost, but mostly due to lack of access to tennis courts. I’m hoping to share my love of this sport with tribal people across our district. Not just because it’s a beautiful sport that helps us live longer, but for the life lessons tennis teaches us.

I’d be remiss not to mention the North American Indian Tennis Association, or NAITA. NAITA hosts an annual tournament in Oklahoma, and it’s one of the largest, if not the largest, events for Indigenous tennis players. I’m looking forward to playing in it next year after recovering from knee surgery.

We have quite a large Indigenous population not just in Kansas City but across USTA Heart of America. I’m really looking forward to working with local organizations, including, hopefully, Haskell Indian Nations University, Native American student associations at the University of Kansas and other universities, as well as at-large members in our district to bring tennis to tribal citizens.

The opportunity is endless, and I can’t wait to see more Indigenous athletes on the tennis courts! We’re still here and have had some great athletes who have had success on the court.

Talent is universal, but opportunity isn’t. I believe as a community we can bring opportunity to more Indigenous families and help create lifelong fans of this beautiful sport.

Wado (thank you), USTA Heart of America, for highlighting Native American Heritage Month. We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams come true.

See you on the courts!

— Elizabeth Deerinwater