SPOKANE, Wash. -- Gonzaga and Nike N7 are partnering on Wednesday, Nov. 18, for the men's basketball game against Northern Arizona at 6 p.m. in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. As part of the event, the Bulldog men's basketball team will wear turquoise uniforms against NAU, which is a color symbolic of friendship and harmony in Native American cultures.

Led by Sam McCracken (Fort Peck Sioux), N7 represents Nike's long-time commitment and mission to inspire and enable two million Native American and Aboriginal youth in North America to participate in sport and physical activity. All teams who partner with N7 wear turquoise uniforms during those N7 games.

With four Native American tribes in the Spokane area, and 29 in the state of Washington, GU and Nike N7 are teaming up to leverage basketball as a way of showing Native American youth that physical activity can have a profound effect on future generations. The N7 philosophy is inspired by Native American wisdom of the Seven Generations: In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the seventh generation.

"Gonzaga is observing Native American Heritage Month through one of Native America's most beloved sports: basketball," Gonzaga Director of Native America Studies Laurie Arnold (Colville), PhD. "While Gonzaga celebrates the histories and cultures of Native peoples every day through our Native American Studies courses, this partnership with Nike N7 extends our engagement beyond campus and will result in a shared regional celebration."

The partnership between Gonzaga and Nike N7 represents the University's commitment to Indigenous communities. Through GU's College of Arts and Sciences, undergraduate students can earn a minor in Native American Studies. This program was designed to foster a deeper understanding of ancestral and contemporary Native American communities on the Columbia Plateau as well as to reinforce Gonzaga's intellectual and spiritual connection to this homeland.

Gonzaga's business school offers an MBA in American Indian Entrepreneurship (MBA/AIE), a program which was established in 2001 with the generous support of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation. The program strives to prepare leaders to effectively manage and support sustainable business on American Indian reservations. Since its inception, it has given over 50 alumni the skills necessary to make a positive impact on their tribes and reservations.

About the Nike N7 Power of Perseverance Collection
Launching November 7, the Power of Perseverance Collection recognizes the movement of sport on Native lands and drives awareness of the Native American culture. The holiday collection includes men's and women's running and training apparel and footwear, as well as a collaboration with NBA star Kevin Durant on an N7 version of the KD 8. The vision for the Power of Perseverance Collection was shaped by Bunky Echo-Hawk, a Native American artist, devoted activist and galvanizing force, who will continue to collaborate with Nike for the Spring and Summer 2016 collections.

For retail locations and for more information about Nike N7, visit n7fund.com.

About N7
N7 is Nike's long-time commitment and mission to inspire and enable two million Native American and Aboriginal youth in North America to participate in sport and physical activity. The N7 philosophy embraces the Native philosophy: "In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."

After nearly a decade of partnership with tribes across North America to support programs aimed at physically active lifestyles, Nike deepened its connection to the Native American community in 2007 with the launch of N7 beginning with the Nike Air Native N7 shoe. The N7 collection followed in 2009, to celebrate Native American and Aboriginal culture and to raise awareness for the N7 Fund, which has raised more than $4 million for Native American and Aboriginal youth sport programs.