Complete Nike N7 Release
 
SPOKANE, Wash. — For the third time in the last four seasons, Gonzaga and Nike N7 are partnering in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. During the men's basketball game on Nov. 6 against Idaho State, the Zags will wear customized turquoise uniforms created by Nike. The turquoise color is symbolic of friendship and fellowship 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 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.
 
"Basketball is one of Indian Country's most beloved sports," observed Gonzaga's Director of Native America Studies Laurie Arnold (Colville), PhD, "so celebrating Native American Heritage Month with Nike N7 extends our engagement beyond campus and connects Gonzaga to communities across the U.S."
 
The partnership between Gonzaga and Nike N7 illustrates one aspect of campus engagement with 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 68 alumni the skills necessary to make a positive impact on their tribes and reservations.
 
About Nike N7
Nike believes kids aren't meant to sit still, they're Made to Play. The N7 collection supports Nike's commitment to get kids moving through the N7 Fund, which supports organizations to provide sport and physical activity programming to kids in Native American and Aboriginal communities so that they can lead healthier, happier and more successful lives. Since its inception in 2009, the N7 Fund has awarded $5.6 million in grants to 243 communities and organizations, reaching more than 420,000 youth. Harnessing the power of sport as a unifying force, the N7 Fund helps kids reach their greatest potential and reflects Nike's belief in creating more equal playing fields for everyone.