Wood destined for the NCAA basketball tournament in March 2019 was given a traditional dedication ceremony by the Menominee, a Native American tribe in Wisconsin that supplies timber for the wood floors used in the Final Four tournaments.
The ceremony was held at the Menominee Indian High School in Keshena, Wis., Nov. 29, according to Fox 11 News, and featured prayer and a performance of the tribe’s traditional dance.
“There’s a saying among our people, ‘the Wolf River is in our blood and the timber is in our bones,’” tribal member Dennis Kenote told Fox 11. “So to have our products go out to other places on our great turtle island is an honor.”
The lumber was shipped to Conner Sports’ production mill in Amasa, Mich., for processing, according to upmatters.com.
The tribe has provided more than 50,000 pounds of wood for the NCAA tournaments since the 1990s.
“It means a lot, because it’s really sacred,” Menominee Indian High School student Senihicah Wayke said. “Our woods are really big in our culture, so it means a lot that the wood is going out for the NCAA.”
