Baseball and Boarding Schools: UA Little Rock Archivist to Reveal American Indian Contributions to Arkansas Minor Leagues
The story of American Indians in baseball is a complex narrative rooted in cultural disruption, resilience, and athletic prowess. This history, which includes significant contributions to Arkansas minor league baseball, will be the focus of the next Legacies & Lunch program presented by the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.
Erin Fehr, archivist and assistant director of the Sequoyah National Research Center at UA Little Rock, will present, “American Indians in American Baseball,” at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place at UA Little Rock Downtown, 333 President Clinton Ave. in Little Rock, and virtually via Zoom. Drinks and cookies will be provided. Those who would like to attend should visit this website to register.
American Indians were first introduced to the sport in off-reservation boarding schools. They later turned their new skills into a profession, playing in minor leagues across the country, including Arkansas. Immediately following World War I, the popularity of baseball surged, and the Little Rock Travelers and other small baseball teams in the state began employing several American Indian ball players.
“When I stumbled upon this story a few years ago, I was pleasantly surprised,” Fehr said. “Very few people know that American Indians played baseball in Arkansas, and some even moved on to the major leagues.”
Fehr’s presentation will highlight the key roles of players like William Wano (Potawatomi) and Moses Yellow Horse (Pawnee), who helped lead the Little Rock Travelers to victory as the Southern League Champions in 1920. Fehr will also explore how World War I impacted baseball and set the stage for this new era of professional players.
Fehr, who was born and raised in the Delta region of eastern Arkansas and celebrates her Yup’ik heritage, enjoys presenting on topics that challenge the stereotypes of American Indians and Alaska Natives.