On The Zuni Reservation In New Mexico, The Return To Running Offered A Light Of Hope Through The Long Pandemic

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Photos courtesy Zuni Cross Country/Chris Carroll

On a bright sunny day in early November at the Albuquerque Academy track, with hands clutching the New Mexico 3A boys championship banner proudly, all feels right for the Zuni High cross country program.

After a year away from the sport and the podium, the Thunderbirds, from the Zuni Reservation at the western edge of New Mexico, re-emerge as a perennial powerhouse in the state. 

The glorious moment offers a snapshot of the healing process from the wound that the pandemic has left on the Zuni cross country team and its Native American community. 

“Being out there this year, it’s what was missing,” Zuni head coach Chris Carroll said. “It got them through everything, (a sense that) there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

A DIFFERENT LIFE 

Two years ago the Zuni boys were coming off one of the best seasons in program history. In 2019 the team won the state title with an impressive 23 points, with senior Deshawn Goodwin taking first and six Thunderbirds finishing inside the top 10. The girls team also reached the podium, finishing second. The track and field season held promise, with an opportunity to claim the program’s spring state title. 

“We were excited. We had a really deep senior class, and it was the first time it was written we had a shot at a state title in track,” Carroll said. “I had a full team basically, and then it comes down the pipe that it looks like the track season is going to be canceled and everyone is, like, in shock. The next thing you know, the state of New Mexico just shut down. I think it was just a huge wave of disappointment because of what could have been.” 

Kameron Eustace remembers March of 2020. It was supposed to be just a two-week break from school. He never went back that academic year. Like many youth across the country, classes went completely virtual due to the coronavirus outbreak. But for individuals like Eustace living in the pueblo, which is what residents of the Zuni Reservation call their communal village, there were other layers. The Native American population experienced drastic and traumatic shifts in daily reservation life. 

“The biggest thing was just trying to do things culturally,” Carroll said. “They couldn’t do their rain dances, they tried to do their cultural activities and it seemed like there were spiking COVID cases and people were dying after. There was hardly any movement on the reservation.”

 A curfew was issued for almost six months. The pueblo went quiet after 9 p.m. 

“It was depressing because the reservation was on lockdown for a bit and then we couldn’t really go anywhere or do anything,” junior Shania Chavez said. “I just stayed at home and kind of lost motivation to keep going. Mentally, that hurt me too, a lot. It was a depressing feeling with COVID.”

REASONS FOR FEAR 

“The reservation did get hit hard,” Carroll said. “There was a lot of fear because so many members were dying, some of the Elders were dying, and there’s a lot of fear.”

According to an October New York Times article, the pandemic only amplified the problems that exist with health care in tribal communities.

“Even before the pandemic, health problems were rampant in communities served by the agency, meaning many people had underlying conditions that would complicate treatment of the virus. And the poverty on many reservations created an additional problem. At the Navajo Nation, which includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, many people live in homes without electricity, and a third of the population does not have running water. Many units house more than one family, and it is not uncommon for grandparents, parents and grandchildren to live under one roof,” according to The Times. 

Following the guidelines from the CDC, limiting contact, social distancing and isolating those who became sick was difficult for many Native Americans and the homelife they are used to. Carroll said one student-athletes lost both parents. 

“COVID has taken a lot of lives. I know people who have passed from COVID and it's a really hard time. During the lockdown, it was a confusing time,” Zuni senior Kyle Awelagte said. 

Adam Kedge, who is the longtime coach of Albuquerque Academy – the host school of the state meet in November and about two and a half hours from Zuni – explained that from an outsiders perspective, Native Americans experienced the pandemic in a different way than the rest of the state.  

“They had to hunker down with travel and mask mandates, every bit as restrictive as any around the United States,” Kedge said. “New Mexico was a place with limited public interaction, gathering size, and strict mask mandates. The reservations were even more restrictive. I’m sure the teenage population was affected severely by their lack of face-to-face interaction.” 

For student-athletes like Eustace and Awelagte, that meant limited weekly runs, if they were allowed to venture out. 

“Mentally, it wasn’t so good for me,” Awelagte said. “I never left my home for two months. It didn't feel right.” 

COMING BACK

The fall of 2020 held some promise. Carroll said athletes returned to the trails in August with the idea there would be some assemblance of a season. But coming back also meant the reality of living in a pandemic world. Carroll explained he had athletes who hadn’t run in five months and were struggling to string together a few miles. A lot of the inactivity was due in part to the restrictions, but also, many parents did not want their children venturing out of their homes. 

Carroll, who came to Zuni in the fall of 1997, recognized the situation beyond the scope of sports and a potential cross country season.  

“You have to be empathetic of what is going on in their lives,” he said. 

The Zuni program managed to get in six weeks of training before the season was cancelled.

On Oct. 9 the Thunderbirds received word they wouldn’t be able to race due to current state public health orders. The season was set to begin the next day. 

“To tell the team that, it was horrible,” Carroll said. “The tears, the crying. It was hard.” 

In early 2021, New Mexico high school fall sports have shifted to a modified spring schedule set to begin in February and finish in March. Carroll said his runners came back in January and put in weeks of training only to be told they couldn’t compete. Schools operating remotely were not allowed to participate in sports. 

“When they told us there wasn't going to be a season, I was hurt by that,” Chavez said. “I kept wondering if we were ever going to have a season and if I was ever going to be able to train again.”

For the Zuni athletes, that meant more periods of isolation and time without their peers and organized practice. Watching others schools in New Mexico and schools across the country resume also took its toll. 

“I felt secluded. I just felt left out,” Chavez said. “It brought different emotions, and seeing all these other schools made me wonder why we couldn't (participate).” 

A DEEPER MEANING

Carroll compares the impact of the Zuni cross country program on the community to the basketball movie Hoosiers. It isn’t uncommon to see hundreds of community members cheering runners at a race. When traveling, a stream of nearly 20 cars follow the team bus. Carroll said when the team made the trek to Pagosa Springs, Colo. for a meet in September, more than 100 community members made the six-hour trip to support Zuni.  

“No other school in the state of New Mexico can say that,'' Carroll said of the support. “We have this following and people go to all of the meets. So many of them want to watch Zuni run.”

For the Zuni community – alumni, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins – running is more than an after-school sport. It’s become a cultural touchstone and something to take pride in. Running can be traced through many generations and is idealized in the modern high school cross country team. 

While the pandemic took its toll on Natives Americans, the pursuit of strong running was a beacon of light during dark times. 

“Running is such a valued activity in the Native American culture. Zuni is one area where the whole community knows, loves, and follows their runners,” Kedge said. “The will of the whole community, despite being stripped of something they love, never wavered.” 

Zuni runners continued to move forward, motivated by pride. 

“(Running) means everything,” Awelagte said. “For me, I love this sport and knowing that our people have been running for a long, long time. It’s inspiring and it’s an ongoing tradition, and we want to keep it alive.”

RUNNING FOR MORE  

When the Thunderbirds returned at last for the 2021 cross country season, it was with a simple, giant blue “Z” plastered across the chest of their bright yellow jerseys. The Z is a symbol that Zuni is back and never left. 

“I think it’s about being proud for the community, proud for themselves. This isn’t just about you,” Carroll said. 

Zuni participated in the modified spring track season and carried a bit of that momentum into its first cross country season since 2019. 

This fall, more than ever, nobody took the simple joy of racing for granted.

“I made sure every race counted because with the COVID I was still worried it was going to get cut, so every day I pushed myself at meets and at practice, even though sometimes I didnt want to," Chavez said.

In late November, the Zuni boys, running as Team Shumak'olo:we, won the NXR Southwest Regional small school title. That was another step forward. Athletes like Kameron will continue to heal by representing Zuni and the community through Wings of America – an organization that provides Native youth a platform to represent native communities through the sport of running. Kameron was one of eight boys selected to represent the organization at the USATF Cross Country Championships at Mission Bay Park on Jan. 8 in San Diego, Calif.

HEALING PROCESS

The thought of what could have been swirls in Carroll’s mind. He wonders about the time lost and what else could have been achieved.  

Zuni's success snapped back into place this fall. The boys title was the 21st in program history, second most in New Mexico all-time behind Laguna Acoma's 23.

The Hawks are still healing. Carroll explained while the reservation is back to many elements of normalcy, there’s still a lingering fear amongst individuals of what is out there. The Omicron variant has only added to that anxiety. Both Carroll and Kedge said they’ve seen the effects of lockdowns and restrictions on their programs through lower numbers and the state of student-athletes' mental health. 

“I’ve been coaching nonstop, every year, every season, since the day I graduated from college. Still to this day, I’m scrambling to get my team back on track, all moving forward with a common purpose and spirit,” Kedge said. This last year and a half has been hard. Add in the fact that we have a void of kids that never came out and an even bigger void due to us all missing a huge two-to-three seasons worth of training and it’s not been easy. Chris obviously held it together much better than I did considering his high level of participation and his team’s performance.”

The idea of picking up right where they left off was never certain, even at Zuni. Carroll said his team lost a year of confidence-building and the ability to establish leadership. Only time will tell if those scars will heal quickly.

Kedge said he’s never traveled to the pueblo to visit Zuni. In the fall of 2022 his team has plans to pay Zuni a visit, and to experience firsthand what running has done and continues to provide for a small but mighty community. 

“Running is far more than simply a sport or activity to the people of Zuni,” Kedge said. “Running is a piece of their heritage, their religion, and their individual strength as a family member. In all of my time living in New Mexico (50 years) I’ve yet to travel to Zuni. It’s kind of off the beaten path. This next fall Chris and I have plans to get our teams together in Zuni pueblo to race, for my kids to learn more about a strong community, and to celebrate the spirit of running in the fresh air of New Mexico.

“Chris has promised me some fresh baked Zuni bread. I cannot wait.”