Rez Ball

Graves’s novel centers on the cultural phenomenon of “rez ball,” a fast-paced, improvisational style of basketball that provides a source of identity in many Indigenous communities. In the book’s opening, protagonist Tre Brun describes it as “beautiful chaos,” a style of play involving a “run-and-gun, flashy” (1) energy that contrasts with more structured forms of the sport. The significance of this distinct cultural expression heightens in the context of social tensions between reservations and adjacent non-Indigenous towns, as these tensions often arise from racism toward the Indigenous people.

The novel depicts this friction through the rivalry between the Red Lake Warriors and the predominantly white Bemidji Lumberjacks. The Bemidji fans’ behavior, which includes wearing “fake war bonnets” (5) and doing the “tomahawk chop,” reflects the real-world controversy over racist caricatures and mascots in American sports. These displays of prejudice transform the game into a symbolic struggle, intensifying the pressure on Indigenous players to represent their community. This tension extends beyond the court, as the novel depicts when a white police officer pulls Tre and his friends over near Bemidji, telling them, “I know how you Red Lakers are” (35).

This scene mirrors documented racial profiling, as studies like those by the Safety and Justice Challenge have shown that Indigenous Americans are arrested and incarcerated at disproportionately high rates: “[I]n states with higher Native populations, incarceration rates [of Native people] are up to seven times that of white people, and […] Native people are sentenced more harshly” (Davis, Matt. Safety and Justice Challenge Blog, “Over-Incarceration of Native Americans: Roots, Inequities, and Solutions,” 13 Jan. 2023). Understanding this sociocultural backdrop reveals that rez ball is more than a sport; it’s a vital expression of cultural pride and resilience in the face of systemic prejudice.