Shiyazh Pete’s time with the Dallas Cowboys was short, but his NFL debut gave fellow Navajo citizens a moment to remember.

When the rookie offensive lineman took the field for a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals in August, thousands of fans who had traveled from across the Navajo Nation erupted in cheers, waving tribal flags and exclaiming “yéego,” an affirmation that translates roughly to “with great effort, do it.”

Pete participated in merely six snaps, yet he returned to the sideline to a standing ovation — a compelling demonstration of support for the first member of the Navajo Nation to sign with an NFL team.

Having been waived by the Cowboys and thus rendered a free agent, Pete has made his way back to the Navajo Nation, his home, where he has been expressing gratitude to fans for their support while he pursues his next NFL opportunity.

He made a surprise appearance at a homecoming pep rally for students at his alma mater, Shiprock High School, and officiated as grand marshal of the Northern Navajo Nation Fair Parade.

On Monday, Pete is scheduled to meet and greet fans at an Indigenous Peoples Day event in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Pete joins an extensive lineage of Native athletes who have shattered barriers in sports, instilled pride within their communities, and become role models for Native children.

From Olympic champions to professional basketball players, these athletes have contributed to shaping sports history while paving the way for those who follow.

Jim Thorpe, who belonged to the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma, is still widely regarded as the greatest athlete of all time, having won the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics.

He also played six seasons in Major League Baseball and 12 in professional football, including in the American Professional Football Association, which was the precursor to the National Football League.

A track and field teammate of Thorpe’s at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, Louis Tewanima continued the Hopi spiritual practice of running, through which he gained recognition at that repressive institution.

He finished ninth in the marathon at the 1908 Olympics in London and second in the 10,000 meters at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, setting an American record in the event.

Modern surfing traces its origins to Native Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku.

His international demonstrations, staged between his gold and silver swimming medals at the 1912, 1920 and 1924 Olympics, brought surfing widespread recognition.

Kahanamoku was instrumental in establishing surfboards as standard ocean lifeguarding equipment.

He appeared in films and served as sheriff of Honolulu from 1935 to 1961.

Ellison Myers “Tarzan” Brown, a marathoner belonging to the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island, triumphed in the Boston Marathon in 1936 and 1939 and represented the United States at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Brown had been slated to run the marathon at the 1940 Olympics, but those games were cancelled owing to World War II.

Oglala Lakota runner Billy Mills became the first non-European to win Olympic gold in the 10-kilometer run, achieving this with an upset, Olympic-record performance at the 1964 Games in Tokyo.

His race was the best U.S. medal finish in that Olympic event since Tewanima’s silver more than half a century earlier — and Mills’ 10K gold has yet to be equaled by a U.S. Olympian.

Patti Catalano Dillon, the first American woman to complete a marathon in under 2 hours and 30 minutes, is of Mi’kmaw descent and was raised in Massachusetts.

Dillon finished as runner-up in the 1980 New York Marathon, as well as in the 1979, 1980 and 1981 Boston marathons.

She also held world records in the half marathon and the 30-kilometer and 20-kilometer runs.

Ryneldi Becenti was the first Native American to play in the WNBA, appearing for the Phoenix Mercury during the 1997 season.

Becenti honed her skills playing the fast-paced style known as “rez ball” on the Navajo Nation, and she distinguished herself as a standout player for Scottsdale Community College and Arizona State University before embarking on a professional career in Europe.

Aaliyah Nye, a player for the Los Angeles Sparks, is a citizen of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi in Michigan.

Having been a top scorer in high school and subsequently for Alabama, Nye joined the WNBA in 2025 as a Las Vegas Aces draft pick.

In 2026, she was drafted and then waived by the Toronto Tempo and the Atlanta Dream before being claimed by the Sparks.

In 1999 and 2000, golfer Notah Begay III amassed four PGA Tour victories.

A Native American of Navajo, San Felipe and Isleta descent, Begay established a foundation committed to promoting Native American health and wellness through soccer and golf programs.

He serves as a television golf analyst.

___ Gruver reported from Fort Collins, Colorado.

This narrative is disseminated via the Global Indigenous Reporting Network at Reporters.