Teton Saltes Elected to North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame
Teton Saltes, a four-year letter-winner for the Lobo Football team and the 2020 Wuerffel Trophy Winner, will be inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame on March 16 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Saltes, who is the only major national award winner in Lobo Football history, is one of 77 individuals, and he will be inducted along with his mother Leticia DeCory, who was a stand-out basketball player at BYU and track and field athlete at Utah State.
Saltes was a four-year starter for the Lobos, and he was a two-time Mountain West honorable mention selection and a two-time Mountain West All-Academic pick. Along with the Wuerffel Trophy, Saltes was selected as the Captain of the 2020 ACFA Good Works Team, and he was honored for both on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show.
After UNM, he signed with the New York Jets before playing with the Michigan Panthers in the USFL in 2022 and then winning a championship with the Arlington Renegades ofthe XFL in 2023. Off the field, his work is legendary, from starting the BEAR Prject in Pine Ridge, South Dakota (Be Excited About Reading) to addressing New Mexico and national legislators on a variety of issues including student-athlete mental health and wellness, to working with his mother and grandmother to help prevent suicide among the American Indian population.
The North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame announced its third class of inductees on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Founded in 2022 by Dan Ninham, Oneida, and his wife Susan, Red Lake Ojibwe, the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (NAIAHF) honors and recognizes the indigenous sports cultures of 27 countries of North America by recognizing outstanding leadership and achievement in individual and team athletics. By honoring and celebrating the empowered journey of the annually inducted individuals and teams, the hope is their stories may inspire future generations to follow their dreams in athletics and life.
The 2024 class features 77 individuals in athlete, coach, builder, media, official, and trainer categories and seven teams. The Ninhams have been involved with Indigenous athletics and sport event management for four decades.
The second NAIAHF Banquet will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2024 at the Radisson Conference Center in Green Bay, WI, USA.
The NAIAHF website includes inductee bios, and banquet information including sponsorship opportunities: https://www.naiahf.org/
77 individuals and 7 teams