Native American Gold Medalist Billy Mills Defeats Stereotypes To Chase His Dreams

Native American Gold Medalist Billy Mills Defeats Stereotypes To Chase His Dreams  

The gold Olympian Billy Mills had achieved the barrier of stereotype roadblocks. He is setting great examples to many younger Native American kids. 

Billy Mills is a Oglala Lakota which is Sioux. Billy grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He did not have a great childhood being surrounded by poverty and being orphaned when he was 12. He went to a boarding school called Haskell Indian school located in Lawrence, Kansas. That was when he found his dream and passion, running. He used running as an escape to turn his life into something positive and great. He was a tremendous track & field, cross country athlete at the Haskell Indian boarding school. Billy was breaking records in both track and cross country. This made him be able to receive a full athletic scholarship at the University of Kansas. Before getting recruited the KU coach said that "Indians are natural gifted talented runners, but they have no discipline and they are quitters." KU head coach also said "All Indians end back on the reservation drunk and dead." Billy then started to face stereotypes in his life while attending college. 

When Billy Mills attended college he was the only Native American on the KU team. He felt left out and was alone. He was known as the Indian by his team and the people around him. The people would say "The Indian is winning all the races," or "The Indian just ran a 4:04 mile." Billy experienced a campus officer call him a chief while the officer did not believe he went to school at the University of Kansas. The officer looked at Billy and said "Show me your ID," but Billy did not have it on him. The campus officer then escorted him to his dorm room. There has also been stereotypes on Billy from his family back home. They would call him mixed which means half white and half Native American because he was dating a white girl. When Billy had a girlfriend he invited his family to his girlfriends house in Lawrence, Kansas. When they arrived Billy's family did not like the house because everything was white and clean. One of his family members said they want to go drink and have fun. This was referring to that white people do not drink or have fun. Although these stereotypes in his life may be negative, but they were also positive. 

All these stereotypes helped Billy by motivating him because he did not want people to be right about the stereotypes that were put on Native Americans. He said "My father always told me I have to look deeper, passed the hate, jealousy, and pitty where all the dreams lay and pursue them." All the challenging setbacks just made him want success even more. He is now a gold medalist Olympian in the 10k. He is considered the first American and Native American to ever win the 10k in the Olympics. He is "Running Brave".   

Billy Mills 1964 Olympic 

 

                         

Work Cited 

https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/sports-and-games/sports-biographies/billy-mills

http://indianyouth.org/billy-mills

http://www.dickshovel.com/jank.html

https://youtu.be/DfLLNksZmoY