Austin Amestoy: Welcome to the Big Why, a series from Montana Public Radio where we find out what we can discover together. I’m your host, Austin Amestoy. This is a show about listener-powered reporting. We’ll answer your questions – large or small – about anything under the Big Sky. By Montanans for Montana, this is The Big Why.
Today, reporter Victoria Traxler is here for part two of our story about the Fort Shaw Indian Girls Basketball team. Hey, Victoria.
Victoria Traxler Hi, Austin. I'm so excited to be here to keep talking about this team. If you remember, Fort Shaw was a group of young Indigenous women who played basketball around the turn of the century.
Austin Amestoy Right. They traveled the state, putting on cultural displays, they made their way to St. Louis, and eventually became world champions in 1904. Does that sound about right?
Victoria Traxler Exactly. And I'm here today to answer the question of why we are still talking about them over a century later.
I want to start by laying the groundwork for you. In 2008, a book comes out called "Full Court Quest". It's really a catalyst for bringing the team back into the public eye. Linda Peavy spent a decade writing it with her partner Ursula Smith.
Linda Peavy It's a story that needs to have life, and it needs to life beyond what we could tell and beyond, very much beyond what it's ever had before.
Victoria Traxler That brings us to Ardis Cecil, who we met last time. She's a short woman with kind eyes and brown hair tinged with streaks of gray, and she's a descendant of some of the players on the team. In 2023, she picks up a copy of that book, and this is where things start to happen.
Austin Amestoy The rubber's meeting the road. Tell us more, Victoria.
Victoria Traxler Well, as Cecil is going through this book, something sticks out to her.
Ardis Cecil So I'm skipping and reading about all these players and then I went to Nettie.
Victoria Traxler Nettie Wirth, her great aunt. Growing up, Cecil didn't hear much about her. But as she began learning more about Nettite, it sparked a desire to dig deeper, to discover more about her family and connect with her roots. Cecil and her sister kept researching and eventually began connecting with other descendants on social media.
Austin Amestoy You know, it sounds like there's really something about the story of this basketball team that is just resonating with the girls' ancestors alive today, huh?
Victoria Traxler Exactly, Austin. And so from there, Cecil helped set up a gathering of descendants in 2024. Around 300 people came from all over.
Austin Amestoy Wow, like a historical family reunion. That sounds amazing.
Victoria Traxler From what I heard, it was. And it's also the reason Cecil connected with Destination Fort Benton's Shannon Walden. Cecil's sister sent Destination Fort Benton an email.
Shannon Walden And it said, hello, we are coming to Fort Shaw for a reunion on June 8th. Our ancestors, the Wirth girls played on the team, and we think that ...
Victoria Traxler And the timing of this email was crazy, because just a week or so before, Walden had been chatting with the owner of Fort Benton's very old local pharmacy. He said,
Shannon Walden You know, this is the only building left standing that those girls played in. And when he said that, I said, we have to do something.
Austin Amestoy Right, I remember your news coverage from just a couple months ago, Victoria. I think I know where this story's going.
Victoria Traxler You're right. They decided to commission a massive mural on the side of the pharmacy to commemorate the team. In fact, the call I got that first piqued my interest in this team was about the unveiling of this mural.
Austin Amestoy So naturally, you were able to actually go see it in person.
Victoria Traxler I was. On the side of the pharmacy building now is a stunning mural that depicts a young Indigenous girl in the Fort Shaw team's clothing, jumping toward a basketball hoop, her arm outstretched, ball in hand, almost like Michael Jordan. Here's Walden again.
Shannon Walden And then it's happening now, I get goosebumps.
Victoria Traxler And I think I understand why she was getting those goosebumps. On June 9th, 2026, over a hundred people poured into Fort Benton to come see it. And Austin, I could feel the energy there.
Lanae Matson Vetsch I just met Butch today.
Victoria Traxler That's Lanae Matson Vetsch standing on the banks of the river, chatting with a man named Butch. When I walked up, they were connecting over their shared relative, Emma Sansaver, a well-known player and one of the 1904 world champions.
Lanae Matson Vetsch We didn't know each other until I held up a sign and he came over and said, 'do you know Emma?' And I said, I'm part of her family heritage.
Austin Amestoy What a cool way to discover a relative and for your common ancestor to be a player on this historic team. So sweet.
Victoria Traxler It's incredible. I met even more descendants of the players and even the coach, but the other people I spoke with, like history teacher Andrew Freeman, just stumbled upon the event that day.
Andrew Freeman It's an incredible story, so I'm looking forward to reading the book and maybe sharing the story with my students.
Austin Amestoy So I want to know more about the celebration, Victoria. Were you able to see the old court where they played in Fort Benton?
Victoria Traxler Yes, I was. So imagine this. On the main street in Fort Benton that runs parallel to the Missouri River, there's a slew of storefronts connected to a large red brick building with "pharmacy" plastered across the front.
Austin Amestoy Right, and that mural, of course, is outside that structure, so what's inside?
Victoria Traxler When you walk through the door, it looks like, well, it looks like a normal pharmacy – except in the back, there's a set of small, squeaky wooden steps leading up to the second floor.
[Victoria at the pharmacy]: So I'm walking through the old basketball court. I see very warm, weathered planks of wood. There are some water stains and some chips. The walls are a faded red.
Victoria Traxler There were even holes in the wall showing where the bleachers used to be.
[Victoria at the pharmacy|: You can tell that this is a 100, over 100 year-old building. There's little cracks and crevices and water stains, but it's also very well taken care of. I can picture a small basketball game being played in this room.
Victoria Traxler It wasn't a gym. It was basically just a large room with tall windows, but it moved people to be in there. Honestly Austin, the day was filled with emotion. Some tears were shed. The space received a sage blessing. People were laughing and connecting over both present and past.
Austin Amestoy Victoria, not to bring up the morose here, but if I remember correctly, you told us last episode there'd be something about a gravestone involved in this story. Did I make that up?
Victoria Traxler I was just going to get to that. So in the middle of organizing these gatherings and driving all over Montana, Ardis Cecil told me that picking up that book in 2023 also sent her down a rabbit hole about the great aunt and player on the team she mentioned before.
Ardis Cecil So I'm reading and reading, and she was in Washington and that she died and her body was sent to Fort Peck.
Victoria Traxler The thing is, Cecil knows that cemetery, and there was no grave that she'd seen with that name on it.
Austin Amestoy Was that the end of her search then?
Victoria Traxler Absolutely not. By this point in her journey, she'd organized those big gatherings, helped get that mural up and learned so much about where she came from. So she called a friend who still lives in Fort Peck to help look in the cemetery for the grave. Then, she got a photo of the plot where her great aunt is buried.
Ardis Cecil And they had a hard time. They kind of wandered around looking for. Well, it was just a piece – it was grass, there was no marker on that piece of grass. So I thought, that is horrible, that is so terrible.
Austin Amestoy Wow, so an unmarked grave. What happens after that?
Victoria Traxler In collaboration with the Fort Peck Tribes, Cecil commissioned a headstone for Nettie Wirth, along with plaques honoring other Assiniboine players on the team.
Ardis Cecil Once the gravestones were made, they were on display in the tribal building for about a year. And then in May – early May – we just got the headstone placed on the grave.
Austin Amestoy You know, it really sounds like this story struck a chord with Cecil, much like it did for the hundreds of people that came to those celebrations of the team.
Victoria Traxler That's one thing that really stood out to me, just how much this story grabs everybody who hears it. All I heard while I was reporting on this was how much the story inspired people, and much of it coming from tenacious, energized, everyday people doing all of this simply out of passion and their excitement to tell someone else this story.
And for Cecil, her journey with this undefeated national champion, all-women Indigenous girls basketball team a century ago helped her connect with herself and her own roots. I asked her what this all meant to her.
Ardis Cecil I was someone ... I grew up on the Fort Peck Reservation, but my father had been to three boarding schools from age five until he finished high school. And there just wasn't a lot of the Indian culture in our family. And some people talk about their grandpas tell stories – and we didn't have any stories like that happening. So I just didn't know that. So I looked Indian, but inside I didn't feel Indian.
Victoria Traxler But today, after all this, she says:
Ardis Cecil I am an Assiniboine of the Red Bottom band. I can say it and own it and feel good about it.
Austin Amestoy Wow. Remarkable that this century-old basketball team is still making such waves in the lives of people today. That's quite the legacy.
Victoria Traxler So many people continue to breathe life into this story, and I met many more that will continue to do so. I was truly honored to have gotten the invitation to Fort Benton and to have met every single person I spoke with for this story.
Austin Amestoy And we're delighted that you were able to share it with us, Victoria. Thank you so much for being here.
Victoria Traxler Thanks for having me, Austin.
Austin Amestoy And a final note for you all, this episode of The Big Why will be my last as host. After four fabulous years exploring the nooks and crannies of this great state with you, I'll be departing MTPR for a new job in Missoula. I will miss this show terribly. But the best part about The Big Why is that anyone can contribute. All you need is a curiosity about Montana and the will to ask a question.
We'll also be pausing new episodes for a bit as we take some time to plan for the show's future. So in the meantime, we'll be airing a show from our archives every second Wednesday of the month. And of course, you can find our immense library of past episodes wherever you get your podcasts.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your questions, your curiosity, and most importantly, for your kindness. Now get out there and go see what you can discover together.
Now we want to know what makes you curious about Montana. Submit your questions below, or leave a message at 406-640-8933. Let's see what we can discover together! Find us wherever you listen to podcasts and help others find the show by sharing it and leaving a review.
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Just years after the game of basketball was invented, an all-girls team of Indigenous players was going full-court — in woolen dresses. The Fort Shaw Indian Girls Basketball Team blazed a trail for those who’d come after them. So — what made the team so special? MTPR’s Victoria Traxler caught wind of the team and wanted to find out. -
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