Celebrate Native American Recognition Day with the Diamondbacks Saturday

The Diamondbacks will have their annual Native American Recognition Day on Saturday, June 15. They will host a pregame ceremony and celebration before taking on the Chicago White Sox at 5:10 P.M. MST.

The pregame celebration will include a closing ceremony for the 24th Inter-Tribal Tournament, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community council members, and host various performances on the field. Those performances include traditional dance from Standing Horse Dancers, Guardians of the Grand Canyon Ram Dancers, and Pee-Posh Bird Singers and Dancers.

The Inter-Tribal Tournament was launched in 1999 to provide kids from rural tribes an opportunity to showcase their skills on Major League-caliber fields. The tribes represented in the tournament include Choctow, Cochiti Pueblo, Gila River, Navajo, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, and White Mountain Apache.

For the National Anthem, the Salt River Police Department will serve as the color guard. Tamara Hayes, a 25-year team member of presenting partner Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort, and John French Jr., Boys & Girls Club Red Mountain Branch youth of the Year nominee will both throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game.

For tickets and more information, you can go to dbacks.com/nard. The special hat for Native American Recognition Day is sold out, but discounted tickets for the game are still available. A portion of those ticket sales will go to benefit Native American programs in Arizona.

Fans will want to attend the game early, as the first 20,000 will receive a t-shirt commemorating the Diamondbacks hitting four home runs in a single postseason inning. It marked the first time such a feat was accomplished, punctuating a series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in last season’s National League Division Series.