The true warrior: former Thunderbird paves way for change
Jim Warne, a former Mesa Community College football offensive lineman, is using his platform as an educator, advocate and public speaker to spread the message of cultural diversity.
Warne went on to play for Arizona State University after MCC and was part of the 1987 Rose Bowl Championship-winning team. The Cincinnati Bengals picked him up later that year as a part of the 1987 NFL Draft.
He said his experience as a former athlete has given him the opportunity to show what can come from team athletics.
“I had that opportunity to learn about working hard and commitment and everything else through athletics,” said Warne. “And then another important aspect was teamwork–working with people that are very different than you. And that’s the beauty of team athletics…it brings multicultural people together, and either you make it work or you don’t.”
Warne currently works as the Community Engagement and Diversity Director at the University of South Dakota Center for the Sanford School of Medicine. He has created and administered education programs at San Diego State University’s Interwork Institute, and he has raised nearly $40 million dollars in grants and scholarships for universities and tribal nations.
He is also an Oglala Lakota Tribal member and the president of the Warrior Society Development consulting firm, which works with various government agencies, organizations and tribal communities.
“Many think of a warrior only in physical terms, but a true warrior is a protector, guardian, educator and advocate through integrity,” said Warne. “It’s not just the physical. It’s the full balance of the medicine wheel philosophy.”
“So I’m really trying to make a change in curriculum,” he continued, “to do a better job of telling the truth about the history of Native people.”
Warne was also featured on the FOX NFL Pregame Show’s”Pictures of my People” on their Thanksgiving Day broadcast, where he highlighted the name change of the Washington Redskins football team.
Warne explained how he wanted to show how changing the name went deeper than just the marketing of a football team into how it explored the challenges facing Indian Country.
“Americans are ignorant by design to who we are through curriculum, through media, through stereotypes,” said Warne. “We need our non-Indian brothers and sisters to stand with us, to walk with us, to kneel with us in order to make change.”
Warne said diversity and inclusion are two major issues Native Americans and tribal groups face in Arizona.
“When people address diversity, they often think white or Black,” Warne said. “They think Hispanic and Latino issues. And Arizona, with 19 tribes and over 20 tribal nations designated, you would think there would be more aware of Indian Country.”
Still, Warne said all this frustration gives him more opportunity to speak to people around the country about the challenges that lie ahead.
“I go to the Senate walking the halls of Congress trying to advocate for Indian programs. I’m ready to speak at eye level,” said Warne. “Even in the halls of Congress.”
