Native Air Jordans?

Nike creates a shoe targeting Tribal athletes

Zach Urness/Leader Staff

Get out of the way Air Jordans. Move to the side Zoom LeBron IV. Nike has a new shoe on the market, but it's not quite what you'd expect.

It's called the Air Native N7, and it was designed specifically for American Indians with the aim being to promote physical fitness in a population that has historically faced obesity, diabetes and other health problems. Nike officials say the shoe is designed to fit what they say is a more unusual foot pattern typically found in Native Americans.

Here on the Flathead Reservation, the shoe has created quite a stir.

"There has been a huge interest in obtaining the shoe," said Stacey Kiehn, public information officer for Tribal Health. "I think that the idea of the shoe has been well thought out as far as helping to encourage a healthy lifestyle."

Nike officials say one of the problems tribal members have occasionally had with traditional Nike shoes is that their feet often have a wider base, which can make some shoes uncomfortable, especially during athletic movement.

With that in mind, Nike designers and researchers looked at the feet of more than 200 people from more than 70 tribes nationwide and found that in general, American Indians have a much wider and taller foot than the average shoe accommodates. The result of that research led Nike to create the Air Native N7 with a wider design, with a larger toe box with fewer seams for irritation and thicker sock liner for comfort.

While the shoe is being distributed to tribal wellness programs and tribal schools nationwide, in many cases for a reduced wholesale price, an account first has to be established with Nike to order the shoes, and local tribal health officials say the money just isn't there to order athletic shoes for everyone on the reservation.

"We don't want to create a level of expectation," said Kiehn, "because right now the funding levels that we are at would not support this kind of a project."

But that probably won't stop local athletes from getting a pair. Interest in the shoe is leading to high expectations.

"I definitely want to get my hands on a pair," said tribal communications director Rob McDonald. "We're looking into what we can do to get these in the hands of our people. We're at the earliest stages right now but it has generated a lot of positive interest."

McDonald said he thinks the idea is a good one, based on his personal experience.

"The idea really hit a nerve with me," McDonald continued. "Growing up I couldn't wear Nikes. I tried as a kid but my feet would rub up against it and it did not feel good."

Zachary Camel, the head coach of SKC's four-time men's National Tribal Championship basketball team, also endorses the idea.

"I think that if people have wider feet than you need a bigger shoe," he said. "I know it's not true for everybody, but I like the idea."

Of course not everybody has such rave reviews of the N7. Juan Perez, the girls basketball coach and interim athletic director, said that while he likes idea the shoes themselves are a little, well, ugly.

"I think it's great, what Nike is doing, but as a coach I just don't see the younger people really getting into the style of the shoe," he said. "I kind of thought they looked like nursing shoes. It's just not a style that my players would go for. They like the LeBron James shoes because they've got a cool style."

Aesthetics aside, McDonald also said that a few people he'd talked to had a problem with the concept, noting that Nike has never created a shoe specifically targeting one ethnic group of people.

Still, McDonald said, most people think the shoe is a good idea and a positive step.

"I think it's a great idea," added Kiehn, "and the overall idea really has people talking."

The N7 name is a reference to the seventh generation theory, used by some tribes to look to the three generations preceding them for wisdom and three generations ahead for their legacy.

Whether the shoe becomes a hit on the Flathead Reservation or is deemed too ugly remains to be seen, but one thing is sure, the Air Native N7 may be flying soon in a gym near you.