According to the University of Idaho, on November 15 at an event called HooPalousa in Moscow, Idaho, National Book Award winner Sherman Alexie participated in a friendly 5-on-5 basketball game made up of Native American tribe representatives, acclaimed writers, and former and current college basketball standouts. The game, for which admission was free, was played at the University of Idaho’s Memorial Gym in support of Native American Heritage Month and the University’s recent creation of an American Indian Graduate Fellowship Fund in creative writing. Currently, the Fund is the only one of its kind for Native American writers, according to Idaho’s KLEWTV.com. The basketball contest was played between two teams called the Spokane Dirty Realists and the Moscow SuperSonnets.

Players and coaches included former National Book Award finalist Jess Walter, Coeur d’Alene Tribe Chief James Allan, fiction writer and Editor of Willow Springs, Sam Ligon, and author and co-host for the television series DECODED on the History channel, Buddy Levy, among many others. Alexie’s team, the Dirty Realists, defeated the SuperSonnets and took home the inaugural HooPalousa trophy. Poet Robert Wrigley was the in-game announcer.

“Sherman Alexie, who is Spokane-Coeur d’Alene, says he also belongs to the tribes of bookworms and basketball players, and that is what this game is about,” said Kim Barnes, creative writing professor and one of the masterminds behind HooPalousa. “It is an affirmation of that magical place where writing stories, playing basketball, and Native American culture converge.”

“It’s just the beginning of our effort to create this fellowship,” said Alexie. “We’re going to keep doing this kind of thing to make sure the scholarship comes to life.”

Featured in photo are Kim Barnes and Sherman Alexie, celebrating the Dirty Realists' victory. The game ball was signed by the players and presented to Barnes after the game. Photo Credit: University of Idaho