FRISCO, TX. – Team Wa’Ya defeated Team Ta’Tanka in overtime 29-26 at the Native All-Star Game on Jan. 7. The match consisted of 50 players, who represented 35 tribal communities from the United States and Canada. Two Mvskoke citizens, Douglas Two Shields and Cameron Boone were selected to play. The game was a collaboration between the Native American Athletic Foundation (NAAF), the National Football League and Nike. This year athletes selected for the game got to play at the Dallas Cowboys headquarters, The Star. Previous all-star games were played at the Vikings Stadium in Minnesota.
Two Shields and Boone played for team Ta’Tanka. The full clinic involved four days of training, college preparation and like skills, all designed to equip these student athletes for the future. For Two Shields, the experience is one he enjoyed and will never forget. However, sometimes it takes time for Two Shields to talk to new people.
“It was a very fun experience, I made a lot of new friends,” Two Shields said. “Going into the All-Star Game, I was a bit nervous. I was really quiet and shy for the first part. On Saturday I got over my fears and started talking to a bunch of the other kids. There was one kid who plays in Alaska, we talked a lot.”
The Native All Star Game is not just a place to make new friends. It is also an opportunity for athletes to prove their mettle to eager recruiters seeking to find the next Jim Thorpe or Sam Bradford.

Unfortunately for Two Shields, the game did not go the way he intended. During the third play, he was rolled up on, which tore his medial collateral ligament. This benched him for the rest of the game. In football, to roll up on a player describes incidental harm inflicted on the legs of a lineman. This can result in ligament tears or broken bones. Two Shields said he initially tried to walk off his injury, since this was not the first time he had injured his knee.
Although he was injured, Two Shields said he gave his all during those three plays and stayed through the whole game to support his team. By the end of the fourth quarter the score was tied at 26-26. Team Wa’Ya made a field goal, beating Team Ta’Tanka in overtime.
Growing up, Two Shields looked up to former Baltimore Ravens Lineman Ray Lewis as an inspiration. Lewis is a player who leaves it all on the field.
“It was about his mentality on the field and how there is a switch in his mind,” Two Shields said. “When he’s off the field he’s a nice person from what I hear, but as soon as he steps on that field there’s a switch that flips in his mind, he just turns into a beast.”
Two Shields’ favorite collegiate team are local OU Sooners; professional, the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce may be crowd favorites, but for Two Shields he always looks up to offensive lineman Creed Humphrey
According to NAAF Executive Director Michael Stopp, the Native American All-Star Game is designed to mold students into great leaders, not just great athletes.
“We are excited and honored to work with the NFL to make an impact in the lives of Native athletes,” Michael Stopp said. “Our organization was established to use sports to develop the next generation of leaders in Indian Country. This partnership and this year’s game take an important step forward in meeting our mission.”
Regarding his knee injury, Two Shields said surgery might be necessary to fix it in the future. However, that is not stopping him from looking forward to graduating high school in the spring and moving on to college. He looks forward to “making his tribe proud from working hard”.
To learn more about NAAF and their nonprofit work, visit nativeamericanathleticfoundation.org.