Native American basketball legend Jaci McCormack’s story gets the Hollywood treatment

TULALIP, Wash. It was a long, winding trip to the Boys & Girls club gym on the Tulalip reservation. But for Jaci McCormack, it’s a home away from home, and center court is at the center of its story as well.

“I attribute it to my parents,” she said, recalling her formative years in the Nez Percé reserve. “Back then you were playing with your own tribe or community. There is a lot of pride in representing who you play for. We have hosted one of the oldest booking tournaments in the Indian country.”

McCormack was a dominant force as Idaho State Player of the Year. She was destined for big things, until the controversial murder of one of her peers sparked conflict on the reserve and caused a change of scenery.

“It’s a tragedy that’s happened on my reserve. It’s something that, you know, it hurt me deep down, to know, you know, to have information. know, looking back, when i think about it, as a 14 year old really having to stand up and understand that you have to stand up for what is right, even if you are alone, ”she said.

Basketball has always been a fundamental presence as she moved away from home to a suburb of Oregon, which she said lacked other teenagers who looked like her.

“It was just a struggle. It was an academic struggle. It was a challenge. I had to learn to reach out and ask for help. It was a struggle athletically, and overall , it really, really broke me, but in the best possible way, ”she said of those years at Lake Oswego.

Sticking to the sport, she landed a track and field scholarship to the State of Illinois and helped her team win a title.

She returned to the Pacific Northwest as a Native American hoop legend, with the goal of showing others how to overcome life’s challenges.

“Basketball has always been my saving grace,” she said.

McCormack, who works daytime in the Tulalip District Attorney’s Office as a Victim Services Coordinator, spends the rest of her time helping run the nonprofit, called “Rise Above,” which aims to connect aboriginal children in basketball while educating them about the risks. violence and abuse of drugs and alcohol.

The work and its history caught the attention of Lenny Wilkens.

“It’s young people, it’s working with young people. I have always felt that young people are our future,” said the Basketball Hall of Fame and coach of the 1979 Super Sonics world champion.

After spending time with her at a few events, Wilkens was struck by the parallels between her long-standing work with the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, and McCormack’s philanthropic passions.

He grew up in Brooklyn in poverty and had to struggle to fit in. He knows how basketball can build bridges.

Wilkens was also drawn to McCormack’s life story after reading a book on the history of the Northwestern tribes.

“So, I thought about it. What better way than to tell his story? Let the young people see it,” he said. “Yes, if she can do it maybe I can do it too. Because that’s how I grew up. I started seeing people who became role models for me. And j felt like they always encouraged me to feel like I can do it, you can do it. ”

That’s why Wilkens agreed to produce, along with former Sonic Gary Payton, actor Danny Glover and others, a feature film about McCormack’s inspirational journey. Baptized “Rise Above” “like the name of the association, it was scripted by the writer Erica Tremblay and counts the artist Portugal, L’Homme as musical advisor.

It is slated to begin filming on tribal grounds in the summer of 2021. President Willie Frank III of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, Phil Haugen of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and COO of the Kalispel Tribal Economic Authority, and Rebecca Miles , member of the Nez Perce tribe and the director of operations for the Potlach Fund, will serve as executive producers, along with Rise Above co-founder Brad Meyers.

“You know I was a kid, I love movies. Because it shows that people can make a difference and how we can change our world,” Wilkens said.

It is common knowledge that mainstream Hollywood films have been short to showcase Native American stories and culture. This is one of the reasons McCormack is also excited to tell her story, although the question of who will play her is still under discussion.

“I’m trying to say that representation matters,” said McCormack, who also notes that the official announcement in the trades will come during Native American Heritage Month.

“It’s a bit of a scary thought to put all… not just your accomplishments, but your challenges and maybe some of the not-so-smart decisions you’ve made in your life, like on screen for the world to see, she said. “If it only affects one child, it’s definitely worth it. I do this in the hope that it will create an opportunity for the kids to see that if I can do it, you can do it. “