The Arizona Diamondbacks honored members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and other tribal communities from across the state on June 7 at Chase Field in Phoenix with their annual Native American Recognition Day, also known as NARD.

Before the Diamondbacks players took the field, Native Americans were placed in the spotlight, proudly showcasing their talents, traditions and cultures as fans walked the concourse and made their way to their seats. O’odham Action News reporters were on the field and in the photo wells along the first and third base lines to cover the action before and during the game.

At this year’s NARD game, the D-Backs bested the Washington Nationals by a score of 5-1. In a bit of déjà vu, the D-Backs also defeated the Washington Nationals in the 2025 NARD game, with a score of 3-1.

About a week before NARD, enrolled SRPMIC members queued up at the Salt River Senior Services Main Campus, Two Waters Building A and the Lehi Community Center for a chance to get free tickets to the game.

Pre-game excitement radiated from outside the ballpark as Native American baseball fans filled the plaza. As fans filed into the stadium, the SRPMIC Traditional Dancers were the first in-stadium performers, dancing in the rotunda. Other notable pre-game performance groups located throughout the stadium included Native All-Stars from the Tohono O’odham Nation, D7 Bird Singers & Dancers from the Gila River Indian Community and One Way Sky.

As a NARD tradition, players participating in the D-Backs Inter-Tribal Baseball Tournament paraded around the warning track before the game, displaying the flags of their tribal nations while Native dancers from multiple tribes danced in the outfield in unison.

When the dancers left the field, SRPMIC Council member Mikah Carlos tossed a strike from the pitcher’s mound to home plate for the ceremonial first pitch.

Continuing with the SRPMIC representation on traditional O’odham/Piipaash land, Community member Sistine Lewis sang the national anthem in O’odham.

Game-Worn Cleats Designed by Native American Artists

Baseball cleats commemorating NARD and worn in-game by Diamondbacks players were designed and hand-painted by Native artists from the Phoenix Indian Center in a collaboration between the artists and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation.

The cleats were worn by players before the NARD game and were sent off to auction, where net proceeds will benefit the Phoenix Indian Center.

You can check out the auction site at www.dbacks.auctions.mlb.com.

SRPMIC member Teniya Salazar, also known as 3Tribez, was one of the artists who worked on the cleats. Besides being Onk Akimel O’odham, she is also from the Navajo Nation in Fort Defiance and Sinaloa, Mexico. Salazar’s creativity shines through a variety of projects with her art business MissSalazarCreations, including pop-culture beadwork, traditional and vibrant outfits, silversmithing, and a wide variety of art pieces inspired by living in Two Worlds.

D-Backs all-star shortstop Geraldo Perdomo wore the pair of Nike cleats that she designed.

Salazar and her mom “fangirled” over the fact that they had his cleats and later found out that they fit both of their feet. She only had a couple of weeks to implement the design work on the cleats after finding out about the opportunity from her Alpha Pi Omega Sorority Inc. sorority sister Andrea Denny.

“I can’t thank my good sister enough, because if she didn’t share the information, I would have never gotten this opportunity in the first place,” Salazar told O’odham Action News.

After reaching out to Native shoe designer Chris Murphy for advice with painting on these specific shoes, Salazar went with Angelus leather paint. She used her own paint brushes, Sharpies and a finishing gloss.

Salazar is a fan of the different designs the D-Backs have used over time. She loved the deeper meanings behind the designs and how “powerful” the purple and turquoise looked on the players. The bottom rim of Salazar’s cleats has a “splat” design in purple and turquoise.

According to Salazar, in Navajo culture, turquoise is worn as a protection; it also represents healing ad harmony.

“Seeing the purple means a lot to me in many ways. The purple represents one of the Diamondbacks colors, a national awareness for health conditions and social causes, my favorite color and many other powerful stories, one being my cancer story. Purple has represented my story since I can remember,” said Salazar. “So, in hopes to keep showcasing how powerful purple can represent, I not only established purple as my signature business color, but [I used it] in these cleats as well.”

All together, 22 coyote tracks are painted on the cleats, which Salazar said represents the 22 federally recognized tribes in the state of Arizona. The tracks also represent how fast D-Backs players run around the field and back home, “scoring one for the Valley of Arizona.”

Two coyote tracks are placed on the tongues of the cleats, which is a traditional symbol in her tribes. Salazar plans to have a “table telling” with the Woodenhead Collective for The Day the Rez Stood Still: The 4th Kind, taking place on September 26 at the Salt River Community Building. You can follow Salazar on Instagram @MissSalazarCreations.