Eagle+Blue

Eagle Blue: A Team, A Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska
// Eagle Blue // follows the Fort Yukon Eagles, winners of six regional championships in a row, through the course of an entire 28-game season, from their first day of practice in late November to the Alaska State Championship Tournament in March. With insight, frankness, and compassion, Michael D'Orso climbs into the lives of these fourteen boys, their families, and their coach, shadowing them through an Arctic winter of fifty-below-zero temperatures and near-round-the-clock darkness as the Eagles criss-cross Alaska in pursuit of their--and their village's--dream.

How did the teams travel to their games? They traveled by plane.

Why was basketball so important to theYukon? It brought the community together.

What two words were written on many townspeople’s clothing and hats? “Native pride” was on their belongings.

Why was Dave, the boys’ coach, upset about the girls’ uniforms? The team was going to have each individual name placed on the shirts and that means that the shirts could never be used by another team again.

How far did the Eagles make it in the championship? They achieved third place.

What was their record? It was 24 and 4