Minnesota Golfer - Travel 2022 - 13

IT'S THE SUMMER OF '69 and six Native American golfers are
enjoying a post-round beer in Blackduck, Minn., when one of
them leans forward and says, " Let's do it. Let's organize an allIndian
golf tournament and see how it goes. "
Walker's Joe Aitken, a 20-something at the time, laughs while
sharing the humble beginnings of the Minnesota Indian Golf
Classic. Now an annual staple of the northern Minnesota golf
scene, the tournament has grown exponentially over the past 53
years while being held every second weekend in August except
for the pandemic season of 2020.
So, we put out a flyer and got maybe 20
golfers. The entry fee was $5 and that got
you 18 holes at Blackduck, a nine-hole course
we started out at, and beans and wieners at
a campfire afterwards. I mean, my gosh,
five bucks for golf, beans and wieners?
How could we go wrong? " -JOE AITKEN
" The development of Indian golfers from 1990 to present day,
has really exploded, but there were very, very few Indian golfers
in the late '60s, " said Aitken, now 76. " So, we put out a flyer
and got maybe 20 golfers. The entry fee was $5 and that got you
18 holes at Blackduck, a nine-hole course we started out at, and
beans and wieners at a campfire afterwards. I mean, my gosh,
five bucks for golf, beans and wieners? How could we go wrong? "
GETTING STARTED
The other five Native American golfing visionaries who were
in on the ground floor of this tournament were Joe's brothers,
Roger and Larry; Francis " Chunky " Brun, Jim Lawrence and Earl
" Buck " Sargent, the hockey dad to former North Stars defenseman
Gary Sargent. The Aitkens represented Leech Lake Indian
Reservation. Brun and Lawrence were from Red Lake Indian
Reservation. The state's nine other Native American tribes eventually
came to be represented, as well as tribes from California,
Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arizona, New
Mexico, Washington, D.C. and Canada.
" We went from wieners and beans around a fire to fresh walleye
on white linen, " Aitken said. " We came a long way. "
Ed Demery Jr., one of the top two players on the golf team at
Top: Joe Aitken (right) beat out Ed LeBeau (left) on the
first hole of a sudden death playoff to capture the AllIndian
Golf Tournament held at Blackduck Golf Course.
Bottom: Joe Aitken (left) and Ray Sauer (right).
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Travel 2022 MINNESOTAGOLFER
13
Bemidji High School, won the first tournament.
" An Indian kid being one of the top players at a school that
size was a big deal, " Aitken said. " Our local newspaper guy, Cliff
Morlan of the Bemidji Pioneer, named him the 'Sweet Swingin'
Sioux.' Every Indian has a nickname. "
Joe is called " Hooker, " because that's what his golf ball does.
His brother Roger is, " Geesh. "
Why?
" Because when he was little, he couldn't say, 'Geese,' " Joe said.
" He'd say, 'Mom, look at all the, 'Geesh.' Hey, once you get a nickname
with us, it's yours for life.' "
EXPANDING TO TIANNA
The Minnesota Indian Golf Classic moved from Blackduck to
Tianna Country Club in Walker in 1975. The growing fields
needed an 18-hole layout, and Joe Aitken was close to Ray
Sauer, a childhood buddy, college roommate and a pillar among
Tianna's membership.
" Ray's one of the many people who helped us get started, "
Aitken said. " He's a white guy I turned to at first because I had
PHOTOS: JOE AITKIN VIA THE BEDMIDJI PIONEER; W.P. RYAN
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