POCATELLO, Idaho — Idaho State University Athletics will bring Bengal Football and community together on October 24 for the inaugural Native American Heritage Recognition Game as Idaho State hosts Portland State at the ICCU Dome.
The game will celebrate Native American heritage, recognize the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and highlight the longstanding relationship between Idaho State University and the Tribes through a special game-day experience developed in collaboration with Tribal and community partners.
Fans will see that partnership reflected throughout the day, including a specially designed Native American Heritage mark worn by Bengal Football, participation from Tribal leaders and community members, a pregame performance featuring a Native drum group and dancers, and opportunities to recognize Native students, athletes, alumni, and community members.
The Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel is serving as the exclusive sponsor of the inaugural game, helping Idaho State Athletics establish what the University hopes will become an annual Bengal Football tradition.
"Idaho State University has a longstanding and important relationship with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and this game gives us another opportunity to demonstrate that relationship through action," said Idaho State University President Robert W Wagner. "We want our students, employees, alumni and fans to understand the importance of the Tribal community to ISU and to this region. I am excited to see the Bengal and Shoshone-Bannock communities come together for what I hope becomes a meaningful tradition for many years to come."
Idaho State's Pocatello campus is located within the original boundaries of the Fort Hall Reservation on the traditional homelands of the Shoshone and Bannock peoples. In April 2025, Idaho State University and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes signed a Memorandum of Agreement reaffirming their commitment to strengthening the relationship between the University and Tribes and expanding collaboration in areas including education, research, and economic development.
The Native American Heritage Recognition Game builds upon that commitment by using one of the University's largest community gathering spaces — Bengal Football — to create opportunities for connection and celebration.
"Football has an incredible ability to bring people together," said Idaho State Director of Athletics Pauline Thiros. "On October 24, we have an opportunity to fill the ICCU Dome with Bengal fans and members of our Tribal communities and celebrate something that is much bigger than what happens on the field. We want this to be an exciting game-day experience and the beginning of an annual tradition that our entire community looks forward to."
A Mark With Meaning
A special Native American Heritage mark was developed for the game through collaboration among Idaho State Athletics, University Marketing and Communications, Tribal Relations, and members of the Shoshone-Bannock community.
The design features the University's Bengal head logo with two spears crossed behind it. The warrior spears symbolize the merging of the Shoshone and Bannock Tribes and reflect the significance of spears within the Tribes' ancestral traditions and heritage.
The points of the spears are designed to mimic the traditional shape of the "Wahmuza" point, historically used for spear and knife blades. The spear elements also feature a geometric pattern representative of the ancient beadwork traditions passed down through the Tribes. These patterns serve as a visual language rooted in cultural traditions, including the petroglyphs found along the Snake River.
The Snake River is also represented at the base of the spears through a wavy line. The river is a significant regional landmark and a sacred source of food and cultural identity for the Tribes.
Finally, four feathers are incorporated across the two spear elements. The number four holds significance within the cultural traditions of the Tribes, representing the four directions and four seasons of the year.
The mark will appear on commemorative football helmet decals, sideline apparel, and for-sale gear — with a portion of proceeds directed back to ISU's Native American Student Services organization — will be incorporated throughout the game-day experience.
The spear imagery also carries a direct connection to the relationship between Idaho State and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Tribal Elder Leo Teton, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, handcrafted traditional spears that were presented to President Wagner and ISU Director of Tribal Relations Echo Marshall. Teton's craftsmanship and cultural guidance helped inform the spear imagery incorporated into the final design.
The football team will have an opportunity to learn more about that meaning firsthand when Teton and a representative of the Fort Hall Business Council meet with student-athletes prior to the game to discuss the significance of the spear, Native American heritage, and the relationship between the University and the Tribes.
Going Beyond Acknowledgment
The recognition game is also part of a larger effort to create meaningful opportunities for the ISU and Tribal communities to engage with one another beyond a single event.
"Land acknowledgments are important, but meaningful relationships require us to go beyond acknowledgment and create opportunities for engagement, participation and connection," said Echo Marshall, ISU Director of Tribal Relations. "This game gives us an opportunity to bring the Shoshone-Bannock community and the Bengal community together in a very visible way — celebrating Native students, athletes, families and community members while continuing to strengthen the relationship between ISU and the Tribes."
Idaho State Athletics plans to build upon the recognition game in future years through continued Tribal engagement, student-athlete education, community participation, digital storytelling, and opportunities to recognize Native American heritage throughout the Bengal game-day experience.
The goal is not simply to recognize Native American heritage for one day, but to establish a tradition that continues to grow alongside the relationship between Idaho State University and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
