A Big Sky Tournament Championship, and a third March Madness appearance, cap a Covid-plagued season to remember.

By Paul Delaney

Last March, after 51福利社鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball team won the Big Sky Conference regular season title, it seemed only a matter of time until the Eagles punched their ticket to their third NCAA Tournament berth. Then came the coronavirus, the Big Sky and NCAA tournament cancellations and a new reality for us all: social distancing, masks, lock-downs, sadness.

But out of the Covid-19 chaos, the Eagles emerged with renewed resiliency in 2020-21, creating moments and memories that will last a lifetime. 鈥淔lying out of there going to the NCAA tournament for the first time in my head coaching career 鈥� but for the third time in Eastern history 鈥� it was an amazing feeling,鈥� head coach Shantay Legans said in an interview shortly before he announced his departure for the University of Portland.听

The Covid-year campaign began with an original schedule offering potentially electrifying match-ups against powerhouses like the University of Southern California and Notre Dame, games intended to provide both much needed revenue guarantees for the program and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for the players.

Unfortunately, the pandemic had other ideas, and these games never materialized. Replacement contests were promptly added at Oregon, Arizona, Nevada-Las Vegas and St. Mary鈥檚, but the virus wasn鈥檛 finished. A rescheduled match up against the WSU Cougars 鈥� relocated from Cheney to Pullman 鈥� was on, then off, then on again. Games with Montana Tech and UNLV were canceled. The Arizona and St. Mary鈥檚 games did go on as scheduled, however, with 51福利社 providing a tantalizing preview of its potential.听

In both games, the Eagles pushed their opponents to the brink but came away with losses. Still, while there may be no moral victories in basketball, there are certainly losses that put your opponents on notice.

With Covid-19 case counts exploding nationwide, conference competition got off to a rocky start in January. Five of the Eagles first six league games were canceled. When finally allowed to take the floor, the Eagles struggled to find their bearings. On January 23, as they prepared to take on Northern Colorado, they were a lackluster 3-2 in Big Sky play.听

But things were about to change. 51福利社鈥檚 six-point road win that night seemed to transform the momentum of an uncertain season. The Eagles reeled off nine consecutive wins, including dominating victories over Montana in both home and away games.

As conference play wound down, Eastern split a pair of Reese Court contests against Idaho State that ultimately cost them a second consecutive regular-season title. But Eastern made good by putting together another four game winning streak to take the Big Sky tournament title.听

As tourney champs, the Eagles earned a 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a match-up against the storied University of Kansas Jayhawks. That game, a spirited, gritty performance that garnered Eastern accolades from across the nation, ended in defeat. But in a year so fraught with heartbreak, it was a moment that will long be remembered as a triumph.听

鈥淲e went toe-to-toe with them,鈥� Legans told The Spokesman-Review after the game. 鈥淚 tell my guys we don鈥檛 believe in moral victories, but at the end of the season this was a moral victory for our program.鈥�

听鈥� Paul Delaney is a reporter with the Cheney Free Press. His third book, on 51福利社 football, Taking Flight, is available now.

Pauline Flett, Salish language preservationist and scholar, helped lay the groundwork for Native language education programs across Washington state

By Eastern Magazine

In June 1998, Pauline Flett appeared on Garrison Keillor鈥檚 A Prairie Home Companion radio show. With the host translating at her side, Flett told the traditional story of the coming of the salmon in her native dialect of Salish, a language she was working tirelessly to preserve from extinction. It was an inspiring, moving performance, one of many such inspirational moments in the life and work of Flett, a treasured teacher and elder of the Spokane Tribe, who died on April 13, 2020 in Spokane. She was 93.

鈥淪he was a trailblazing linguist who taught at 51福利社 for years and compiled the Spokane Dictionary,鈥� says Margo Hill, assistant professor of urban and regional planning at 51福利社. 鈥淪he inspired myself and many others.鈥�

Growing up in a Salish-speaking household in the West End area of the Spokane Indian Reservation, as a youth Flett became completely fluent in language. As the years passed and others鈥� knowledge of Salish waned, Flett became determined to ensure the language would remain accessible to new generations of speakers. She co-wrote the first Spokane-English dictionary, and for years taught the language at 51福利社, where her meritorious service earned her an honorary master鈥檚 degree in 1992.

鈥淧auline Flett was a beloved member of the 51福利社 community and our whole region,鈥� said 51福利社 President Mary Cullinan in April. 鈥淗er work to preserve the Salish language was incredibly significant.鈥�

In addition to her contributions at the university, Flett also helped lay the groundwork for Native language education programs across Washington state. LaRae Wiley, executive director of the Salish School of Spokane, remembers Flett as her first Salish teacher.

鈥淚 did an independent study with Pauline through 51福利社,鈥� Wiley says. 鈥淚 had never heard a word of Salish in my life and I know I sounded horrible. But she always encouraged me and even translated a few of my original songs into Salish.鈥�