Bev Beaver
{{Short description|Canadian athlete (1947–2025)}}
{{use Canadian English|date=April 2025}}
Beverly Beaver (1947 – 19 April 2025) was a Mohawk Canadian athlete from the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada, known for her performance in fastball, hockey, and bowling.{{Cite book|title=The Girl and the Game: A History of Women's Sport in Canada|last=Hall|first=M. Ann|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2016|pages=242}}{{Cite book|title=Women of the First Nations: Power, Wisdom, and Strength|last=Miller|first=Christine|last2=Chuchryk|first2=Patricia Marie|publisher=University of Manitoba Press|year=1996|pages=92}} Beaver was born to Reg and Norma Henhawk and had seven siblings, Sidney Henhawk, Frank Henhawk, Sandra Henhawk, Wanda Henhawk, Charlene Nuttycombe, Toni Johnson, and Justine Bomberry.{{cite web|title=Hen hawk, Sidney James (Died on 9 Jul 2016)|url=http://vitacollections.ca/sixnationsarchive/3397341/data?n=1|website=Digital Collections|access-date=March 24, 2018}} Beaver competed as a professional athlete from 1961 to 1994.{{Cite book|title=Aboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues|last=Forsyth|first=Janice|last2=Giles|first2=Audrey|publisher=UBC Press|year=2012|pages=76}} She is known to have developed her athletic skills by playing sports with boys throughout her childhood, even becoming a prominent player on a boy's bantam hockey team at age 13. Beaver played exclusively on Native fastball teams; however, she played on non-Native teams in other sports. Throughout her career she earned awards such as the Regional Tom Longboat Award for Southern Ontario (1967) and the National Tom Longboat Award (1980).{{Cite web|url=http://www.aboriginalsportcircle.ca/en/pdf/Recipients-1951-2001.pdf|title=List of Regional (R) and National (N) "Tom Longboat" recipients 1951-2001|website=aboriginalsportcircle.ca/|access-date=October 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107015758/http://www.aboriginalsportcircle.ca/en/pdf/Recipients-1951-2001.pdf|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=dead}} Beaver is credited with earning other awards for performance in fastball, hockey, and bowling. Some of her hockey artifacts are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, in its diversity exhibit.{{Cite web|url=https://colorofhockey.com/2018/04/24/items-of-unsung-first-nations-womens-hockey-star-go-to-hockey-hall-of-fame/|title=Items of unsung First Nations women's hockey star go to Hockey Hall of Fame|date=2018-04-24}}
Softball
Beaver was a pitcher in softball/fastball for the All-Native team the Ohsweken Mohawks. She is credited as being a star player, excelling in both pitching and batting. In 1980, the Mohawks competed in the National Indian Activities Association women's softball tournament in Anadarko, Oklahoma.{{Cite news|title=Ohsweken takes fastball event|date=August 19, 1980|work=The Globe and Mail|id = {{ProQuest|386711285}}}} Beaver was pitcher for the Mohawks during the tournament, the team won five straight victories and first place in the tournament. Despite being offered a position on a non-Native team, the Toronto Carpetland, Beaver competed exclusively on All-Native softball teams. She commended the Ohsweken Mohawks for being an All-Native team, remarking that the team exemplified the competitive spirit of sport without athletes from outside of their community.
Hockey
Beaver only competed within the Euro-Canadian sport system throughout her nearly thirty-year career as a professional hockey player, playing for the Burlington Gazettes and the Brantfort Lady Blues. In 1990, the Brantfort Lady Blues went on to win the Ontario Ladies Hockey League Championships; both Beaver and her daughter were members of this team.
Bowling
Beaver is noted for maintaining a high female average and high triple score for all but one year from 1969 to 1974. She also earned a "high triple score" in Ontario Indian Bowling Championship in 1973.{{Cite book|title=Native Athletes in Sport and Society: A Reader|last=King|first=C. Richard|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|year=2005|pages=181, 182}}
Death
Beaver died on 19 April 2025, at the age of 77.[https://theturtleislandnews.com/index.php/2025/04/23/six-nations-elite-athlete-bev-beaver-passes-away/ Six Nations Elite Athlete Bev Beaver passes away]
Awards
Beaver is credited with earning many awards throughout her career as a professional athlete. As a softball player she won the most valuable player award eight times from 1962 through 1980. In 1979 she was awarded for being the best pitcher, top batter, and most valued player in the Canadian Native Championship in Kelowna, British Columbia. In hockey, she amassed five most valuable player awards and five top scorer awards between 1966 and 1980. Notably, Beaver was a recipient of both the regional and National Tom Longboat Awards. The Tom Longboat Awards are given to elite Indigenous Canadian athletes as recognition for achievement in sport.{{Cite web|url=http://www.asrcnl.ca/home/7|title=Tom Longboat Award|website=Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Circle|access-date=October 27, 2017}} Beaver was awarded the Regional Tom Longboat Award in 1967 for Southern Ontario. In 1980, she was awarded the National Tom Longboat Award, after being nominated by Tom Longboat Jr.{{Cite news|title=Award honours native athletes: [Final Edition]|last=Beaver|first=George|date=April 17, 2001|work=Expositor|id = {{ProQuest|345889419}}}} She was inducted into the Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition in 1995. The Hockey Hall of Fame included her hockey jerseys and badges in its diversity exhibit in 2018, in recognition of her outstanding competitive hockey career spanning forty years.{{Cite web|url=http://theturtleislandnews.com/index.php/2018/05/02/bev-beaver-recognized-by-hockey-hall-of-fame/|title=Bev Beaver Recognized by Hockey Hall of Fame|last=Becker|first=Neil|date=May 2, 2018|website=Turtle Island News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619163544/http://theturtleislandnews.com/index.php/2018/05/02/bev-beaver-recognized-by-hockey-hall-of-fame/|archive-date=June 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}
References
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Category:20th-century Canadian sportswomen
Category:Canadian Mohawk sportswomen