Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith | Full Court Quest

Published: March 24, 2009

The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School Basketball Champions of the World

At a sturdy 362 pages, plus a hefty bibliography, one might hesitate to wade into Full Court Quest, the detailed account of the Fort Shaw girls basketball team that earned the title Champions of the World in 1904.  

But it’s well worth plunging in to read about these gutsy young women and their accomplishments.

Over a 10-year period, authors Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith dug deeply into tribal, state and federal records, period newspapers and journals and personal papers and family records, supplied by descendents of the team, their classmates and the Fort Shaw faculty and staff. Their remarkable sleuthing has shaped a book that’s both thorough and engaging.

The compelling story binds together several historical strands: the history of Fort Shaw, considered one of the best off-reservation Indian schools in the nation prior to its closure in 1910; the history of women’s basketball, which introduced competition, perspiration and teamwork to the world of women’s athletics; and the history of 10 young women, representing seven Indian nations, who enthralled first Montana, and then the nation with their grace and athletic prowess.

The Fort Shaw team bested all Montana opponents in 1903, including high schools teams from Butte and Helena and college teams from Bozeman and Missoula, claiming the state title in the fledgling sport. After a game with Butte, the Great Falls Leader pronounced, “two wrestling matches, a football slaughter, three ping-pong tournaments, a ladies’ whist contest, a pink tea and one Schubert musical recital combined would fall short in comparison with one game of basket-ball.”

To top it off, teammates sewed their own costumes (consisting of bloomers and mid-length blouses), and offered pre-game and post-game entertainment as gymnasts, musicians and recitalists.

Their accomplishments earned the 10 team members a trip to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, where they spent more than six months as members of a “model Indian school” that had been set up on the grounds. While there, they challenged and handily prevailed against “all comers” to claim the world title.

Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith, who began their collaborative work in women’s history and biography while living in Bozeman, have coauthored 10 books and served as historical consultants for the PBS mini series “Frontier House.” They now live in Vermont.

Full Court Quest was published by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Okla., and sells for $29.95 hardcover.

– Kristi Niemeyer