<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption>(From left to right) Savien Linnear, Anthony “Buzz” Kennedy and Isaac Morgan take advice and a water break during halftime in their semifinal game against Scammon Bay at this year’s Alaska’s 1A High School State Championship Tournament. (Emily Schwing)</figcaption></figure>

In the Athabaskan village of Tanana in Interior Alaska, basketball is “a way of life,” said Cynthia Erickson, who owns the local store in the Yukon River village. 

But next year, it will all be different.

“There’s not going to be basketball here,” said John Erhart Jr. “This is like a basketball community.” 

A junior in high school, Erhart recently played his last game with the Tanana Wolves. The team was ranked number one headed into the boys 1A state tournament championship this month. They ended up losing by four points to the Nelson Islanders, a team with players from Toksook Bay in Western Alaska.

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption>John Erhart, Jr. Goes for a three-point shot during the semifinal game against Scammon Bay. The Tanana Wolves defeated Scammon Bay 68-38. (Emily Schwing)</figcaption></figure>

It was the last high school basketball game Tanana will play for a long time. Four of the team’s seven players are graduating seniors this spring. And there isn’t anyone old enough to fill their spots. It will be years before there are enough kids for another team. 

Tanana’s First Tribal Chief Lois Huntington said losing the team is unfortunate for the whole community. Basketball, she said, is woven into Tanana’s cultural identity. 

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption>Just over 200 people live in Tanana year round. The tiny Interior town is nestled along the edge of the Yukon River, in the heart of Alaska’s Interior. (Emily Schwing)</figcaption></figure>

“After-school thing, for them to do something that keeps them from doing other things they shouldn’t be doing, is, I think, a positive for all kids,” she said. “And hopefully, you know, maybe they’ll go to a college and continue to play.” 

Roughly 200 people live in Tanana, along the edge of the Yukon River, deep in the heart of Alaska’s Interior. It’s had a high school basketball team for more than 40 years. But enrollment has dropped over the decades, and this year the K-12 school has just 30 students. Tanana residents say this is the first time they can remember not having enough high schoolers for a team. After this year’s graduation, they’ll have just two high school players and an upcoming eighth grader.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption>The Tanana Wolves practice in the gym at the Maudrey J. Sommer School in Tanana. (Emily Schwing)</figcaption></figure>

The loss is felt widely. Arnold Marks grew up playing basketball in Tanana. He moved on to play in college at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Then he returned to his home village to teach high school.  

“I think that, as an Alaskan Native village boy, that we grow up just loving to play basketball,” he said.

You can find the jersey he wore as a Tanana Wolf in a trophy case inside the school. His is the only jersey ever retired in Tanana.  

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption>Arnold Marks, now the high school teacher in Tanana, grew up playing basketball in the Interior village. He went on to play in college at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and now helps coach the boys’ team here. (Emily Schwing)</figcaption></figure>

“All our heroes are basketball players,” he said. “All of our parents and older siblings played basketball. And, you know, we don’t have enough equipment for football or baseball or anything else like that. Basketball’s it.”

Perpetual runners-Up

The same trophy case that holds Marks’ jersey also holds dozens of trophies, plaques and medals marking a long legacy of success dating back to the 1970s. But one trophy that’s missing is the state championship. The Wolves have been the runner-up at least four times. So this season, going all the way seemed more urgent for the team. 

“I just hope that they go out and play and enjoy themselves and take in the moment,” Marks said in Tanana, before this year’s state championship. “Because we’ve had great teams in the past that have all come up short. And even though we did, we still like, look back at it fondly and enjoy it.” 

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://media.alaskapublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/183DC72F-378C-4DDC-AE7D-771360B5CB4A_1_105_c-600x400.jpeg" alt="a snowy river" class="wp-image-332393" srcset="https://media.alaskapublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/183DC72F-378C-4DDC-AE7D-771360B5CB4A_1_105_c-600x400.jpeg 600w, https://media.alaskapublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/183DC72F-378C-4DDC-AE7D-771360B5CB4A_1_105_c-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://media.alaskapublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/183DC72F-378C-4DDC-AE7D-771360B5CB4A_1_105_c-150x100.jpeg 150w, https://media.alaskapublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/183DC72F-378C-4DDC-AE7D-771