RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The Dallas Cowboys took on the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night, but fans wearing both jerseys rose to their feet late in the fourth quarter to honor one of the players.
Cowboys rookie offensive lineman Shiyazh Pete is the first ever Navajo to sign with an NFL team.
On Saturday night, he helped to block for Phil Mafa’s late touchdown, and he was applauded by the fans behind the Cowboys’ bench. It’s rare for linemen to get their roses, but the crowd made sure Pete got his.
Cowboys teammates cleared the bench, making sure that Pete got his moment when the crowd began to chant his last name.
The Navajo have a large population in Arizona, and so even though the lineman was playing for the visiting Cowboys, fans wearing both jerseys stood and applauded him on Saturday night.
After the game, Pete was asked what it meant to him to receive that recognition, and he was emotional in his response.
“The standing ovation was incredible. I lost count of how many Navajo Nation flags I saw. Phoenix is home to a lot of Navajo people, lot of Native Americans.”
The lineman was asked more about what he saw when he looked out into the supportive crowd. “What did I see? I saw hope, courage. It was surreal. It is hard to find the words to describe it. English probably isn’t the language I would describe it in.” Pete then said something in Navajo, also known as Diné Bizaad, and said, “It was that.”
After the game, head coach Brian Schottenheimer called on Pete to give a post-game speech to the team.
“Well, that was an incredible win. And I am very fortunate to be amongst you, and to play on the same field, wear the same, wear the same star, holden on our chest, and I’m proud of us. I’m proud of how far we’ve come.
This game, fate, brought us here as strangers, but this game, this star, this team, will make us brothers.”
Pete was born in Ronan, Montana. He and his family are members of the Navajo tribe.
The offensive lineman went to New Mexico State from 2021 to 2024 before transferring to Kentucky for his final season. While he went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, the 6-9 lineman landed with the Cowboys for training camp and is fighting for a roster spot.
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