MASHPEE — "It was a very dark time for me," former WNBA star Ryneldi Becenti told about 22 tween and teen girls at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Government Center Friday.
Becenti, who played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association, was talking about the death of mother Eleanor Becenti, when Becenti was about 12 years old.
At the time, Becenti's father Raymond Becenti, Sr., told her to run to her mother's grave and cry her heart out.
"He said, 'You go talk to your mom and you tell her everything,'" said Becenti.
"I did that, and I came back. Out of nowhere a whirl of wind came across and that’s when I was rejuvenated," said Becenti, who is a member of the Navajo Nation, or Diné, which means "the people." "I felt like that was my mom. I jumped up, ran, grabbed a basketball and that’s when I just took off. Basketball just burst out of me."
Becenti spoke during a series of basketball clinics for tribal girls, as part of "GLAM Camp," which was conducted by Global Local Athletic Movement or GLAM Girl, an organization that helps connect young girls to sports.
The week-long Glam Camp was planned in partnership with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, said Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Education Communications Coordinator Talia Landry. Girls from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe attended, she said.
"I’m proud of the girls. They came together and learned lessons about how to be the strong Wampanoag women we expect them to be," said Landry.
The week-long camp featured Becenti, but also world champion hammer thrower Janee' Kassanavoid, who appeared during a virtual workshop; martial artist Maureen Burke; women's college basketball player and Herring Pond Wampanoag tribal member Kendall Currence; and state champion basketball players Jazlynn Nosie and Kamryn Nachu.
"Basketball has always been my ticket to take me places," said Becenti, who was the first Native American woman to play in the WNBA. "I'm here to teach basketball, but also life lessons."
What is GLAM Girl?
Throughout the week, GLAM camp attendees participated in group discussions; youth leader poetry sessions, healthy eating clinics with James Beard Award winner Sherry Pocknett; talking circles; health classes; "Herring Day" at the Mashpee Wampanoag Museum; nature walks; and self defense classes.
According to the GLAM Girl website, the group is a youth-founded, youth-led club model organization started with the vision of creating equity in sports. According to GLAM Girl co-founder Taryn Madsen, "GLAM Camp" is just one of many activities that GLAM Girl branches conduct across the country.
"Throughout everything we do, our connection is the love of the game and being athletic,' said Madsen who is a sophomore at Tabor Academy.
The idea for GLAM Girl locations on Cape Cod, said GLAM Girl co-founder Teagan Lind came after the Falmouth High School senior met deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The meeting, said Lind, was organized through a family friend.
"She encouraged us to look at sports as one of our strengths and to make a difference through sports," said Lind.
Between 2021 and 2022, Lind said she and her sister, along with co-founders Madsen and Tabor Academy sophomore Izzy Murphy, created a nonprofit and began to hold activities they felt could impact girls across the state.
"We wanted to make sure that all girls get the opportunity to play the sports they love," said Lind.
Funding for GLAM Camps and other events came from organizations like the Women and Girls Fund of Cape Cod, said GLAM Camp parent and volunteer Beth Murphy and individual fundraisers like bake sales conducted by the co-founders. Beth Murphy said her daughter Izzy Murphy made 500 chocolate covered strawberries at one point and sold them in a bake sale, raising $600. The funds were used to help bring Nosie and Nachu to "GLAM Camp."
Amaya Fraser, 18, started a GLAM Girl group at Mashpee Middle-High School in 2021 and said the group has inspired members to be positive and confident.
"This group helps girls gain a voice," said Fraser, who identifies as African American. "It's been so powerful immersing myself at this camp. It's given me new perspectives and helps me have a greater appreciation of life."
For Currence, who will head overseas to play professional basketball in May, GLAM programming taught tribal girls respect and how to be brave as indigenous women.
“Sometimes as indigenous people, it feels like you can’t show emotion and you have to be tough all the time,” said Currence. “We talked about speaking up and sharing feelings. We’ve been silenced for too long.”
Ryneldi talks rhythm, energy, and love
After retiring from basketball, Becenti said it’s become her mission to influence tribal girls across the country. Becenti, who appeared with Elmo on Sesame Street and went viral in a 2022 TikTok video, said when she received a phone call to come out to attend Mashpee’s GLAM Camp, she didn’t hesitate.
“Sometimes kids don’t have the finances or the resources for something like this. This kind of learning experience is important,” said Becenti. “Yes, we teach them ball handling and shooting drills. But we also teach woman power.”
Becenti went through challenges as a child living in Fort Defiance, Arizona, she said, which is located on the Navajo Reservation. But when she saw former WNBA player Cheryl Miller opening doors for African American women, she said she wanted to do the same.
“She motivated me and pushed me to excel,” said Becenti. “I knew it would be a tough journey. I knew it would be a battle.”
When Becenti joined the Phoenix Mercury in 1997, Miller became her basketball coach. Miller is now the head women's basketball coach at California State University Los Angeles campus.
“It came full circle for me,” said Becenti.
Currence said Becenti shared stories of her struggles with GLAM Girl campers. Becenti's experiences showed the girls that “anything is possible,” Currence said. Becenti, said Currence, is one of her heroes.
“Her parents died when she was a young age and she grew up on a reservation where there sometimes wasn’t running water and sometimes she didn’t know where her next meal was coming from,” said Currence. “But she pushed through and persevered. She became a big star. She is so inspiring.”
If “I can inspire one child or 30 kids, it all means the world to me,” said Becenti.
As Becenti spoke to the Times, she pointed to Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal member Jyrzie Alves, who is also a Mashpee Wampanoag Native Environmental Ambassador. During one of the basketball clinics, Becenti said she showed Alves how to dribble three basketballs at one time.
“I told her that basketball is about rhythm. It’s about energy. She started doing it and she got it.” said Becenti. “She will now teach other kids. It’s all about transferring rhythm into love.”
Equity, community, and connection at GLAM Camp
For Beth Murphy, the week has been special for tribal and non-tribal girls involved in the camp. Instructors like Becenti and Currence, she said, had the patience and the power to bring the girls together in a positive way.
“Part of why this has worked so well is because of the support that Kendall and others have provided to these girls,” said Murphy. “Seeing the joy in their faces is incredible.”
For Madsen, "presence is power." Throughout "GLAM Camp," the girls learned a lot about teamwork and community. But Madsen said instructors, and GLAM Girl co-founders connected with the girls, and gained perspective on the discriminations and struggles they face as indigenous women.
"Showing up for girls - that's what we do. Equity is what we're all about," she said. "But they also showed up for me. I'll never forget that."
Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.
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