In November of 2022 I received a call from my good friend about an experience he had just had with a new hunter on a pheasant hunt. He had volunteered his bird dogs to help out a group of hunters that were invited on a hunt with Disabled Outdoors Utah. In that bird hunt he met this amazing man named Tanner. Tanner Powless is the product of two proud Native American Nations namely the Onieda Nation and the Navajo Nation. Although Tanner was raised by an amazing adoptive non-native mother, she made absolutely sure that he was raised completely connected to his family roots. Tanner was born with a disease that has progressively challenged his body and mobility. As his life has progressed he has had to increasingly rely on the assistance of others to engage in his life activities. He has had friends that have helped him access the outdoors, but only recently has he been able to enter the role of the hunter. The Disabled Outdoor Utah pheasant hunt was the first time that Tanner was able to successfully take a bird. After he downed a bird it was retrieved by the dog and returned to Tanner…but it wasn’t quite expired yet. As Tanner took hold of the pheasant it tried one more time to fly, and Tanner was sprayed by blood. My friend was horrified and rushed to clean off Tanner’s face. “No, no, no,” Tanner said. “Don’t wipe it off, that means that now I am a Warrior!”
