Bev Beaver
Beverly Beaver was a Canadian Mohawk athlete from the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada, known for her performance in fastball, hockey, and bowling. Beaver was born to Reg and Norma Henhawk and had seven siblings, Sidney Henhawk, Frank Henhawk, Sandra Henhawk, Wanda Henhawk, Charlene Nuttycombe, Toni Johnson, and Justine Bomberry. Beaver competed as a professional athlete from 1961 to 1994. She is known to have developed her athletic skills by playing sports with boys throughout her childhood, even becoming a prominent player on a boy's bantam hockey team at age 13. Beaver played exclusively on Native fastball teams; however, she played on non-Native teams in other sports. Throughout her career she earned awards such as the Regional Tom Longboat Award for Southern Ontario and the National Tom Longboat Award. Beaver is credited with earning other awards for performance in fastball, hockey, and bowling. Some of her hockey artifacts are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, in its diversity exhibit.
Softball
Beaver was a pitcher in softball/fastball for the All-Native team the Ohsweken Mohawks. She is credited as being a star player, excelling in both pitching and batting. In 1980, the Mohawks competed in the National Indian Activities Association women's softball tournament in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Beaver was pitcher for the Mohawks during the tournament, the team won five straight victories and first place in the tournament. Despite being offered a position on a non-Native team, the Toronto Carpetland, Beaver competed exclusively on All-Native softball teams. She commended the Ohsweken Mohawks for being an All-Native team, remarking that the team exemplified the competitive spirit of sport without athletes from outside of their community.Hockey
Beaver only competed within the Euro-Canadian sport system throughout her nearly thirty-year career as a professional hockey player, playing for the Burlington Gazettes and the Brantford Lady Blues. In 1990, the Brantford Lady Blues went on to win the Ontario Ladies Hockey League Championships; both Beaver and her daughter were members of this team.She scored the series-winning goal when Burlington won the 1983 Abby Hoffman Cup at Hockey Canada's National Championships. She also scored a goal in the national quarterfinals and two goals in the semifinals.