DURHAM, N.C. — A Duke senior softball pitcher is tapping into her Native American heritage to propel her success and to provide representation to others in the community. 

Lillie Walker's family is part of the Chickasaw Nation.

In early November, Duke softball head coach Marissa Young was honored with the ACC Unite Award, given to her for making a significant positive impact in areas of racial and social justice in her community.

Young prides herself on making her program a place where anything can be talked about, and no one is left out because of who they are.

It's part of the reason why Walker loves being a Blue Devil, as the Duke student athlete competes on the field and in the classroom while proudly representing her Native American heritage. 

"The drive to be the best that I can be comes from just knowing that my ancestors may have not had the types of opportunities that I've had, and that they have worked really hard to get to where they are to get me to where I am today," Walker said.

Out of nearly 500,000 student athletes across all levels and divisions of the NCAA, less than 2,500 are Native Americans.

For Walker, being an exceptional student is crucial to her success. She was an All-ACC Academic in 2023 and part of the ACC Honor Roll in 2021, 2022 and 2023. On the field, she's a strikeout machine who tallied eight wins last year to accompany an impressive 1.20 earned run average (ERA).

She says being able to take advantage of any opportunity presented to her is a testament to the way she was brought up.

"I grew up in a really small town in Oklahoma and came from a place where athletics and higher education is not necessarily the norm. So just kind of tapping into my Native American roots, kind of always striving for the best, the best that I could be," Walker said. 

"Some of the main key characteristics of being a Native American are just being really hard working, being resilient and those type of things. And they've all, those characteristics, have all helped me get to where I am now," she said.

When it comes to being part Native American, Walker has a couple of different sources of inspiration. The biggest comes from her great-great-great-grandfather, Key Wolf. He was the first Native American to serve as captain of the Oklahoma Football team when he played in 1908.

In 1923, Wolf and his family moved back to their home, Davis, Oklahoma. In 1925, he returned to teaching in Purcell, Oklahoma. A year later, he became principal of Davis High School and later, superintendent.

He coached football, and in 1930, his team became the first undefeated team in Davis school history. As a result, the school adopted the name of "Davis Wolves" and has kept it ever since.

The family left Davis in 1931 but returned in 1952 at his retirement from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Wolf's dedication to education and bettering those around him led to his family and descendants prioritizing education. It's something Walker has also learned to appreciate. 

"It's important for me to be proud of my heritage and to display that, especially since I've got an opportunity to be kind of in the public eye with all the success that Duke softball's had," Walker said. "So I just want to be a role model to other young Native Americans that maybe have not seen a Native American go out and get a higher education."

As November was Native American Heritage month, Walker was able to really reflect on being a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation Indian Tribe. 

Duke softball's first matchup of the 2024 season will come in Mexico on Feb. 8 in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, where Walker and her team's first opponent will be Oklahoma.