Sam McCracken is a member of the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes in northeastern Montana on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation, and the General Manager and Visionary of Nike’s N7 programs and the N7 Fund. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Center for Native American Youth.
McCracken began his Nike tenure in 1997 at Nike’s Wilsonville distribution center. He was quickly asked to utilize his experience and passion to manage the revitalization of the Native American Employee Network, one of Nike’s employee diversity groups. Shortly thereafter, McCracken proposed a business development strategy focused on Native American communities, with the goal of increasing health and wellness through physical activity.
He became the Manager of Nike’s Native American Business in 2000 and led the development of the Nike Air Native N7 shoe, the N7 retail collection, and the N7 Fund, which supports access to sport, economic empowerment, education innovation and social justice for Native American and Indigenous communities in the United States and Canada. McCracken has also driven over 25 unique product collections and brand stories for the N7 product line.
In addition to ongoing N7 product collection and Fund oversight, McCracken’s leadership with Nike’s Native American Network fuels ongoing education, visibility and representation for Nike’s Indigenous community, including a recruitment and retention strategy.
He was also instrumental in Nike signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Indian Health Services in 2003, and again in 2009, as well as the Bureau of Indian Education in 2010 – all signifying the company’s commitment to continue to bring inspiration and innovation to Native American communities in the spirit of health and wellness, and access to sport.
McCracken has been recognized through several prestigious award nominations for his passion and work:
- Nike’s Bowerman Award in 2004, named after Nike co-founder and revered track and field coach Bill Bowerman.
- George Washington Honor Medal in 2004, by the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge for his commitment to Native communities’ health promotion programs.
- One of the 20 most innovative “Intrapreneurs” in the world in 2007 by sustainability.com.
- U.S. Department of Education’s National Advisory Council on Indian Education in 2010, appointed by President Barack Obama.
- President’s “Leadership Award” from the National Indian Gaming Association in 2010 for Nike’s commitment to Health Promotions Disease Prevention with Native tribes across the U.S.
- National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s 2019 Corporate Business of the Year award.
- Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame induction in 2020.
- Schwab Foundation’s Social Intrapraneur of the Year in 2022 at the World Economic Forum.
- “Leadership for System Change: Delivering Social Impact at Scale” course completion in 2023 from the Harvard Kennedy School of Business in collaboration with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
- Tim Wapato lifetime achievement award from NCAIED
