A “Tuff Christmas”, Catching Up With Montana’s Own Tuff Harris

Tuff Harris and his crew with One Heart Warriors is making sure that kids in Lodge Grass, Montana don't have to go through a tough Christmas.

It was great catching up with former University of Montana and NFL football player Tuff Harris, who now serves as the director of a Native American leadership program called One Heart Warriors.

Ever since he retired from the NFL just a few years ago, former University of Montana Grizzly football standout Tuff Harris has been giving back to the community he grew up in. Tuff grew up in Lodge Grass and graduated high school in Colstrip, Montana. He's of both Crow and Northern Cheyenne Tribal descent, and is now the director of a program called "One Heart Warriors." 

Back in 2020, we had a great chat with Tuff Harris for a Christmas special we called, a "Tuff Christmas." It was one of my favorite shows since I first started in statewide talk radio back in 2009. Now that a new mini documentary is out featuring Tuff Harris- I thought we better get him back on the show.

We talked about the incredible leaders he has gotten to work with through One Heart Warriors- including Lodge Grass Mayor Quincy Dabny. Speaking of Lodge Grass, Tuff told us how they set up a "Christmas Store" in Lodge Grass with donated toys and other gifts- similar to the CLDI Christmas store serving kids on the South Side of Billings. Local families in need were able to "shop" for the free gifts to give to their kids in Lodge Grass with items they personally picked out off the shelf.

We also talked about life growing up on and off the reservation as a child of both white and Native parents. And, Tuff told us about a new mini documentary put together by Nick V Ministries. Full audio of our chat can be found on Spotify by clicking here. And, the trailer for that documentary is below.