Hau (hello). My name is Victor. I am an enrolled member of the Hunkpati Dakota Nation, also known as the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, and am also from the Yaqui Nation. My Dakota name is Waokiya Mani (Walks Helping) and my Yaqui name is Machil (Scorpion). Currently I’m a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School.



On May 11, I will step into the ring in Boston to KO cancer! Along the way, I will be fundraising for research and initiatives actively fighting for a cancer-free world, with a goal of raising at least $25,000 with your help.

I am fighting because I’m motivated by the long line of warriors I come from who fought for the health of their communities, current and future generations, and who strived to be a friend to all who are suffering. 

One of the warriors I come from and a Great-Grandfather by direct lineal descent, is Chief Mato Wanagi (Chief Bear Ghost) of the Hunkapti Dakota. The way he lived his life inspires me. That is why my fighter name is Victor “Bear Ghost” Carmen. 

I am also dedicating this fight to Compadre Paros Baltazar, a Yaqui artist many Yaqui youth look up to, who has been in a fight with cancer for the past several years. He does so much good for our community. His traditional jewelry blesses and protects our community. He is KO’ing cancer everyday, and I will be hard-pressed to fight even 1% as hard as he does.

Additionally, I am fighting for all the Indigenous Peoples around the world, including my own Indigenous Nations, who suffer from some of the highest cancer burdens in their respective countries. We deserve health-justice. We deserve to live in environments that are healthy and not contaminated with toxins and risk factors that cause cancer in our communities. I am fighting to bring awareness to this and am nominating my tribal health centers & the American Indian Cancer Foundation (AICF) as fundraising beneficiaries. 

Lastly, I am fighting for the friends, family, and patients I have come to know as a medical student, who have had their own personal journeys fighting cancer. On May 11, I will dedicate my fight to these courageous warriors. 

Any donation, big or small, will help bring me closer to my fundraising goal and mean so much to me. If you would like to sponsor me or make a contribution, please click on the relevant links on this page. You can also follow my journey by following me on the social media handle below. Lastly, please stay tuned for online and in-person ticket sales (tickets go live on March 14) - I would love to have as many friends, family, colleagues, and supporters watch me and my new friends step in the ring to KO cancer! 

Pidamaya Yedo (Thank you),

Victor “Bear Ghost” Carmen