GREAT FALLS — Browning native and enrolled Blackfeet member Robert Doore has blazed a path from the reservation to the NFL, where he spent several years as the director of business operations and the director of guest experience with the Washington Commanders franchise.
He left that job in 2021 but still considers himself a fan of the team, although conflicted after the name and logo change.
“I’m still a Commanders fan and a Redskins fan. I still call them both. Just when you bleed it and you're part of it, I kind of look at it as a skyscraper of my life,” Doore told MTN. "And that nearly a decade I spent all those floors of that skyscraper in Washington and I truly cherish it. It was a dream come true."
At one point he was the highest ranking Native American in the NFL since the legendary Jim Thorpe was president of the league in 1921. But life after sports has gone in a different direction.
"I've been blessed to have a long career in sports and entertainment, and it started with with being an athlete,” Doore said. "But my backup plan and my support system allowed for me to have a really nice career in this field. But right now I'm at a legacy point where I'm looking to give back."
Doore started Chief Mountain Consulting in 2021 and has many irons in the fire across multiple industries.
“We're in a bunch of different spaces from from youth sports, sports entertainment, partnering with big names and former pro athletes in college,” Doore said. “And then in the mental health space, there's another area.”
But one of the most rewarding aspects of his latest venture is public speaking. In mid-February, Doore made a stop in his older stomping grounds in Browning and Alberta while serving as the keynote speaker at the Blackfeet Youth Confederacy Conference.
"It was energizing to my soul. This was the first time I ever addressed my entire community and the young people. And there was so much positive energy and positive culture and language and who we are at the core,” Doore said.
"The pillars of the keynote address was our 'culture is our superpower' and how I've used that throughout my entire life. And that's what I wanted to say to the young people of the youth conference."
Doore has also started the Speak Up Symposium at the Montana Football Hall of Fame, into which he is a 2022 inductee.
“It started from a conversation between me and (former NFL linebacker) Dane Fletcher. Big, tough guys, big successful guys and gals all share struggles,” Doore said. "Let's normalize it. Let's talk about suicide, suicidal ideation. Let's talk about CTE, concussions and mental challenges that we face.
“And the Speak Up Symposium is now a fixture within the Montana Football Hall of Fame weekend."
It’s a journey that’s come full circle for Doore.
"And if I can inspire a young man or a woman from Montana, or even any small town community to reach to a higher level and achieve a higher level, I'm going to do that,” Doore said.
The 2025 Speak Up Symposium will be held on June 28 as part of the 2025 Montana Football Hall of Fame events at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. For information, click here.
