Lacrosse

Caughnawaga Indian Lacrosse Club, 1867. Manager of team Jean Baptiste Rice (Taiaiake) is in the back row, third from left. (Courtesy: Kanien'keháka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center)

Lacrosse, also known as Turtle Island’s oldest team sport, consists of two teams with 10 players each. The goal is to shoot a rubber ball into the opponents net to score. The team with the most points wins.

Spotted being played as early as 1100 A.D., lacrosse was created by the Haudenosaunee. The game was seen as a gift from the Creator and was used to prepare for war, settle arguments, create peace between tribes, heal the sick, and a way to have fun. It was typically seen being played throughout New York state and the southern Canadian provinces, such as Quebec and Ontario.

Lacrosse was commonly referred to as the medicine game because it was seen as a powerful tool for aiding in spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. Believing that lacrosse has healing qualities, the Haudenosaunee see a connection of communication between themselves, the Creator, and their ancestors when playing the medicine game. The physical act of playing lacrosse is seen to cleanse the body of any ailments and strengthen the spirit and connection within a community.

The original game consisted of 100 to 1,000 men with no boundaries for how far they played, leading some games to stretch over two miles of plain field. Played from sunrise to sunset, the games were conducted on a field laid out east to west, following the path of the sun. The original game had no referees or out-of-bound rules.

In the earlier days, goals were designated as a tree or a large rock before evolving into wooden goalposts. Sticks were crafted from hickory wood, with the net being made of deer sinew. The wooden sticks and sinew represent the connection to the natural world.

Painting by George Catlin in the 19th century of the Choctaw Nation

Courtesy: Wikicommons

Painting from the 19th century titled "Ball Players" by artist George Catlin

Courtesy: Wikicommons

Evolution of the lacrosse stick

Credit: Vincent Ricasio/Art of Lax

Courtesy: Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1972-26-770

A lacrosse stick is sometimes placed within a baby’s cradleboard at birth and is to be buried with the person when they pass away, showing that it will be taken with them into the next world where they will play with their ancestors.

Lacrosse was observed by French European settlers in the 17th century. Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf saw the sport being played by the Haudenosaunee and believed that the stick resembled a bishop’s crosier, leading him to name the sport “lacrosse.” Although commonly known as lacrosse, different nations have different names for the game. The Kanien’kehá:ka nation calls it “ Tewa'á:raton,” which translates to “little brother of war.” The Ojibwe refer to the game as “Baaga’adowe,” which means “the net game”, and the Onondaga nation calls it “Dehontsigwaehs,” meaning “they bump hips.”

Fascinated by the game, European settlers, specifically the French and the British, decided to add new rules to the game. They defined the duration of games and reduced the number of players on the field to 10 at a time.

In 1860, a Montreal dentist named William George Beers created a pamphlet displaying the official rules, making him known as the father of modern lacrosse. In 1867, the first national lacrosse association was formed in Canada, followed by the United States National Lacrosse Association in 1879.

*Portrait of William George Beers, “the father of modern lacrosse”, taken in 1868. (Courtesy: McCord Museum of Canadian History)*

The Europeans introduced rubber balls, replacing the original buckskin ones filled with fur. Moreover, they began making sticks with narrower nets to create a more challenging game. Another notable change was lacrosse heads being made from plastic and nylon fibers rather than wood and rawhide, giving increased accuracy when making shots and passes.

New equipment and rules made it easier for non-Indigenous people to understand the game, helping it gain popularity. This new influence led to different styles of lacrosse being invented. In the 1930s, Canada developed box lacrosse which was played indoors instead of the usual outdoor field lacrosse system. Box lacrosse tends to be more physical and rapid-paced, making it quite popular in North America.

In 1867, the sport first appeared overseas when captain W.B. Johnson of the Caughnawaga lacrosse team organized a tournament in England. Sixteen players from Kahnawake, as well as amateur players from the Montreal lacrosse club, participated in the tournament, playing in front of Queen Victoria at Windsor castle. The Queen would write about the games in her diary saying that the game was “very pretty to watch.”

Lacrosse players from Kahnawake at the Canadian lacrosse champions in 1869

Courtesy: James Inglis / Library and Archives Canada / C-001959, e011181050

Courtesy: Kanien'keháka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center

Caughnawaga lacrosse team in 1904-1905

Courtesy: Kanien'keháka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center

The rise to prominence began in 1904 when lacrosse was first seen in the Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri. The event included four teams: a Canadian team, two American teams, and an Iroquoian team. In 1908, lacrosse was featured in the Olympics again, this time with only two teams: Canada and Great Britain. The Canadian team won both times, but the sport was dropped from the Olympics after 1908.

Beginning in the 20th century, lacrosse began extending to colleges and universities. It was more popular on the East Coast, with schools such as John Hopkins and Syracuse University having powerful teams. By 1971, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) held its first men’s lacrosse championship, furthering admiration for the sport across the nation. Moreover, the first women’s lacrosse championship was held by the NCAA in 1982, helping to create gender inclusivity within lacrosse.

In 1986, the National Lacrosse League (NLL) was formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of teams from Canada and the United States. The NLL is still popular today, ranking third for attendance in professional sports, being preceded only by the NBA and NHL.

By the 2000s, lacrosse had gained worldwide recognition, being played in continents such as Europe, Asia, and Australia. This acknowledgment from other parts of the world has produced worldwide tournaments such as the World Lacrosse Championships.

Although lacrosse has become a global sport, the Indigenous nations that it belongs to are reclaiming their ancestral game. The Iroquois National Men’s Lacrosse league, now known as the Haudenosaunee Nationals, was formed in 1983 to promote the traditions of the Six Nations on a world platform.

In 2022, the World Games sent out invitations to numerous lacrosse teams across the globe to join them for their lacrosse tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, to which the Haudenosaunee Nationals were not on the invite list. The organizers claimed that the Nationals could not play because they weren't a sovereign nation, to which a petition was put out to include Haudenosaunee's team in the tournament since the sport originates from their culture.

Gaining over 50,000 signatures, the organization recognized their mistake and apologized for their actions but stated that it was too late to register the Nationals as the eight teams had already been selected. As an act of true sportsmanship, Ireland's lacrosse team gave up their spot to the Haudenosaunee’s, telling the media that if it weren’t for their invention of the sport, Ireland’s team would not be playing today. The Haudenosaunee placed fifth, and then took home bronze in the 2023 World Lacrosse Championships the following year.

In an effort to promote the medicine game and share its cultural importance, the Thompson brothers - a group of four siblings known for their skilled lacrosse playing from the Onondaga nation - founded the Thompson Brothers Lacrosse company. They have worked on youth engagement, community outreach, and cultural education since their establishment in 2014.

Various Indigenous men can be seen playing on a global platform, such as Tehoka Nanticoke from Six Nations, who plays for both the Haudenosaunee Nationals and the NLL’s Buffalo Bandits, and Larson Sundown from the Seneca Nation who plays for the New York Riptide. Kahnawake local Stone Jacobs was also drafted to the NLL’s Philadelphia Wings in the 2023 draft, after a successful run with the Haudenosaunee Nationals and University of Vermont’s field lacrosse team.

While lacrosse has gained popularity across the globe, it remains most cherished within the nation that created it. For the Haudenosaunee it isn’t just for fun and entertainment but a way to honour the Creator. It is more than a game; it provides spiritual and medicinal properties, and a way to connect and celebrate culture and traditions.