Imagine running across a field. You’re tired and out of breath. You’ve been in what seems like an endless game. From sun up to sundown you’re running and fighting to make a goal. To some, it may seem like a game, but not to you. To you, it’s part of your culture, your religion, and, to you, the outcome matters.
Lacrosse was first played by Native American tribes in different regions of North America. There were many different versions of the game, rules, numbers of players, and sizes of the fields that would change depending on the tribe. Names of the game also varied, and included Creators’ Game, Baggataway, and Tewaaraton, which translates to “little brother of war.”1
The name that we know today as lacrosse came about in 1636 when French Missionary Jean de Brebeuf compared the shape of the sticks used by players of the game to a bishop’s crozier, which is ‘‘crosse’’ in French.2
For many Native American tribes, lacrosse wasn’t just a sport, but rather part of their culture and their religion. Since the game was very rough and people could be injured and even die while playing, the Iroquois used lacrosse as a way of training young men to be warriors, and the game was used to settle disputes without actually going to war. This is why lacrosse is nicknamed “little brother of war.”3 Lacrosse also had religious significance among some tribes. It was called the Creator’s Game, and it helped the players put their lives into perspective and teach lessons, some of the most valuable lessons being that everyone has struggles and opponents and the key to survival is friends and allies.
In the culture of the Iroquois, when a man dies, his lacrosse stick is buried with him. They believed that the first thing he would do when he wakes up in the afterlife is to take the stick from his coffin and begin playing that day.4
Native American lacrosse was often played on a stretch of land up to two miles long with sticks between 3-5 feet long made of wood and animal skin. A game could include between one-hundred to one-thousand players at a time. There was no set time to the games. The two teams would agree on a set amount of points and would play from sunrise to sunset until the amount of points was achieved.5 Violence and injuries were very common, and players would often walk away with minor cuts, broken bones, head injuries, and occasionally a death would occur.
Few people can claim to have experienced a Native American game of Lacrosse. Artist George Catlin had a passion for learning about Native Americans, and how they lived. He once said that “If my life is spared, nothing shall stop me short of visiting every nation of Indians on the Continent of North America.” He attended a major Choctaw lacrosse game in 1834. In his time there, he recorded everything that he saw and described how the game was set up from the length of the field and deciding where the goals would be places, to how each team was set up. He described how the night before the match both teams danced and chanted all night. Each team had a medicine man who chanted incantations to strengthen their team and weaken the other. He recorded his experiences through paintings and writings.6
Lacrosse is a sport that has a beautiful history and carries a meaning that many of us will never be able to understand. To Native Americans, lacrosse was a sport, a teaching tool, a religion, and a way to connect their cultures with other tribes.7 Today the history and meaning behind lacrosse has been lost, and to many it has become just another sport played for recreation and friendly competition.
- The Gale Encyclopedia of Fitness, 2012, s.v. ‘”Lacrosse,” by David E. Newton. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2017, s.v., “Lacrosse,” by Justin D. Garcia. ↵
- Thomas Vennum Jr., “American Indian Lacrosse: Little Brother of War,” The Journal of American Folklore 108, No. 427 (1995): 98-99. ↵
- S. L. Price, “Pride of a Nation,” Sports Illustrated 113, no. 2 (2010): 60-71. ↵
- Stanley A. Freed, “Lacrosse yesterday and today,” Cobblestone 15, no.9 (1994): 32. ↵
- Joanna Shaw-Eagle, “Catlin saves vanishing Indians on canvas,” The Washington Times, January 4, 2003. ↵
- John Seabrook, “Gathering of the Tribes,” New Yorker 74, No. 26, (August 1998): 30. ↵
154 comments
Maria Callejas
I remember reading this article for the first time and absolutely LOVING your introduction. I am so glad you were nominated for it! Without a doubt, it gives the reader a sense of personal connection to the text. I felt like I was out there playing. In the same manner, the uniqueness of your topic also makes the article shine. I had no idea what the origins of lacrosse were, and to learn that it originated from Native American tribes, is amazing. Very good job and best of luck!
Carlos Aparicio
I had no idea how such an interesting sport had so much meaning and purpose for its participation. It is true that lacrosse today has no meaning behind it, just like every other sport for competition. I enjoyed reading this article because it signifies the birth of this sport. The author really put detail into the article which I respect and that’s why this story was interesting.
Mark Martinez
An extremely well written and put together article that stayed interesting. People seem to forget that Lacrosse was the invention of the Native American people. It was more then a game, but a way to settle disputes between tribes. Not to mention how brutal it could be. Running across a field of two miles with thousand of players and hitting each full force with wooden sticks. It makes you want to see it for yourself.
Gabriela Serrato
This was a very interesting story that I had no prior knowledge to. I would have never even guessed that Native Americans played lacrosse. It sounds very brutal that so much damage could come to players from a game, such as broken bones and even death. Sports can be dangerous, but I am glad there is a lot of protection today such as padding and helmets that keep players more safe. I do not even know anybody with the type of endurance to play a day long match of lacrosse. It really shows how human activity has changed over the decades.
Cameron Ramirez
I would have never thought that the game of lacrosse was first invented by the Native Americans. Not only was it invented by Native Americans but it was invented by the Iroquois. They were known for the powerfulness in the northeast. Not many people know this but the name Iroquois is given to them by the French there original name is the Haudenosaunee. Anyways, good work on the article it was very informative.
Luke Willis
This article was very interesting. I myself have never played lacrosse before however i have watched a few games when i was in high school. I never wondered about its origins or where it came from and i had no clue that i would have come from a native american game that they used to train their warriors or to settle conflicts without having to go to war. This article makes me wonder what else in our society has been taken from other culture that i have no idea about. Great article.
Troy Leonard
this was a very well put together article that was very well written. I didn’t know that the game lacrosse had so much history behind it. it is a great thing that a game was played instead of killing one another. violence is a chain reaction so if two countries will just keep going at it with each other until one cannot afford and more casualties
Cherice Leach
What an interesting article. I never knew the history of Lacrosse and you did a great job teaching it to me. It’s actually interesting that Lacrosse comes from Native Americans because like you said the name is French. It’s also interesting to me because ,y father used to play Lacrosse and we are from Native American descent. It’s interesting to know that my dad was playing a game of his ancestor’s culture and he didn’t even know it.
Teresa Valdez
The way this article was approach was excellent. It is very well researched, finding a direct source in George Catlin. It is encouraging to see that lacrosse carries such a historical significance that affects our culture today. The weight of the game in its function for the Native Americans connects the players of today with the original peoples of this nation. It is astonishingly horrible to think that some of these games ended in death. Great article!
Rafael Azuaje
A field of play 2 miles long and up to 1000 players. That is so far removed from modern American sports that I struggle to find anything close to that scale. The closest I could find was Polo. A Polo field is 300 yards long. That’s only around twenty percent of a mile. There are only four players per side.
I watched a short documentary about Native American lacrosse players in the present who earn athletic scholarships for college. Most of them do very well on the field. I am not surprised given that it is historically their sport.