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
Jaedean Leija
I think the author did an incredible job explaining what lacrosse meant to the Native Americans at the time. the author even mention why the call it ” little brother of war” and went into depth about it instead of us having to research it else where or confusing us. the article was informative but definitely interesting than what I thought it was going to be. He did not jump around going off of different topics he stayed on topic and on point. I wish more people knew that lacrosse means more than just a sport and I wish more people would’ve take the consideration to learn or watch the sport and notice the changes within it over time.
Elliot Avigael
When you began describing the sport, I was reminded of a Hell on Wheels episode when Cullen Bohannon (main character) and his sidekick Elam get kidnapped by Iroquois, and are forced to participate in a deadly lacrosse game in exchange for their freedom. The reminder of those images from that very episode, as well as your introduction, did a great job at immersing me in the article. Certainly, the way you explain how the game was once played by the indigenous peoples sounds a lot more interesting and exciting than the way we play it today!
It fascinates me how seriously ancient peoples took their sports, whether it was lacrosse or gladiator battles. Sports is definitely still a part of American culture today, and I think we can thank the indigenous peoples for giving us the fervor and attitude we express towards sports matches today.
Aaron Onofre
It’s crazy to think that lacrosse was once originally a way of settling disputes or training young men. Lacrosse was way more than just a sport to them it was way of life but now it has become a recreational activity that some play on the occasion. It really shows how we can lose the true culture of things as time goes on.
Angelo Oliva-Noeggerath
The images used in the article were able to establish, for me, a better understanding of what lacrosse was and how it was played. The first image of the article showed them playing Lacrosse and how the game was physically intensive. The third image in the article “play of the Choctaw Ball up” further shows how immense the game could be with players.
Martha Nava
You did a really great job Zeresh! I really like how you threw us into an action scenario right at the beginning. I have heard of lacrosse before, but I never knew what equipment is used, it looks really fun! This topic is very interesting and makes me wonder what other sports or games were played in the past this passionately. The picture “Play of the Choctaw Ball Up “was really cool and really showed just how many people played Lacrosse at a time. After gaining this new knowledge, I wonder if any Native Americans still play lacrosse professionally today?
Travis Green
Very good article, I never knew that lacrosse came from native Americans. It was interesting how they attached a completely different meaning to the game then we give it today. I very much enjoyed the writing style here, I’ve always been more of a visual learner so the fact that I feel like I actually learned something by reading this article is really big. I could visualize everything that was going on here. I also now have an interesting fact in my back pocket now so thanks for that.
Perla Ramirez
I never realized that lacrosse had such a meaningful and impactful meaning as it did. Lacrosse was more than just a sport, it was their religion and culture. I found it very interesting that they buried the hockey stick with the person that died so they can pick up the stick and begin to play in their next life. The article was very informative on the history of lacrosse.
Samuel Enriqure Miguel Vega
I never knew Native American’s created a game such as lacrosse. I was first introduced to Lacrosse in high school. I found it fascinating how the material used for the sticks were made and how the game was used in mediation. The article makes you think more of the origins of other customs and the purposes that they served. This was a great article and it had a lot of great information I did not know about Native Americans.
James Corley
I have to say that this was a very interesting article to read. I never really knew that Native Americans would play lacrosse, let alone be the first ones to ever play it. It is really cool to learn the culture and religious ways and characteristics behind a game like lacrosse. I also never knew that it was so aggressive to the point where Natives would be injured, and even killed. All in all, this was a very interesting and well made article, and was very well worth my time.
Skyla Bonilla
I really enjoyed reading the article and it was nothing like I thought it would be. Before reading the article I had no idea lacrosse was even related to Native American culture so finding out just how important it is to them was really cool. I cant believe that the game has turned into what it is now it makes me feel a little bad for the Natives because the game seemed to be such a huge part of their culture and now it is seen as a European/American sport that people play just for fun. The author did a good job of spreading information on this activity as part of native american culture because I was really able to understand just how important it was to natives on so many levels, like the author said lacrosse to Native Americans was “a sport, a teaching tool, a religion, and a way to connect their cultures with other tribes.”