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American Indian Lacrosse
Lacrosse is centered from the heart of the tribes that played and participated in the game; but in that same vein, if it were not for a handful of American University teams keeping the spark alive, i.e., Cornell, Georgetown, John Hopkins, Syracuse, during the great depression era 1930s, the game may have gone the way of the buffalo and disappeared.
The game of Lacrosse, as well as the advancement of traditional American Indian way of life may not have survived in America. But how the Iroquois feel about Lacrosse today, its importance as legend is reflected upon by Onondaga faith keeper Oren Lyons: "When you talk about the lifeblood of the six nations...the game is ingrained in our culture, and our systems, and our lives...there are two times of the year that stir the blood...In the fall for the hunt, and now (spring) for the Lacrosse."
The first known written history of Lacrosse emerges in the text of French missionary Father Francois Le Mercier in 1637. He practiced his "medicine" in the Indian village of Ihonatiria (Huronia), which was coined as "New France". His chronicle of Indian life and Lacrosse served as a vessel to forge the way for future French missionaries to convert and christianize the "savages" and "hethons".
Since the game of Lacrosse was powerful medicine among the many of the tribes, in its own right, Le Mercier was troubled by the game because it bordered on tribal rite, incantation, and various assortments of root medicines, and such. Le Mercier was battling mentally to understand the Indian customs and way of life. Lacrosse clearly was an obstacle in the successful conversion, which was the focal point of Le Mercier's mission. He dismissed it as mere "superstition".
Although Lacrosse's' origins and popularity are predominantly a north east and southeastern tribal tradition, there were nations westward, beyond the Mississippi, that played the game, as documented by Le Mercier. The "eastern" Dakota Sioux inhabited lands, now inhabited by the Ojibwa in the northern Great Lakes region, played the game. The Oklahoma Traverse des Sioux, Nebraska Santee Sioux, Kansas Potawatomi, Oklahoma Creek, and Mississippi Choctaw nations all played the game, among others.
The problem that arises is that Lacrosse was a term coined...