MATT VOLZ
Sports Editor
Lacrosse is a game that’s known by many different names.
Those who invented it referred to it as “Deyhontsigwa’ehs,” which translates to “they bump hips.”
It is also often called “the creator’s game,” as its earliest players believed that playing could be a form of ceremonial healing, and it would also be a way to thank the creator of the world.
For some traditional groups, these beliefs are still held to this day.
According to the Indigenous Values Initiative, a missionary named Jean de Brébeuf came up with the name lacrosse after witnessing a game in 1636.
It’s never been confirmed, but it is believed that de Brébeuf thought the stick resembled a bishop’s crozier or staff, hence the name “lacrosse.”
The game was created by the Haudenosaunee, a confederation of six Indigenous Nations based in New York.
The name Haudenosaunee means “people of the longhouse,” a reference to the type of homes they traditionally lived in.
Originally, there were only five Nations: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk.
The Tuscarora Nation, originally from what is now North Carolina and Virginia, came to be when many of the Tuscarora people fled north after the Tuscarora War in the early 1700s.
The Six Nations have played the game for centuries, and it became a favorite of those who colonized the area as well.
It gained popularity in parts of Canada, too, and it was referred to by some as Canada’s national game for a period of time in the late 1800s, according to the Indigenous Values Initiative.
As a result, the state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario are some of the biggest hotbeds for lacrosse in the world.
In the National Lacrosse League (NLL), the Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Knighthawks and Toronto Rock are three of the most consistent leaders in fan attendance each season.
Buffalo led the league in attendance in 2024, selling out KeyBank Center for nearly every game in the regular season and playoffs.
Many Indigenous players in the NLL are from these areas, including Tehoka Nanticoke of the Bandits, the three Thompson brothers of the Georgia Swarm, their cousin Ty of the San Diego Seals and several others.
These players and others identify strongly with their Indigenous identity.
During international lacrosse events, such as the World Lacrosse Championships which takes place every four years, Indigenous players will play for the Haudenosaunee Nationals team.
The Haudenosaunee may be more commonly known by another name: the Iroquois.
Iroquois was the English name that was given to the Six Nations. As Indigenous people were forcibly assimilated into American society, they began to lose many aspects of their culture, and the name “Iroquois” is a symbol of that.
In 1983, their international lacrosse team was formed, and they went by the name “Iroquois Nationals,” as most people knew them by the name Iroquois rather than Haudenosaunee.
The team website explains that as the years went on and society progressed, they felt it was time to rebrand themselves with the name they most identify with.
So, in 2022, they began to play under the Haudenosaunee Nationals name.
Lacrosse is one of the few international sports with nationally recognized Indigenous teams. This provides Indigenous players with the opportunity to play for their heritage and honor those who came before them.
They’re honoring those who created what has become an international game, a game that began right here in their own backyard.