Native American Lacrosse History

There is ancient sport played by the Native Americans centuries ago in North America. This is where, to this day, the native traditional sport still lives on as... lacrosse. Originally lacrosse was created by the Native Americans hundreds of years ago, as far back as the 12th century. Studies about the ancient Native Americans show that almost all the tribes, residing in present day Canada and U.S., had a type of stickball or lacrosse. The type of lacrosse more similar to what we play today originated in the Northeast tribes. The most important parts of the Native American game lacrosse is; the sport’s name, the Iroquois lacrosse, lacrosse rituals, equipment, and where lacrosse is today. For starters, the word lacrosse was not the native …show more content…
Today’s ball is a hard rubber that bounces on pavement and hard surfaces, but dies in grass. The ancient balls that were used by the native americans were originally the same as the sticks, being made from wood. But the ball even back then evolved and was later made with deer skin stuffed with fur. The traditional ball and stick were also the only pieces of equipment the Native Americans used. In ancient lacrosse there was no protective helmet, shoulder pads, elbow pads, or even most importantly no cup!
Along with what was as necessary for why the played lacrosse, they also had pregame rituals that were taken very seriously. There were strict taboos on what players were allowed to eat before the game. Many players would also go to the village’s medicine man who performed rituals to prepare players as well as their sticks for the game the following day. As noted before, the players often put war paint on their bodies before games as well as make bets on outcome. Some of these games betted upon would end up with many different cases but most popular was the winning or losing of land by a …show more content…
High schools like Holy Ghost Prep who has had a lacrosse program since the ‘90s or at the college level lacrosse, programs are popping up everywhere. Such as at Duquesne who just put in a club lacrosse team this year. Today lacrosse now has its own professional league known as the MLL (Major League Lacrosse) a summer outdoor lacrosse league, or NLL (National Lacrosse League) a winter indoor lacrosse league in Canada and United States.
In conclusion, lacrosse has built up its popularity for centuries after its founders the Native Americans, particularly the Iroquois. The culture of lacrosse still lives with the Iroquois who practice the original beliefs of entertaining their creator. Playing lacrosse to them is not for fame or fortune, but a way of practicing their ancient religion. This is a belief that should be carried out in every sport, you should play as hard as you can and as best you can because whenever you play your playing for the