Agora: Red Deer Polytechnic Undergraduate Journal
Volume 16:1 2025 Agora Conference Proceedings

The Resurgence of the Creator’s Game
and Its Healing Power
Tyler Rastovski
On June 22nd, 2022, the Iroquois Nationals changed
their name to the Haudenosaunee Nationals as a way of
embracing their past.1 In doing so, they restored a connection
back to the origins of the people of the longhouse, which is what
Haudenosaunee means. This event was very impactful, as their
previous name was of French origin, and did not reflect the
desired Haudenosaunee autonomy.2 Moves for more autonomy
have been shown by the Haudenosaunee community in recent
years, with some notable ones being through their lacrosse team.
Considering the waves that lacrosse has been making for
Haudenosaunee sovereignty, it begs the question of how exactly
the game of lacrosse connects to the culture and way of life of
the Haudenosaunee people, and how its re-emergence in the 20th
and 21st centuries helped bring attention to Indigenous
sovereignty. This essay explores how the formation of the
Haudenosaunee Nationals, the national lacrosse team for
1
2

(AP) “Why We Changed Our Name,” haudenosauneenationals.com. Retrieved 30 June 2022.

Anna Taylor, “Haudenosaunee Nationals’ Olympic Inclusion Receives Presidential
Endorsement,” NLL, December 8, 2023. https://www.nll.com/news/haudenosaunee-nationalsolympic-inclusion-receives-presidential-endorsement/.

149

Indigenous people, can best express the re-emergence of
lacrosse in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Additionally,
lacrosse

itself

is

a

game

that

is

embedded

within

Haudenosaunee’s culture, and its re-emergence allows for the
resurrection of a game that embodies the culture of Indigenous
ancestors, allowing for a spiritual connection among Indigenous
people and a rekindling of the Haudenosaunee way of life within
Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, ultimately healing
them.
The Haudenosaunee nation was not a single Indigenous
group, but rather a confederacy of different nations, and was
therefore given the title of the people of the Longhouse. The
name was rather suitable considering that there were six, but
initially five, nations within the confederacy, and a longhouse,
as used back then, typically contained several different families.
The six nations within the confederacy were the Seneca, the
Cayuga, the Oneida, the Onondaga, and the Mohawk, with the
Tescura joining the confederacy later on.3 The confederacy was
primarily based upon the Great Law of Peace, which was “both
a political constitution and a basis for Haudenosaunee society”4
that the confederacy was united under and would come to play a

3

Peter G Ramsden, "Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)." <em>The Canadian Encyclopedia</em>.
Historica Canada. Article published December 14, 2006; Last Edited May 18, 2021.
4
Ramsden, “Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)."

150

massive part in shaping Haudenosaunee society. Lacrosse was
also important to the Haudenosaunee culture, and they would go
to great lengths to participate. Considering its deep roots within
Haudenosaunee culture, it is also considered a healing game. Not
to mention that several aspects of the Haudenosaunee's life
revolve around the game, and its usage essentially embodies the
Haudenosaunee culture.
The name lacrosse is not of Haudenosaunee origin but
instead of French origin.5 The Haudenosaunee name for the
game differs within each nation. For example, the Onodogans
call the game Dehontsigwaehs, meaning they bump hips,6 while
in the Ojibwe language, it was called baaga`adowe, also
meaning bump hips.7 Players would play with hand-carved
sticks made from wood, and the game's objective was to get a
leather ball between the goalposts. The game consisted of fields
that could be as long as one hundred and ten yards, with teams
comprising hundreds to thousands of players per side and games
that would last for days.8
Indeed, lacrosse is considered a medicine, a cure for
disputes between nations within and outside the Confederacy,
5
Philip P. Arnold and Kent Lyons, “The Creator’s Game at Onondaga.” Indigenous Values
Initiative, June 9, 2017. https://indigenousvalues.org/creators-game-onondaga/.
6
Philip P. Arnold and Kent Lyons, “The Creator’s Game at Onondaga.”
7
Guy T. Gambil, Charles Lippert and Weshki-Ayaad,“Freelang Ojibwe-English Dictionary,”
FREELANG, November 30, 2003. https://www.freelang.net/dictionary/ojibwe.php.
8
National Museum of the American Indian, “Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators,” p.11

151

and a way to dispel animosity towards one another.9 The game
was meant to bring people together, which was also a common
theme amongst the culture of the Haudenosaunee, who valued
togetherness. In some regards, the game was considered a way
of life, as “when baby boys are born in Onondaga, a traditional
wooden lacrosse stick is gently placed in the cradle. They learn
to love the game, to cherish it, and to respect it. Then, one day,
they’re buried with it — because more games are to be played
with their ancestors and the Creator.”10 Furthermore, the game
of lacrosse and the traditions that followed it were meant to be
taken seriously. Respect for one's opponent was expected. Red
Jacket, a speaker on numerous Senecan councils, advocated for
the Seneca to go to war against the Mohawks after a game of
lacrosse became violent between the two groups.11 Such an
action would be understandable, considering that the game of
lacrosse is meant to be in patronage to the will of the Creator.
The Oneida even have a specific creation story about
valuing everyone despite their strengths and weaknesses, and the
story uses lacrosse to teach this premise. The story has four-

9

Kyle Edwards, “Sport,” Indigenous People’s Atlas of Canada, June 8, 2018,
https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/sport/.
10
Kyle Edwards, “Sport,” Indigenous People’s Atlas of Canada, June 8, 2018,
https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/sport/.
11
Thomas S. Abler, “SHAKÓYE:WA:THAˀ (Sagoyewatha, Otetiani, Red Jacket),” in
Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–,
accessed March 15, 2024, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/shakoye_wa_tha_6E.html.

152

legged animals competing against winged birds. When the
Squirrel and the Mouse wanted to join in, the four-legged
animals rejected them, so they appealed to the Eagle of the
wingbird team. The Eagle wondered how to incorporate the
mouse and the squirrel, and eventually, another bird on the team
decided to create wings for the mouse from the leather of a water
drum. As a result, the mouse became a bat. As for the squirrel,
another bird suggested stretching the squirrel's skin to essentially
create a flying squirrel.12 When it was time for the teams to face
off, “The flying squirrel caught the ball and passed it to Hawk,
who kept it in the air for some time. But then, as the ball nearly
hit the ground, Eagle saved it and, through elaborate maneuvers,
kept possession of it, saving it from the fastest four-legged
animal – Deer. Faking a pass to Squirrel, Eagle passed it to Bat,
who scored the winning goal for the birds.”13As seen from this
tale, the creation story of lacrosse is embedded within the
Haudenosaunee culture. It involves animals of different species
coming together for a common purpose, which parallels the
union of the nations of the Confederacy through the Great Law
of Peace. The story also “emphasizes how Indigenous people
should treat other walks of life, and how they should respect

12

Oneida Indian Nation, “A Lacrosse Legend.” Oneida Indian Nation -, May 17, 2023.
https://www.oneidaindiannation.com/a-lacrosse-legend/.
13
Oneida Indian Nation, “A Lacrosse Legend.”

153

others regardless of their size or skill set.”14 The lacrosse legend
exemplifies

how

deeply

rooted

lacrosse

was

in

the

Haudenosaunee culture. However, in the early twentieth century,
attempts would be made to abolish Haudenosaunee lacrosse
games, to which the Haudenosaunee rebelled by continuing to
play.
From 1916 through 1924, the Lord’s Day Alliance was
an organization whose goal was to increase church attendance
on Sunday by lobbying to remove other distractions on the day
of the Sabbath.15 The Lord’s Day Alliance continuously
attempted to abolish Sunday Haudenosaunee lacrosse games,
citing that sports should not be practiced on the day of the
Sabbath. In reality, the Haudenosaunee were likely targeted
because they were Indigenous and not of the Anglophone
majority population, and not to mention, the federal government
had already set several policies that aimed to eradicate
Indigenous identity. When faced with this adversity, the
Haudenosaunee stood their ground and continued playing the
creator's game in defiance of both the Lord’s Day Alliance and
the Federal Government.16 By defying the Lord’s Day Alliance,
14
15

Kyle Edwards, “Sport,”

Sharon P. Meen, "Lord's Day Alliance of Canada." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica
Canada. Article published February 07, 2006; Last Edited December 16, 2013.
16
Allan Downey,“Playing the Creator’s Game on God’s Day: The Controversy of Sunday
Lacrosse Games in Haudenosaunee Communities, 1916-24.” Journal of Canadian Studies
2015. 49 (3): 114 doi:10.3138/jcs.49.3.111.

154

the Haudenosaunee exposed themselves to a unique set of
consequences, and by continuing to participate in lacrosse, the
Haudenosaunee risked their self-determination, which colonial
authorities could further lessen.17
Even though they knew of the consequences of their act
of defiance, the Haudenosaunee continued to play the Creator’s
game as the games themselves accumulated fairly strong
attendance, likely due to the date the games were played on, as
“for promoters, Sundays became an opportune time to hold
sporting events as working-class audiences had a work-free day,
ensuring the best possible attendance outcome.”18 Not to
mention that “for Haudenosaunee communities, the Sunday
lacrosse games were an extension of an already familiar source
of athletic showmanship. By the turn of the twentieth century,
Haudenosaunee athletes and lacrosse teams were well-versed in
gaining profits from demonstrating their athleticism for nonIndigenous audiences.”19Additionally, the games provided for
revenue raised were put tthe fight of Haudenosaunee
sovereignty.20

The actions taken by the Haudenosaunee to

continue playing lacrosse from 1916 to 1924 demonstrated their
fierce loyalty to their cultural traditions and a willingness to
17
18
19
20

Allan Downey,“Playing the Creator’s Game on God’s Day:,” p.114
Allan Downey,“Playing the Creator’s Game on God’s Day” p.115
Allan Downey,“Playing the Creator’s Game on God’s Day”.” p.116
Allan Downey,“Playing the Creator’s Game on God’s Day.” p.121

155

continue to display their autonomy through practicing their
culture.
On July 23rd, 1923, Deskaheh, the Chief of the Cayugan
people, travelled by ship to Geneva, Switzerland, to present the
issues Indigenous communities faced to the League of Nations.
His goal was for the League of Nations to assist in recognizing
Haudenosaunee sovereignty, or, at the very least, place sanctions
on Canada so that the Canadian government would consider the
sovereignty of Indigenous groups.21 Throughout his time in
Switzerland, he would lecture different audiences in different
cities about the promises made between Europeans and
Indigenous peoples through the use of the two-pact wampum
belt.22 While his speeches were receptive to the Swiss people,
they did little to change the British and Canadians' perception of
Indigenous sovereignty.23 In fact, about one year later, the
RCMP would dissolve the government of the Six Nations with
another that was more in line with the Indian Act.24 This action
taken by the RCMP under the Canadian Government would be
one of many actions taken by the Canadian government to
slowly eliminate Indigenous culture.
21

Laurence Hauptman (2008), “Seven Generations of Iroquois Leadership: The Six Nations
Since 1800” Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-3165-1. p.135
22
Robert G Koch, “Chief Deskaheh.” crookedlakereview, 1992.
https://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/34_66/54sept1992/54koch.html.
23
Hauptman, “Seven Generations of Iroquois Leadership.” p.137-138
24
Hauptman, “Seven Generations of Iroquois Leadership.” p.140

156

Throughout the twentieth century, the Canadian
government continuously attacked Indigenous culture and
sovereignty, making it hard for any sense of cultural identity to
remain. In 1951, new amendments towards Indigenous Child
Jurisdiction allowed for the Sixties Scoop to occur.25 In 1969,
the Canadian Government proposed the white paper to abolish
all Indigenous sovereignty.26 However, throughout all of these
hardships, the game of lacrosse remained, albeit mainly unseen
to the public eye. Despite being popular in the early 1900s, its
spotlight was stolen by other sports, such as hockey, especially
after the last Canadian league folded during the Great
Depression.27 However, the fortunes of the lacrosse game would
change in the following two decades as the resurrection of
lacrosse would help re-establish the game as a source of healing
for more than just the Haudenosaunee. Additionally, the
resurgence of lacrosse would create a medium of sorts by which
the Haudenosaunee traditions could be passed down to future
generations.
25

James Niigaanwewidam Sinclair and Sharon Dainard, "Sixties Scoop." The Canadian
Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published June 21, 2016; Last Edited January 10,
2024.
26
Nathan Legrae, and Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, "The White Paper, 1969." The
Canadian Encyclopedia Historica Canada. Article published September 11, 2015; Last Edited
June 10, 2020
27
Donald M Fisher,"“Splendid but Undesirable Isolation:” Recasting Canada’s National Game
as Box Lacrosse, 1931-1932", Sport History Review 36, 2 (2005): 115-129
https://web.archive.org/web/20171017042337/https://www.humankinetics.com/acucustom/site
name/Documents/DocumentItem/5223.pdf

157

In 1983, the Haudenosaunee people could participate in
the creator's game at the highest level, doing so with the
formation of the Iroquois, now known as the Haudenosaunee,
Nationals. The team's formation came after it was confirmed that
they would be sanctioned by the Grand Council of the
Haudenosaunee.28 Now, a game “played primarily by affluent
white men - and women - who take it from prep school to college
to amateur club”29 would now be played by the descendants of
its creators once again, this time at an international level. Oren
Lyon, a former Syracuse Goaltender and an Indigenous rights
activist, helped pioneer the creation of the Haudenosaunee
Nations. The team's formation happened around ten years after
the Six Nations lacrosse League was formed, with Oren Lyons
and a few colleagues picking the team from the stars of that
league.30The formation of the Haudenosaunee Nationals would
be a massive step toward recognizing Indigenous sovereignty.
Still, the team would face challenges in their first three years
from a familiar thorn in their sides.
In 1985, the Haudenosaunee Nationals toured England,
playing five different club teams, winning against three, and

28

Haudenosaunee Nationals, “Our History.” Haudenosaunee Nationals. Accessed April 11,
2024. https://haudenosauneenationals.com/pages/our-history.
29
Robert Lipsyte, “Lacrosse: All-American Game.” The New York Times, June 15, 1986.
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/15/magazine/lacrosse-all-american-game.html.
30
Robert Lipsyte, “Lacrosse: All-American Game.”

158

even tying against the English National team. Throughout 1986,
the men's team was slated to compete against the national teams
of Australia and England. The Women’s Haudenosaunee
Nationals would compete against teams from Britain, Australia,
Quebec, Ontario, and the United States. The Men’s team was
supposed to compete in an international tournament that same
year, but had been barred by the host nation, Canada.31 The
reason for the dismissal was “the cost of rearranging logistics
and printing new tickets that would work the Iroquois into the
tournament.”32 And so the Haudenosaunee would have to wait
till 1990 to participate in their first official international lacrosse
tournament, in which they would finish fifth out of five teams
that participated.33 And thus, the Haudenosaunee could finally
join in their game of healing on the international stage. However,
the medicine game would help heal groups beyond the
Haudenosaunee, such as the people in the Inuit village of
Kugluktuk.
The Inuit village of Kugluktuk has a complicated history.
The arctic village has experienced Influenza epidemics and
ethnic feuds while also being used as a trading post by the

31
32
33

Robert Lipsyte, “Lacrosse: All-American Game.”
Robert Lipsyte, “Lacrosse: All-American Game.”

Matt Kinnear,‘Our Gift to the World’: Haudenosaunee Optimistic, Hopeful for Olympic
Inclusion.” Inside Lacrosse, October 13, 2023. https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/our-giftto-the-world-haudenosaunee-optimistic-hopeful-for-olympic-inclusion/62173.

159

Hudson Bay Company.34 And yet, it also had the unfortunate
honour of having one of the highest suicide rates among teens in
North America.35 The issues surrounding the students within
Kugluktuk came from “low Inuit self-esteem rooted in a history
of colonialism, paternalism and historical events.”36 But that was
all to change in 2001 when newly arrived teacher Russ Sheppard
introduced a lacrosse program to combat the students'
challenges. 37 Sheppard hoped to combat these issues “in hopes
that it might give his students a sense of belonging and
purpose.”38 The program was a success for the students, as
attendance at the school increased, and students felt they had a
place that made them feel like they belonged. The medicinal
game of lacrosse provided healing to teenagers in a struggling
community, paralleling the healing powers that the Creator’s
game had given to the Haudenosaunee. Furthermore, the game
of lacrosse branched out, and as a result, the effects of playing

34
Hamlet of Kugluktuk, “History.” Welcome to Hamlet of Kugluktuk - History. Accessed April
11, 2024. https://kugluktuk.ca/p/history.
35
Emily Nichol, “The Grizzlies: The Incredible True Story of a Community Transformed.”
NITV, March 29, 2021. https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/the-grizzlies-the-incredible-truestory-of-a-community-transformed/akq66prli.
36
Simon Houpt, “Mistakes and Reconciliation: The Grueling Path to Making the Grizzlies, a
Crowd-Pleasing Sports Flick Set in Nunavut.” The Globe and Mail, April 13, 2019.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-mistakes-and-reconciliation-the-gruelingpath-to-making-the-grizzlies/.
37
Houpt, “Mistakes and Reconciliation.”
38
Jason Prno et al. “Community Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Context of Other
Exposure-Sensitivities in Kugluktuk, Nunavut.” Polar Research 30 (1): 1–N.PAG. 2011 p.13
doi:10.3402/polar.v30i0.7363.

160

the game of lacrosse became better known worldwide, and
would even appear on a passport that a previous Cayugan chief
had helped form.
Deskaheh would be the first person to use the
Haudenosaunee passport to travel to Geneva in the hopes that he
would be able to bring attention to the suffering of the
Haudenosaunee, and for that matter, all Indigenous peoples.
While his effort was unsuccessful, he helped set the framework
for a key identifier of Haudenosaunee sovereignty, the
Haudenosaunee passport.39 The Haudenosaunee passport was
officially created in 1977 and has been frequently used since,
with the Haudenosaunee using their passports whenever they
travelled for international tournaments. The passports have been
linked to the Haudenosaunee nationals as they are used for
travelling to tournaments, with both the passports and the game
of lacrosse assisting in the fight for the recognition of Indigenous
sovereignty by representing Indigenous culture internationally,
and giving Indigenous people a platform for expressing their
issues. It has also allowed other international lacrosse teams to
recognize the Haudenosaunee as an autonomous nation.
To provide an example of the struggles of the
Haudenosaunee peoples, the fictional story Borders by Thomas
King sees a Blackfoot mother and son attempting to cross the
39

Hauptman, “Seven Generations of Iroquois Leadership.” p.137-138

161

border to visit their daughter and sister who had moved to Salt
Lake City. The Mother continually identifies as being Blackfoot
at both the entrance to the Canadian and American border, with
one of the border security guards stating, “I'd be proud of being
Blackfoot if I were Blackfoot. But you have to be American or
Canadian.”40 This Blackfoot family's trials and tribulations
parallel the struggles that the Haudenosaunee occasionally face
when travelling with their Haudenosaunee passports. One
example was a group of Haudenosaunee men returning home
from Bolivia on a Haudenosaunee passport. When they got to
the last checkpoint of their trip, they were informed that they
would be refused entry. As a result, the group ended up being
stuck in El Salvador for about a month until finally getting
clearance to enter the States and, subsequently, Canada.41
A few months later, the Haudenosaunee Nationals were
preparing for the 2010 lacrosse tournament; however, it was
revealed that because of their Haudenosaunee passports, they
could not travel. Instead of travelling on either American or
Canadian passports, “the Nationals drew widespread media
attention as they remained in New York, refusing to travel on

40

Thomas King,“Borders.” In One Good Story, That One: Stories, 131–48. University of
Minnesota Press, 1993. P.138-139 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctt4cgg9w.12.
41
Greg Horn,“Canada Prevents Mohawks from Returning Home on Haudenosaunee
Passports.” Kahnawakenews, 2010. https://kahnawakenews.com/canada-prevents-mohawksfrom-returning-home-on-haudenosaunee-passports-p798.htm.

162

anything but the documentation of their own tribal nation.”42
The team had even been offered emergency United States
passports, but they had rejected them, citing that they would
rather miss the tournament than travel under another nation, as
they would be unable to represent their identity.43 Eventually, the
United States granted the team one-time waivers to re-enter the
US after the tournament. However, the United Kingdom still
refused to grant the team work visas. Consequently, the team
could not play and was demoted from the top division.44 The
National team faced the same problem that the Haudenosaunee
men who travelled to Bolivia faced; however, this time, the issue
garnered much more attention, bringing up the issue of travelling
on Indigenous-created passports. It also brought up the much
more critical issue of how Indigenous Canadians and Americans
should be recognized internationally. The Haudenosaunee men,
the Haudenosaunee Nationals, and the mother in Borders all
chose to address the issue of being forced to identify as either
Canadian or American instead of being able to identify as their
sovereign group. As a result of this dilemma, more countries
42

Art Coulson, “How Lacrosse Came to the Haudenosaunee.” Native Peoples Magazine 27,
no. 4 (July 2014): 90.
43
Evan MacAskill,“Iroquois Lacrosse Team Caught in a Cleft Stick over Passports.” The
Guardian, July 13, 2010. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/13/iroquois-lacrossepassport-world-cup.
44
Tabitha De Bruin, "The Iroquois Nationals and the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships."
The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published August 15, 2013; Last
Edited December 16, 2013.

163

would begin to honour Haudenosaunee passports for future
lacrosse events, with Israel being the first to do so for the 2018
world championships,45 followed by Ireland, which did so for
the under-21 world lacrosse championship.46
During the 2018 World Lacrosse Championships, the
Haudenosaunee Nationals finished third in the overall standings.
Since the 2018 World Lacrosse Championships were to serve as
the qualifications for the World Games, the Haudenosaunee
Nationals should have been eligible for the tournament.
However, before the games, the International World Games
Association (IGWA) “cited concerns that the Haudenosaunee
Nationals do not represent a sovereign nation as justification for
excluding them from the World Games in Birmingham,
Alabama.”47 The criteria that the, International World’s Game
Association, (IGWA) cited states that for a team to be considered
a “country,” they must be an “independent State recognized by

45

Aidan Fishman, “Iroquois Lacrosse Team Defies BDS to Reach Israel,” B’nai Brith Canada,
May 18, 2021, https://www.bnaibrith.ca/iroquois_lacrosse_team_defies_bds_to_reach_israel/.
46
Sean Kirst, “Between Haudenosaunee and Ireland, Lacrosse Builds Deep Bond of Respect.”
Buffalo News, August 13, 2022. https://buffalonews.com/news/between-haudenosaunee-andireland-lacrosse-builds-deep-bond-of-respect/article_fa24de98-1a56-11ed-baee63f1b5926f66.html.
47
Mallory Brown,“Challenges Ahead: Recognition and Sovereignty Issues Face by the
Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Team on Their Path to the 2028 Olympics.” Challenges
Ahead: Recognition and Sovereignty Issues Face by the Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse
Team on Their Path To the 2028 Olympics | Villanova University, February 5, 2024.
https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/academics/sportslaw/commentary/mslj_blog/2024/C
hallengesAheadRecognitonandSovereigntyIssuesFacebytheHaudenosauneeNationalsLacrosseT
eamonTheirPathTothe2028Olympics.html.

164

the international community.”48 Regardless of the true intentions
of the IGWA, the exclusion of the Haudenosaunee Nationals was
“reflective of the many hurdles the Haudenosaunee have
continually faced to have their sovereignty recognized.”49 The
Haudenosaunee Nationals were once again barred from
competing in the Creator’s game, a cornerstone of their culture.
The action of the IGWA showed a lack of recognition for the
Haudenosaunee as the independent nation they were.
However, one of the competitors would rise to recognize
the Haudenosaunee as an independent nation and understand the
importance of the lacrosse game to the Haudenosaunee, with that
national team being Ireland. The Irish national team had
recognized the importance of lacrosse to the Haudenosaunee
team and felt that it would be wrong for the ancestors of the
game’s creators not to be there.50 Perhaps the action was done
out of respect for the Haudenosaunee culture or for the
assistance that the Haudenosaunee people provided the Irish
throughout the Irish potato famine.51 Either way, it served as
48

Samantha Pope,“More than Just a Game: Iroquois Nationals Fight for Inclusion in the 2022
World Games.” Canadian Geographic, August 11, 2020.
https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/more-than-just-a-game-iroquois-nationals-fight-forinclusion-in-the-2022-world-games/.
49
Samantha Pope,“More than Just a Game.”
50
Bo Hamby, “Ireland Lacrosse Bows out of 2022 World Games so Iroquois Nationals Can
Play.” NPR, October 1, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/10/01/917033527/ireland-lacrossebows-out-of-2022-world-games-so-iroquois-nationals-can-play.
51
Talia Ricci,“Toronto Researchers Help Uncover Ontario First Nations’ Donations to Irish
Famine Relief Fund | CBC News.” CBCnews, March 17, 2024.

165

another chapter in the symbiotic relationship between the Irish
and the Haudenosaunee peoples.52
Nonetheless, the action taken by the Irish national
lacrosse team demonstrates the respect that some of the other
national teams have towards the Haudenosaunee Nationals, with
others also displaying that respect. One example of this is the
president of the United States, Joe Biden, who backed the bid
for the Haudenosaunee Nationals to compete at the 2028
Olympic games in the event of lacrosse.53 The Irish National
team's actions show a change in the perception of what defines
a nation and the recognition of how Indigenous people are
independent from the countries where their land resides.
Additionally, it shows how the Haudenosaunee Nationals has
helped others recognize the sovereignty and culture of
Indigenous peoples. This serves as an example of how the team
as a whole has been working towards sovereignty. Still, the
Haudenosaunee Nationals' individual players have also worked

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-first-nations-irish-faminedonations-1.7143918.
52

Matt Kinnear, ‘Our Gift to the World’: Haudenosaunee Optimistic, Hopeful for Olympic
Inclusion.” Inside Lacrosse, October 13, 2023. https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/afterireland-s-gesture-for-the-iroquois-the-nations-are-together-as-one-/5689
53
Jenna Kunze, “The Haudenosaunee National Lacrosse Teams Gain Support from Biden for
2028 Olympics.” Native News Online, December 19, 2023. https://nativenewsonline.net/artsentertainment/the-haudenosaunee-national-lacrosse-teams-gain-support-from-biden-for-2028olympics#:~:text=At%20the%20White%20House%20Tribal,of%20support%20for%20tribal%
20sovereignty.

166

towards recognizing sovereignty and the issues surrounding
Indigenous communities.
The way that the Haudenosaunee Nationals have helped
with the recognition of the Haudenosaunee sovereignty, as well
as the recognition of other Indigenous nations' sovereignty, is
by using their platform as lacrosse players to promote causes that
they care about. One of the more prominent examples is players
Lyle Thompson and Randy Staats, who use their platforms as
professional lacrosse players to educate others on the history and
adverse effects of residential schools and how they still plague
Indigenous communities.54 They began doing this after a mass
grave was discovered just outside of the Kamloops residential
school.55 The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), also chipped in,
commissioning a helmet strap to be made that would
demonstrate the Every Child Matters movement. They
commissioned Steven Saddler of Laxstraps, who had previously
made straps campaigning to include the Haudenosaunee
nationals at the 2022 World Games.56 Other organizations that
existed before the Kamploop's discovery focused on bringing
54

Ty Cunnington, “Every Child Matters: PLL Players Educate and Advocate for Victims of
Residential Schools.” Lacrosse Playground, August 11, 2021.
https://www.lacrosseplayground.com/every-child-matters-pll-players-educate-and-advocatefor-victims-of-residential-schools/.
55
Ty Cunnington,“Every Child Matters: PLL Players Educate and Advocate for Victims of
Residential Schools.”
56
Ty Cunnington,“Every Child Matters: PLL Players Educate and Advocate for Victims of
Residential Schools.”

167

recognition to Indigenous communities' issues, with one
example being Turtle Island Lacrosse. Lacrosse players Brandon
Bomberry and Randy Staats founded Turtle Island Lacrosse to
spread “their culture as Haudenosaunee people and the game
throughout Turtle Island and beyond.”57
In conclusion, the game of lacrosse holds a special place
in Haudenosaunee culture as a representation of the
Haudenosaunee people. The game itself is even embedded
within Haudenosaunee culture through stories and traditions.
Consequently, the healing power of the game has resulted in
more than just the Haudenosaunee being healed by playing the
game; it has become a symbol that allows the Haudenosaunee to
distinguish themselves as a sovereign nation. The formation of
the Haudenosaunee Nationals has allowed them to become a
national team that can represent themselves on the international
stage, and has allowed them to address the challenges that the
Haudenosaunee people have faced. Furthermore, the game has
allowed other nations to recognize the Haudenosaunee's
autonomy and the culture within their nation. Additionally the
promotion of lacrosse has resulted in others taking the medicine
game and using it to heal communities that have been plagued
by various issues and has given lacrosse players a platform to
57

Turtle Island Lacrosse, “Turtle Island Lacrosse Collection.” Epoch Lacrosse, March 15,
2021. https://www.epochlacrosse.com/turtle-island-lacrosse-collection/.

168

promote issues that are close to their own heart. Thus, the
lacrosse game has allowed for the promotion and recognition of
Haudenosaunee culture and sovereignty

169

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