The first written reference to lacrosse, North America’s oldest continuously played team sport, dates to 1636, when a French missionary, Jean de Brébeuf, witnessed a competition in present-day Canada between Indian tribes.1 De Brébeuf, one of Canada’s patron saints, spent 15 years among the Huron; he appreciated their culture and became fluent in their language. Still, he was appalled by the spectacle.2 As a compatriot later complained of the sport, “Almost everything short of murder is allowable.”3
In some ways, that was the point. There was a spiritual component to the game, which might be played to honor the Creator or as a plea to heal the sick; it was also used to train young men and to mediate disputes. The Creeks and Choctaws once played a match to decide rights to a beaver pond.4 The Mohawk version of the game was known as “tewaarathon,” meaning “little brother of war,” which is telling. French priests, for their part, thought the stick resembled the ceremonial crozier carried by Catholic bishops—thus, “la crosse.” Tribes along the east coast, and as far south as northern Mexico, played slightly different styles; in one form, the competitors used two sticks. The balls were made of wood or stuffed leather. The goals could be miles apart, and dozens or hundreds of young men might play for days.
Many non-native observers disapproved of such aggressive frivolity; missionaries in particular didn’t like the game’s non-Christian religious element. They didn’t take it seriously enough to write detailed descriptions of the play, but clearly, the spectacle was enthralling, a fact that Indians could use to their advantage. In June 1763, for example, during Pontiac’s war against the British, several hundred Chippewas and Sauks staged a version of lacrosse known as baggataway outside Fort Michilmackinac, near present-day Mackinaw City, Michigan. The British soldiers, including the commander (who had a big bet on the Chippewas), became so interested that when a player pushed a ball through the door of the fort, the soldiers were unprepared for the teams that rushed through, picked up weapons that their women had stashed, and killed half the garrison.5
European settlers began playing lacrosse in the early 1800s, and a group of Canadians organized the first club in 1844. This stick, made of hickory with a calfskin net, hails from that era. Crafted by a Cayuga artisan, it is particularly beautiful, with geometric carving along its length; the top of the webbing emerges from the nose of a carved dog head. At the butt, a human hand grasps a ball; just below, there are two clasped hands.6
For many years lacrosse was a regional sport in the United States, prominent mostly in the mid-Atlantic. It also continued to play an important role in the cultural life of a number of tribes. Today it has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports. In 2015 the University of Denver won the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s title, the first championship for a school west of the Mississippi. And in a reminder of the sport’s roots, the trophy given to the year’s best collegiate player features an Indian player with stick held high, poised for action.