Warriors would fast, purge and exercise to make their mind, body and spirit acceptable to the Creator, because in the end the game was being played “for the entertainment of the Creator.” It was a medicine game and in many cases it was used to heal members of the community or solve disputes, such as hunting ground rights.Īs European contact increased, the newcomers were drawn to the game. However, what many Europeans didn’t realize is that the game performed important spiritual, social and political functions. It appeared a rough-and-tumble display of mayhem to Europeans. Sometimes, thousands of players competed across ball fields that stretched for several kilometres, and played for a number of days. Whatever its origins, the name signalled the beginning of the change from a spiritual game to the modern sport.Įuropean observers were fascinated by the game’s seemingly warlike qualities. Although some believe the game was so named because the stick resembled a bishop’s “crosier,” other scholars point out that by this time the French used the expression jouer à la crosse to refer to any game played with a curved stick and ball. The first published reference to the game as “lacrosse” was in reports written in the 1630s by French missionaries living among the Huron-Wendat. The modern name, “ lacrosse,” has French origins. To Indigenous peoples, the game is spiritual and its rituals are a prominent component in creation stories, specifically for the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). Lacrosse, the Creator’s Game, is known to various First Nations in North America by many different names, including baggataway (Algonquian), kabocha-toli (Choctaw) and tewaarathon (Mohawk). Image courtesy of Library and Archives Canada/C-001959. Men from Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk Nation) at Kahnawà:ke who were the Canadian lacrosse champions in 1869. 'Lacrosse: From Creator’s Game to Modern Sport,' by Tabitha Marshall, and Jim Calder, Accessed March 27, 2022, Article published Last Edited May 30, 2017. 'Lacrosse: From Creator’s Game to Modern Sport.' The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Lacrosse: From Creator’s Game to Modern Sport. The Canadian Encyclopedia,, Historica Canada. 'Lacrosse: From Creator’s Game to Modern Sport'.

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