“They are remarkable fair in their play.”
Joseph Bloomfield, 1776

“This game requires agility accompanied by skill.”
Paolo Andreani, 1790

The historical accounts of Oneida lacrosse still hold true today. Played world-wide the sport of lacrosse is derived from a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) game of great antiquity. Players had to possess grand skill for catching, carrying, and passing a ball using only the basketlike head of the lacrosse stick. The game requires quickness, stamina, and strength.

And that is exactly what the Youth Lacrosse Program, held in the Oneida Nation’s recreation center gym Thursday nights, is focused on. The program is open to the public ages 12 to 14. Players must bring their own equipment.

Oneidas and other Haudenosaunee loved the game passionately as entertainment and physical conditioning but lacrosse was also a religious celebration. The Oneida Creation Story, for example, describes a Spirit World which preceded our earth and hangs above it. The residents of that sky land lack sickness and death. They know only happiness -- possibly because they enjoy lacrosse.

The great oral tradition which recounts the beginning of the Iroquois Confederacy specifies that the young warriors staged a lacrosse game for Hayewat-ha, one of the League founders, to console him for the loss of his children.

Lacrosse is pleasing to the Creator, but it is also a rite sacred to the Thunders, the seven honored elders (Grandfathers) who move across the sky from west to east cleansing the earth with winds and rains. In some Iroquois communities, lacrosse is prescribed (through a dream or by a fortuneteller) as a curing ritual.

While the focus here is the up-and-coming players, attention will soon focus on the Bowhunter Cup. Held on Sunday, Oct. 16, the event features the Iroquois Nationals and the U.S. Men's National Indoor Lacrosse Team at the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino.

The cup also marks the second time the Oneida Nation has hosted a premier lacrosse event on its homelands. In February, the Event Center at Turning Stone was the site of the National Lacrosse League All-Star Game.