The Native American History of Lacrosse

Photos by David Joles/Zuma Press (youth team); courtesy of Twin Cities Native Lacrosse (lacrosse stickes); Amon Carter Museum of American Art (painting)

As the ball is tossed in the air, 18 players raise their wooden sticks in anticipation. They cheer as a player grabs the ball with a hoop-shaped stick, and the game begins.

“Respect your elder!” an older player yells, prompting much laughter, as a younger player scoops up the ball.

This is traditional lacrosse, rooted in Native American tradition dating back as far as the 17th century. The fields where the game is played now, such as Corcoran Park in Minneapolis, are not far from where Native Americans played in the 1800s (an oil painting from 1848 depicts Dakota playing a game on the frozen Minnesota River, about 3.5 miles from where the Mall of America stands now).

By Sheila Mulrooney Eldred