- Kacie Lucchini Butcher: This is a lacrosse stick. It's used to play lacrosse. This is also a lacrosse stick. It's an example of the kind used by Native peoples in the Great Lakes area. They played the original game of lacrosse hundreds of years before the modern game was developed. But lacrosse wasn't limited to the Great Lakes. Versions of the game were played by Indigenous people across many parts of North America. And it turns out, lacrosse wasn't just a game. It could also be medicine, spirituality, or even a substitute for war. And thanks to a combination of oral tradition, physical artifacts, and written records, we can explore the deep history and significance of this sport. So, let's dive in to one of the oldest games in the Americas, a game that's still being played by Native peoples today. [upbeat music] What is lacrosse? 
- Tracy Littlejohn: Lacrosse is a western term for a game that has been played throughout what is now the United States. Lots of different tribes have their version of it. Sometimes you'll see different sticks. But basically, it's got the same premise for everybody. 
- Mark Denning: So, Taylor and everybody, welcome to the Indian Community School. It's a beautiful and amazing place. 
- Averie Anderson: Hello, my name is Averie Anderson. I coach lacrosse here at Indian Community School. Mark Denning is my mentor. We started coaching, started doing clinics across the city to help revitalize traditional lacrosse in Milwaukee. 
- Taylor Bailey: The traditional Native game of lacrosse has a history that goes back hundreds of years. Many Native peoples across eastern North America played some version of this game. The basic elements were a ball, an area of play, and a lacrosse stick. Unlike the modern game, the Native game could vary in the number of players and the size of the playing field. Dozens or even hundreds of people might play in a game, and the area could be much larger than today's lacrosse fields. 
- So, in speaking to this kind of game, there's no boundaries. So, wherever the ball goes, if it goes off into wherever it might be, or in the water, or behind something, that's your play. 
- That's playable. 
- That's where it is. We didn't wanna interfere with the spirit of what's happening in that game. That game has a life. Just as we have a life and a purpose, our games have a life and a purpose. 
- How do we know about lacrosse's history? Some of our knowledge comes from the oral traditions and histories of Native people. Many of these stories emphasize the game being a gift from the Creator. 
- Our stories are about entities that existed before humans existed, and they were playing it. We learned from them. 
- This game was gifted by Creation, and others took part in it, the ones above, the ones of this earth as we walk on it, and the ones below. They'd all take part in the game, and we were the inheritors of it. 
- We also get some of this history from Europeans who saw the game. The Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf mentioned lacrosse in the 1630s during his travels in the eastern Great Lakes area. "If there is a poor, sick man, "fevered of body and almost dying, "some healer will order for him a game of lacrosse "as a cooling remedy. "Sometimes also, one of these healers will say "that the whole countryside is sick, and he prescribes a game of lacrosse to heal it." - So, was lacrosse a game, or was it medicine? Well, it could be a lot of things, and Native people today keep this tradition alive. 
- So, when we talk about traditional lacrosse, we play games not just for social purposes, but very much deeper than that. So, we have medicine games that can be for healing, it can be for supporting people who are going through a hard time and the community wants to kind of show up and surround those people with, you know, community, with love, with food, with gifts. And so, maintaining the game of traditional lacrosse is a responsibility that we hold because it is cultural, it's traditional to us. 
- Lacrosse could also be a means of settling disputes, and even a way to avoid war. 
- I remember my uncles, my uncle telling me about people could choose war to settle disputes, but there was a game that existed, and in playing that game that we could settle our disputes and find peace, and that was the game of lacrosse. So, instead of going to war, right, two clans, families, nations could say, "We're gonna agree to a game, "and the victor of that game is gonna carry the day or the argument." - What about the sticks used to play lacrosse? These varied based on the people and the area. The first drawing we have of a lacrosse stick is from 1790 by the Italian explorer Count Paolo Andreani. His drawing shows an Iroquois-style stick. It has a bent staff and a large webbed net where the ball would be held. But in the Great Lakes area, the sticks were generally a different style. 
- Kacie: We got a close look at one of these at the La Crosse County Historical Society. So, this is a lacrosse stick. Will you walk me through the design of it? What is going on here? 
- Right. This stick is probably over a hundred years old when it was gifted to the historical society. Lacrosse sticks are made out of harder woods. A lot of times, hickory will be used, and they will use-- they used steam. And what they'd do is that they have this basic, the shaft of it, but then you come up here and it's a lot narrower. And so, then they used the steam to bend it into this circle, and then they'll use leather or sinew to tie it together. So, then you just have a circle right here, and then just some more leather straps go into the middle to create a net. 
- So, this is where you would both catch the ball and then throw the ball as well? 
- Yep. 
- Okay. Hold on. Is the city of La Crosse named after the game? Yes! The American explorer Zebulon Pike wrote about the area back in the early 1800s. "September 12, passed the Racine River, "also a prairie called Le Cross, "from a game of ball played frequently on it by the Sioux Indians." But why was the game of lacrosse called lacrosse by Europeans? If we look at the first written records of the game, Europeans use the phrase "jeu de crosse," or "jeu de la cross." In French, jeu means game. And crosse can mean a curved stick used to play a game. Even today, a hockey stick might be called a crosse in French. So, the French writers who saw the Native game called it jeu de la crosse. This was a term they already used for other ball and stick games. Eventually, this was shortened to just lacrosse. But Native peoples have long had their own names for this game. What is the traditional name for the game of lacrosse? 
- So, with the Ho-Chunk, our, what we call it is caabna, which is actually the stick that we're talking about. Sometimes, you can also see it referred to as caabnaikiisik, but for the most part, it's just caabna. Other tribes will have other words that they use to call the game or the stick, but for us, it's caabna, it's the stick and it's the game. The modern game of lacrosse was developed in the 1860s by a Canadian named George Beers. He based it on a version of the game that was played by the Mohawk. Unfortunately, the game's Native origins didn't mean it was open to Indigenous people. Native players were often banned from playing. This likely happened for a lot of reasons. Partly, there was concern that Native players were too good, and partly this was a way to erase Indigenous culture. But in the last few decades, Native people have worked hard to reclaim both the modern game and their traditional lacrosse. 
- Both of you all played lacrosse yourselves. What has been the experience like playing versus teaching other folks how to play, especially with that cultural element? 
- I love playing lacrosse because like you said, it's that responsibility to maintain our culture, and then it feels good. I'm an athlete, so I love to move, I love to, you know, that healthy movement, get your blood pumping, a little healthy competition, but then when I come into a space where I get to teach it and offer that to a larger group, that's that responsibility. It's, like, being multiplied. 
- We need to really give sport its rightful due. It's not for everyone and every child, but for sure, at this school, there's a spot in lacrosse for everyone. 
- Why do you feel like lacrosse is an important part of Indigenous culture? 
- Because it's been used for several things. It's a part of our stories about our past and our spirits. It is just a way to relax and have fun. And it's even been resolving conflicts with other tribes, not just within our own villages. So, it's been a very integral part of how our society worked and resolved things, but also how we just enjoyed life. 
- The story of lacrosse is part of the history and culture of the Indigenous peoples of North America. It's preserved in their oral traditions, in objects like lacrosse sticks, and in the writings of people who witnessed the game hundreds of years ago. Sports and games of all types are super important to people everywhere. So, what's the story behind your favorite game? [children cheer] [claps]