In American Indian Lacrosse, Thomas Vennum, Jr., presents for the first time the Native American history of a game with worldwide popularity and more than 300,000 non-Indian players in the United States and Canada alone. Featuring rare archival illustrations, this book presents the richest available account of the rules, equipment, techniques, regional differences, and legendary underpinnings of the game among tribes of the Northeast, Southeast, and Great Lakes regions. Vivid fictional narratives interspersed through the book describe important Indian games of the past, such as the 1763 Ojibwe/Sauk game that included a preplanned surprise attack - and capture - of Fort Michilimackinac on Lake Michigan.

To understand the aboriginal roots of lacrosse, one must enter a world of spiritual belief and magic where players sewed inchworms into the innards of lacrosse balls and medicine men gazed at miniature lacrosse sticks to predict future events, where bits of bat wings were twisted into the stick's netting, and where famous players were—and are still—buried with their sticks. Here Thomas Vennum brings this world to life.

An ancient Native American sport, lacrosse was originally played to resolve conflicts, heal the sick, and develop strong, virile men. In Lacrosse Legends of the First Americans, Thomas Vennum draws on centuries of oral tradition to collect thirteen legends from five tribes—the Cherokee, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Seneca, Ojibwa, and Menominee. Reflecting the game's origins and early history, these myths provide a glimpse into Native American life and the role of the "Creator’s Game” in tribal culture. From the Great Game in which the Birds defeated the Quadrupeds to high-stakes contests after which the losers literally lost their heads, these stories reveal the fascinating spiritual world of the first lacrosse players as well as the violent reality of the original sport. Lacrosse enthusiasts will learn about game equipment, ritual preparations, dress, and style of play, from stick handling to scoring. They will discover how the "coach"—a medicine man—conjured potions to prevent game injuries or make the opponent's leg cramp as well as how early craftsmen identified the perfect tree—marked by a lightning strike—from which to carve a lacrosse stick. The game is no longer played by large numbers of men on mile-long fields, and plastic, titanium, and nylon have replaced hickory and ash, leather, and catgut. As lacrosse continues to evolve, this collection will help us remember and understand its rich and complex history.

Traces the history of lacrosse from the time it was played by North American Indians to its current popularity in elementary schools and up to professional and international levels.

The game of lacrosse was invented by Native Americans and has been played for centuries. Meet two Native American lacrosse players and learn about how their culture has impacted their lives both on and off the field.

Eleven-year-old Travis Skinaway learns about his American Indian culture and history as he practices the Creator's game, lacrosse.

Schultz compares and contrasts the lacrosse played by Native Americans and the lacrosse that is played in mainstream society. He discusses the traditional role that Lacrosse played in Native American culture and how that role has shifted as the game became a mainstream sport.

A gift from the Creator – that is where it all began. The game of lacrosse has been a central element of many Indigenous cultures for centuries, but once non-Indigenous players entered the sport, it became a site of appropriation – then reclamation – of Indigenous identities. Focusing on the history of lacrosse in Indigenous communities from the 1860s to the 1990s, The Creator’s Game explores Indigenous-non-Indigenous relations and Indigenous identity formation. While the game was being stripped of its cultural and ceremonial significance and being appropriated to construct a new identity for the nation-state of Canada, it was also being used by Indigenous peoples for multiple ends: to resist residential school experiences; initiate pan-Indigenous political mobilization; and articulate Indigenous sovereignty and nationhood on the world stage. The multilayered story of lacrosse serves as a potent illustration of how identity and nationhood are formed and reformed. Engaging and innovative, The Creator’s Game provides a unique view of Indigenous self-determination in the face of settler-colonialism.

Best Sport Ever: Lacrosse takes readers from the beginnings of lacrosse to present day with a focus on the legends, the amazing stories, and the unique characteristics that makes the sport great. Discover the Native American history of lacrosse, the equipment used in the game then and now, the thrill of the game, and the achievements of William George Beers, Margaret Boyd, Gary and Paul Gait, Paul Rabil, and so many others in this amazing overview of the Best Sport Ever: Lacrosse! Through colorful descriptions, a glossary, additional resources, engaging sidebars that go "beyond the basics" into advanced skills and health benefits, and more, the Best Sport Ever series is a can't miss for today's sports fan. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

For use in schools and libraries only. Lacrosse began as a Native American sport with teams of hundreds of people playing on a "field" that was miles in length! Today, both the field and the teams are smaller, but the speed and skill of lacrosse remains.