Lacrosse
Lacrosse originates from various stickball games played by pre-Columbian Native Americans ranging from the midwest to the east coast. The time when the these games started to form is unclear, but they developed over time into variations of modern-day lacrosse. Although each region had a different playing style, the basic rules were the same. Players used a stick with a net to throw, catch, and pick up a ball. The goal was to get the ball between two trees or into a net. The general rule was that the ball could not be touched by a player's hands. Sometimes games were played with hundreds of people with no limits of brutality. Tribal warriors played the game as training, recreation, and for religious purposes. Lacrosse was also played as a way to settle disputes between tribes.
There were tree main types of Native American lacrosse: the Southeastern, Northeastern, and Great Lakes games. In the Southeastern game, players used two two and a half foot sticks in each hand, while cupping and retrieving a deerskin ball between them. For the Great Lakes game, players used a single three-foot stick with a three to four inch circular pocket on the end that was barely bigger than the ball. The Northeastern game is the inspiration for modern lacrosse. Players used a shaft that was usually longer than three feet and was curved at the end. The stick had a flat, triangular webbing, extending out up to two-thirds the length of the shaft.
Lacrosse was first discovered by non-Native Americans in the 1600s by European explorers and missionaries. It was not played organized by non-Native Americans until the mid-nineteenth centuries when Montrealers attempted to civilize the game. Lacrosse first grew popular in Canada, and then spread to the United States and Europe. It is now one of the fastest growing sports today with millions playing across the United States and globally. As for the Native Americans that started the game, the Great Lakes game had died out by the 1950s, but Iroquois and southeastern tribes still play forms of lacrosse today. They use it as forms of recreation, along with a way to keep traditions alive.
There were tree main types of Native American lacrosse: the Southeastern, Northeastern, and Great Lakes games. In the Southeastern game, players used two two and a half foot sticks in each hand, while cupping and retrieving a deerskin ball between them. For the Great Lakes game, players used a single three-foot stick with a three to four inch circular pocket on the end that was barely bigger than the ball. The Northeastern game is the inspiration for modern lacrosse. Players used a shaft that was usually longer than three feet and was curved at the end. The stick had a flat, triangular webbing, extending out up to two-thirds the length of the shaft.
Lacrosse was first discovered by non-Native Americans in the 1600s by European explorers and missionaries. It was not played organized by non-Native Americans until the mid-nineteenth centuries when Montrealers attempted to civilize the game. Lacrosse first grew popular in Canada, and then spread to the United States and Europe. It is now one of the fastest growing sports today with millions playing across the United States and globally. As for the Native Americans that started the game, the Great Lakes game had died out by the 1950s, but Iroquois and southeastern tribes still play forms of lacrosse today. They use it as forms of recreation, along with a way to keep traditions alive.