“Sticks Up” by Vincent Ricasio, used with permission and payment to the artist
The game of lacrosse originated from the Native American game that is over 1,000 years old. It is called Anetso by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, or “the Creator’s Game,” or “little brother of war,” or simply “the Game.”
FIRST NATIONS HAVE GIVEN MUCH TO OTHERS INCLUDING:
CULTURAL HERITAGE
USE OF LAND
STEWARDSHIP OF THE EARTH
TO RESPECT THIS LEGACY:
ACKNOWLEDGE their culture
EXPRESS gratitude
GIVE back
BY TAKING ACTION:
CREATE an ancestral land statement for your school
LEARN about the meaning and history of traditions like lacrosse
SUPPORT youth lacrosse of First Nations
ADVOCATE through a petition for the Onondaga Nation to play lacrosse in the Olympics.
EQUIP under-resourced lacrosse teams with gear
SHARE your skills with First Nation youth to grow the sport
Funds will go to towards lacrosse education and cultural exchange in underserved indigenous communities.
About
My name is Cole Bell and I am a rising senior in high school who has played lacrosse for twelve years. Like many others, lacrosse has meant a lot to me in many ways. I acknowledge that lacrosse was shared to all of us by Native Americans who believe the game was a gift to them from the Creator.
Through lacrosse, Native Americans have taught me:
• Teamwork
• Physical Toughness
• Mental Toughness
• Competition
• Bravery
• Friendship
• Community
• Leadership
• Fun
When I was in seventh grade, my coach, Bob Powell, lent every team member a book called The Story of the Stick by Neil Duffy. It was about a 14-year-old boy who was given a lacrosse stick that was 200 years old and had been passed down for generations. It told the story of lacrosse being a gift from the Creator to Native Americans. My copy was signed by many players from years past. This all made me think about the history of the game, being thankful for my coaches and for those who started the sport I love.
My goal has been to pursue a cultural exchange for the purpose of thanking the founders of the game of lacrosse – the First Nation communities (Native Americans) who invented the game. I plan to learn more about the origin and history of lacrosse as well as the culture of First Nation communities who play lacrosse.
I am grateful to Durham Academy for the Jack Linger Grant which has supported accomplishing this goal. This grant allowed me to meet new people and play lacrosse with people from the First Nation communities. My action plan included visiting the Eastern Band of Cherokee to watch their stickball tournament (the early form of lacrosse played by Native Americans), hosting Haudenosaunee professional lacrosse player Lyle Thompson to speak at Durham Academy. I also teamed up with Levelling the Playing Field to organize a drive to collect donated lacrosse/stickball equipment for the new lacrosse team at the Cherokee High School so that more boys and girls can play this great game and have the opportunity that I did.
Contact
These models are 1-to-6 scale of a Cherokee ball stick coded in Blender and 3-D printed by Cole Bell. The base is made of hickory, which is heavy and strong, the same wood traditionally used for the sticks.