Lacrosse started on the land known as North America centuries before it was colonized by Europe. The game was created by a confederacy of tribes called the Haudenosaunee, which includes roughly six different tribes. Originally, lacrosse was called The Creator’s Game; it was only renamed lacrosse after French missionaries thought the stick resembled a cross.
From the beginning, The Creator’s Game has been colonized by Europeans and made into something new. Now that the game is recognized as an Olympic sport, the Haudenosaunee must create an Olympic committee to represent their tribe’s creation. This isn’t to say that Native tribes haven’t competed in the Olympics before. In fact, the Mohawk, a member of the Haudenosaunee, played lacrosse and represented Canada in the Olympics in 1908; however, the Haudenosaunee want to play the game under the flag of their people, not another country’s.
As it stands, the Haudenosaunee don’t have an Olympic committee to ensure the team complies with Olympic standards. The Olympics is a huge industry and a chance for athletes to show off and be rewarded for their skill, but what does it mean when the creators of something aren’t allowed to represent the origins of the game? It’s disrespectful to those creators who can trace their history with The Creator’s Game back to a time before it was called lacrosse, before the Olympics were even a thing. If the Olympics are looking for the best of each sport, shouldn’t the originators of that sport be allowed to play it regardless of what flag they play under?
This whole scenario implies that the Olympics care more about what team belongs to which country than it does about showing off the talent and dedication of the athletes competing. It makes the Olympics feel like a clique that isn’t trying to support athletes but promote some other agenda around which nations deserve to be recognized as nations. The Haudenosaunee are fighting two battles here: solidifying their place in history as their own nation that existed pre-colonization and representing the origins of the game they created. Their dedication to playing The Creator’s Game the way they intended shows just how important The Creator’s Game is and has always been.
