Ddehoñtjihgwa’és – Lacrosse
One of the gifts that the Creator can bestow on the individual is the gift of sport. The sport that is most recognizable with the Onondaga and the Haudenosaunee is Dehoñtjihgwa’és or Lacrosse.
The Creator gave us many things for us here on earth, one of them is this game which we call Deyhontsigwa’ehs. Deyhontsigwa’ehs is roughly translated to mean, “They bump hips.” If you ever played or watched a lacrosse game, you can see how the game got its name.
Lacrosse at Onondaga is considered sacred. It is a game that was given by the Creator, to be played for the Creator, and has been known to have healing power. Because of this, it is also known as the Medicine Game. The game in its original form is played between two groups, usually divided up between clans or young men versus old men. Since women are respected for providing life and are to protect this gift, they do not play lacrosse.
Once sides are chosen, the two teams play. The men hold in their hands hand-made sticks made of hickory. The spirit of the tree connects the player to Mother Earth as they play for the Creator. The game is played on an open field with two pole at each end signifying goals which a ball made of leather must pass. The Creator is happy to see his game played. When a game like this is played on Mother Earth, it is said that a game is also being played with our ancestors in Creator’s land. There is a predetermined amount that the teams must reach before the game is considered won. Therefore the game is not timed.
Today we still play the game the way our ancestors played the game as shown above, but we also play modern lacrosse as well. g
Field Lacrosse
The Onondaga’s and Haudenosaunee have always played lacrosse outside on a large field. Our white brothers who never saw the sport before were impressed. The called the game lacrosse because our sticks look like the staff used by Bishops used in the church. The athleticism and stick skill that the players were showcasing impressed and inspired them to play. Soon the first lacrosse rule-book was written and non-native teams began to play.
The growth our game has allowed our people to play lacrosse in all different arenas as our white brothers began to play. Soon the Onondagas were playing “field Lacrosse” with the local colleges and universities in the area. It was very common for Onondaga to play Syracuse University, Colgate University and Army in the early 1900’s with the outcome favoring the native teams.
Then in 1932, the Olympics wanted to showcase lacrosse in the upcoming games in Los Angeles. The Onondaga Nation team was very polished and was undefeated in the area. A playoff was established and it a match between the Onondagas and a team from Johns Hopkins to play each other to represent the games at the Olympics. Johns Hopkins prevailed but both teams respected each others play.
Unfortunately, with the success of the Onondaga team and other native teams against the collegiate teams, the USA Lacrosse association banned all native teams from playing “field Lacrosse” as they felt that the natives were “professional” players.
Box Lacrosse
Since the Onondagas and the rest of the Haudenosaunee couldn’t play field lacrosse, they turned their attention Northward where the Canadians were starting a new kind of lacrosse. The Canadians began playing lacrosse inside empty hockey rinks. The Onondagas and the Haudenosaunee quickly took to the physical nature of the game where intricate stick skills were fostered in “box Lacrosse.” Soon box lacrosse leagues became commonplace on the communities of the Haudenosaunee. From that point on, players became very adapt to the box game that players such as the Lyle Pierce, Stanley Pierce, and Irving Powless Sr. were inducted into the Hall of Fame for their prowess on the field.
Iroquois Nationals
Since the banning of natives from playing field lacrosse, Oren Lyons (SU alum and Faithkeeper) wanted the return to field lacrosse 
competition. At the time, there were 4 teams playing for a world championship, the USA, Canada, England and Australia. Oren facilitated talks with the Federation of International Lacrosse to include the Haudenosaunee, the originators of the game, to play. Oren explained that the Haudenosaunee still live on our original lands, that we still use our languages to conduct our ceremonies, that we still have a traditional government, and we have treaties with other nations stating that we are indeed a separate nation. After many many years of talks, in 1990 the Iroquois Nationals debuted as the Iroquois Nationals and traveled to Perth, Australia on Haudenosaunee passports to compete for a world championship.
Since 1990, the Nationals have competed as a separate nation, until 2010 when England hosted the World Games. The country would not accept the Haudenosaunee passport as a valid document for entry into their country. England would allow the Nationals to play if players entered their country if they carried a US or Canadian passport. The Nationals declined and didn’t play.
In 2015, the Onondaga Nation and the Nationals made history. The Onondaga Nation hosted the FIL World Indoor Box Lacrosse Championship. Making this world championship to be competed on indigenous lands for the very first time. teams from around the world came to Onondaga and had their passport stamped to begin the games, even team England.
Today
Now the Onondagas excel in both the field and box game. Oren Lyons (Syracuse University All-American goaltender) is in the USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Canadian Hall Of Fame. Fellow SU player, Barry Powless, Travis Cook, Russ George, and Eli Cornelius are also in the Canadian Hall of Fame for their play as well as long time coach Louie Jacques.
Recent notable stars such as the Thompson Brothers (Jeremy, Hiana, Miles, and Lyle) all look to recent Onondaga players who excelled in the professional field and box leagues are players like Marshall Abrams (SU All-American), Gewas Schildler (Loyola All-American), and Neal Powless (Nazareth All-American) with many more great players on the horizon.
To read more about Lacrosse on the Onondaga Nation, visit the Official site of the lacrosse team, The Onondaga Red Hawks.