The game of Snowsnake is a Haudenosaunee winter game. This game is played between native communities. Often Onondaga men travel to the different communities of the Haudenosaunee to “throw.”
The snow snake is actually a piece of wood. There are two kinds of snake. A long snake which is 6 feet in length and a short snake which is only 3 feet in length. Each snake is hand carved out of hickory or ash. The snakes are only 3/4 of an inch in diameter so shooters are very careful with their best snakes.
Snow Snake is played on a track. Snow is piled up at a beginning of the track to a height of about 4 feet. Then the track gradually slopes downward to follow the contour of the earth. A log is then placed on top of the snow pile to make a track that the shooters must throw their snakes in. The community who has the best throws, wins. The best throwers win prizes but more importantly, bragging rights until the next event.