Spirit of lacrosse is handed down

Lacrosse, a tribal pastime for ages, is handed down to a new generation of players

Pocasset Wampanoag Chief Ed Gray Fox Page (left) and Pokanoket Chief Winds of Thunder lead the lacrosse blessing ceremony for Lakeville Youth Lacrosse in Middleborough. (photo by Tom Herde/Globe Staff)

Think lacrosse, and the wild popularity of the sport, especially in the suburbs, is probably the first thing that comes to mind. The game's origin, and its enduring link to local Native American tribes, probably is not.

But that link is there, and occasionally celebrated. Such was the case last Sunday. Three tribes, all indigenous to the area, celebrated the coming of spring and the joy of the sport they invented by blessing the Lakeville Youth Lacrosse players, field, and equipment.

"It's a journey together, bringing back this heritage through the strength of the young," said Donna Rain Dance Page, a member of the Pocasset Tribal Council. "Today, we're honoring the children and the game."

There's much to honor.

Native Americans are credited with inventing the game some 800 years ago, and it is considered the oldest organized sport in America. Early players called it by several names, depending on the region, including one that translates to mean "little brother of war," according to historian Thomas Vennum Jr.

The games originally were designed to train warriors, but also were played as a way to resolve disputes between villages - perhaps a precursor to today's intertown sports rivalries?

Back then, wagering on the outcome was an integral part of the game, but contests also were played for medicinal reasons: Native Americans believed it would produce healing power. Game outcomes were believed to be supernaturally controlled by the Creator.

The lacrosse equipment that members of the Aquidneck, Pocasset Wampanoag, and Pokanoket tribes blessed for the Lakeville program bears little resemblance to the sticks and balls used by Native American players centuries ago.

Back then, some tribes used a wood stick with a small, spoon-like pocket to catch the ball, which was made of charred, shaped wood, or of deer hide filled with hair. New England tribes favored sticks that ended in a flat triangle laced with deer sinew, the precursors of today's lacrosse sticks. The name "lacrosse" later came from the French; crosse means curved stick.

The early games were accompanied by the telling of legend, and elaborate preparation. Players, as well as their equipment, were ritually prepared for the match by a tribe's designated conjurer.

A version of that is what was played out last Sunday.

Lakers Youth Lacrosse director Larry Simpson invited George Spring Buffalo, the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribal Council chairman, who can trace his ancestry back to the well-known and powerful Massasoit, to perform the blessing of the sticks and the field at the Nichols School in Middleborough.

"This ceremony is our way of honoring the history of the game and building a link between our program and the Pocasset, whose ancestors are indigenous to the Lakeville area," Simpson said. "The Native Americans invented lacrosse, and we want to thank them for allowing us to play this great game."

After a morning match, players of all ages settled down on the grass with their families and watched as members of the tribes, in full Native American dress, took them back a few hundred years.

Some tribe members sat at the center of the circle beating drums and singing chants, while others performed a ritualistic, stutter-step dance similar to what their ancestors would perform before going to war. Each step was accompanied by the jingle of bells that were secured to ankle straps.

The tribe representatives then blessed the players, the field, and the team's equipment, using a wood stick intended to resemble what the tribes originally used - a contrast to the aluminum and plastic models the players had next to them.

Donna Rain Dance Page of the Pocasset tribe carried a smoldering bundle of sage, a spiritually healing herb used for blessings and celebrations. The herbal smoke wafted up in a thin plume, dispersed by a small fan made of feathers, as the blessing proceeded. As part of the ceremony, the tribes performed a song honoring veterans of all wars, and they invited veterans in the audience to join in their dance.

Mark Kastrud, general manager of the Boston Cannons, the area's professional team, presented Spring Buffalo with the number 20 team shirt of Cannons player Brett Bucktooth, a member of the Onondaga Nation of Iroquois. Spring Buffalo then presented Simpson with a Pocasset ceremonial staff.

"We often do powwows, but this is the first time we've done this," Spring Buffalo said. "We'd like to get the sport back for our younger generation."

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.