Article Summary

In the article from the magazine Native Peoples, "Native Games: Alive but Transformed in Contemporary Sport", Duane Champagne takes time to compare the sport of lacrosse and other similar sports back when it was created by the Native Americans to how it is viewed and played now. He provides information on native traditions such as lacrosse, shinney, double ball, and winter sports and how they have evolved into sports we now enjoy.

Most of these sports, while a few rules and regulations have been put in for safety reasons, are the same. However, the reasons for the sports being played has changed. The teams involved used to be from two different tribes and were refereed by spiritual elders. This kept from any of the typical arguing and such with the officials that occurs quite regularly these days, because it would be rude to challenge their elders. They would also say prayers and speeches as a way to honor and support their team before the game. The games were not played merely for entertainment purposes. Players would participate in these games to honor or help heal a sick person of their tribe, almost taking on a religious significance. They believed that the outcome of games would be by the will of the spirits.

Champagne believes that, "Native sports are taken out of their communities and cultural surroundings in ways that make them unrecognizable to Native communities and make their ancestral links seem tenuous for those who enjoy the contemporary versions of the sports"(12). While the sports are being carried on through the years, there a definate void of understanding of the sport and its role in life. Champagne leaves contemporary players with some advice: "Contemporary Western sports could have a more significant meaning if they were again tied to community well-being, the purpose of healing and the philosophies of place within the cosmic order"(12).