Canadian lacrosse’s First Nations origins celebrated as sport turns 150
MONTREAL — It was a game of lacrosse like few get to see: a group of youths, shirtless and mostly barefoot, with no helmets or padding, racing after a leather ball with hand-made wooden sticks.
There were no referees, few rules and no line changes — only a wild free-for-all as the boys jostled and shoved, working to fling the ball at the wooden posts at each end.
The game, which took place recently at McGill University in Montreal, was organized to celebrate the 150th anniversary of organized lacrosse — and to highlight the game’s First Nations origins, which go back much further.
While the rules of modern lacrosse were adopted in 1867, the sport developed from a centuries cultural and spiritual activity practiced by several First Nations tribes.