Importance Of Lacrosse To Iroquois Featured In 'Spirit Game: Pride Of A Nation'

Lacrosse is more than a game — it is a ritual, a medicine, a tradition, a culture, and an identity.
The sport is an original Iroquois game, played to honor the Creator. The Iroquois have a deep relationship with the game and much respect for it. Children are given homemade wooden lacrosse sticks when they’re born — they’re taught to respect the stick, learn about its importance, and cherish it.
This relationship and lacrosse’s significance is highlighted in Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation, set to open in theaters on May 26. It will be available on Video on Demand and iTunes on June 20.
“You’re born into the culture and born into the game of lacrosse. It’s easy to build a passion for it when you’re surrounded by it,” said Lyle Thompson, one of four lacrosse-playing brothers featured in the film.

The Thompson Brothers — Lyle, Miles, Jeremy and Hiana — grew up in the Onondaga Nation located in upstate New York near Syracuse. The Onondaga Nation is a politically independent Native American reservation that is federally recognized by the United States.
Spirit Game co-directors Peter Baxter and Peter Spirer focus their film on the Onondaga, lacrosse, and how the Nation is utilizing the sport in order to create awareness for their existence and sovereignty.
“It was an amazing experience for me in how important other civilizations are to the progress of people around the world,” said Baxter, who is president and co-founder of Slamdance Film Festival and director of Wild in the Streets and I Want To Be An American. “Just because a population is small doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. We have so much to learn from the people who have been here before us.”
A focal point of the documentary is centered around the Iroquois Nationals, the Nation’s national lacrosse team. The Iroquois Nationals, which was first admitted to the Federation of International Lacrosse in 1987, has dealt with countless hardships throughout the years while attempting to gain respect and even access to international tournaments. The team was unable to attend and compete in the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship in England because the United Kingdom wouldn’t accept their Iroquois passports.

The Iroquois Nationals are still striving for their first international gold.

The team and Onondaga Nation hosted the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. Being able to host their game on native lands was the ultimate experience.
“For me, the best thing about it was the fact that we were able to bring everybody together — the Six Nations and all visiting teams,” said Lyle Thompson, who is the NCAA Division I record holder for career points (400) and assists (225) and a two-time Tewaaraton Trophy winner. “Being part of the Iroquois Nationals is more than representing your people and playing lacrosse on the world stage, you’re joining a fight as a people because we haven’t been completely accepted by all the nations. You’re signed up and doing what you can do help our people move forward.”
Spirer, an Oscar-nominated director known for Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life and Rhyme and Reason, said there was hesitance at first by the Iroquois when they were approached about the documentary. He said because Native Americans have had so much taken from them in the past, they were concerned initially, but accepted the filmmakers and were receptive to the project after understanding its message.
“They are welcoming people, but they are also kind of reserved and private, so you have to earn their trust and respect,” he said. “We learned things I wasn’t exposed to growing up taking history class.”
The Iroquois Nationals, who are sponsored by Nike, are still in search of their first international lacrosse gold medal. They finished second in the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in 2003, ’07, ’11 and ’15 and third in the 2014 World Lacrosse Championship.

The Iroquois Nationals finished runner-up at the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship hosted on native lands.

While that first glimpse of gold around their neck would be surreal, it isn’t about winning or losing to the Iroquois.
“Our motto is ‘We win, you win,’” Miles Thompson said. “What that means is we’re all out playing — there’s a bigger purpose than us playing, we play for the people around us. It’s medicine for us. It’s not about winning and losing, it’s about playing for the people who can’t play or showing the younger ones how to play.
“It’s more than us playing for a championship. The style of play could lead to a championship, but it’s much more than us going out and playing; it’s for our people, for ourselves and the younger generation. It’s much bigger than us.”

About the author

Michael LoRé

Sports Editor

Michael has been obsessed with sports since he started playing recreationally when he was 5 years old. Realizing he couldn't make it as a professional athlete and was a decent enough writer, the lightbulb went off: sports journalist. After honing his craft at the University of Delaware, Michael has covered anything and everything from scholastic field hockey to the World Series. Born and raised in New Jersey, Michael now lives in New York City, having worked most recently for New York City FC and the NHL. His favorite sport is soccer.