I first learned of lacrosse in fourth grade — not on a field or in a gym, but in a classroom.

Mrs. Bishko spoke of the sport invented by Native Americans as part of a weeklong lesson that focused on the indigenous people of the Northeast. Long Island, where I grew up, has a rich Native American history still reflected in the names of towns, schools and other places. And so we studied the Algonquins and Iroquois, we braided cornhusks and used wampum beads.

Twenty years later, again I found myself talking about lacrosse in a fourth-grade classroom — this time for career day at an Annapolis school. The kids wanted to know who I’d interviewed, how we chose who appeared on the cover, what I thought about Hopkins, Navy and Maryland.

But when I spoke of the sport’s origins — how lacrosse was the oldest sport in North America with roots in the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy — blank faces stared back at me.

“You guys study Native American culture, right?” I asked.

The teacher winced.

“They removed it from the curriculum.”

At the time, I found that disheartening. Today, after poring through the words of a dozen Native American lacrosse players who fear their people will be forgotten, I find it dangerous. The history lessons I learned may have been sanitized, but at least they acknowledged that populations thrived here long before the age of exploration.

History and culture separate lacrosse from other sports. And yet, as the stories of these 12 individuals illustrate, we are not immune from the ills of a society that stereotypes and marginalizes them. Talk to your kids, players and teammates. Tell them where lacrosse started and what it means to wield a stick. Let them know that this sport serves a greater purpose.