Two years ago, Mitchell had enough kids to field three boys’ teams (10U, 12U, 14U) in the Iowa Lacrosse Association, with the 12U team capturing second place. Last spring, there were 55 boys spread over three teams, nicknamed the Knuckleheads, before the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the season.
This spring, there are only two Knucklehead teams, but Mitchell has also started a 12U girls’ team, the Swans. Supported with minimal volunteer help, he coaches all the teams himself.
“I’m still learning the girls’ game, but I’m good with all the basics,” Mitchell said.
In addition to teaching game skills, both Mitchell and Hinton try to impart lacrosse’s core values — respect, discipline, endurance and friendship — onto the younger generation.
“The game is viewed as medicine,” Hinton said. “When we play the game, we are playing for the enjoyment of the Creator. And the values that are important in the game are also important values in life.”
Both men acknowledge that there are challenges, including a lack of resources and societal distractions that lure kids away from lacrosse, but their individual commitments to move forward remain steadfast.
“There is no end to this,” Hinton said. “There’s a natural gravity to the game in Indigenous communities. The key is to sustain the enthusiasm. Hopefully, some kids will fall in love with the game just like I did.”
Stickball Variations
Historically, Native communities throughout North America played different variations of lacrosse. Three primary styles came from the Northeast, Southeast and Great Lakes regions. Although rules and equipment differed, legend tell of teams composed of 100 to 1,000 players, goals set between 500 yards to a mile apart and contests that might last for days.
NORTHEAST
Peoples include the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois or People of the Longhouse, including Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora), Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and other Native nations. The Haudenosaunee version of the game is the closest to field lacrosse played today. Originally, Iroquois sticks had a triangular pocket two-thirds the length of the stick.
SOUTHEAST
Peoples include the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, Yuchi and other Native nations. Players used two small lacrosse sticks — one in each hand — typically carved from hickory and uniquely designed by Native communities. Cherokee stick engravings included jagged lines representing lightning, intended to impart swiftness.
GREAT LAKES
Peoples include the Ojibwe, Menominee, Potawatomi, Sauk, Fox, Miami, Winnebago, Santee Dakota and other Native nations. The peoples of the Great Lakes played with a single three-foot stick featuring a round head about four inches in diameter. Stories are told that each player made his own stick from white ash, decorated with symbols of personal meaning.
13 WAYS TO SAY LACROSSE
1. dehuntshigwa'es – Onondaga
2. tewaa:raton – Mohawk
3. kalahse – Oneida
4. gajihgw’ae – Cayuga
5. dewaë’:ö’ – Seneca
6. yunę’ruhaʔr– Tuscarora
7. epaskome - Passamaquoddy
8. netapeskwama – Penobscot
9. baaga'adowewin – Ojibwe
10. peki’twewin – Pottawatomi
11. achi – Fox
12. da-nah-wah'uwsdi - Eastern Cherokee
13. kabucha – Choctaw