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​Lacrosse, the Creator’s Game, is known to various First Nations in North America by many different names, including baggataway (Algonquian), kabocha-toli (Choctaw) and tewaarathon (Mohawk).

Lacrosse is one of the oldest organized sports in North America. While at one point it was a field game or ritual played by First Nations, it became popular among non-Indigenous peoples in the mid-1800s. When the National Lacrosse Association of Canada was formed in 1867, it was the Dominion of Canada’s first governing body of sport. Lacrosse was confirmed as Canada’s official summer sport in 1994. The Canadian national lacrosse teams (men and women) rank highly in the world standings, both in field and box lacrosse.

The Iroquois Nationals are a lacrosse team representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which crosses the Canada-US border. It is the only First Nations team officially sanctioned to compete in any sport internationally. While this gives the team a unique distinction, it is also at the heart of an ongoing controversy that has resulted in the Nationals forfeiting games due to disputes over the legitimacy of the passports they use to travel internationally.

Traditional lacrosse sticks are made of a single piece of wood, bent to form the head of the stick (the part used for catching, carrying, and throwing the ball). Traditionally, Indigenous stick makers wrapped pliable steamed hickory around a tree in order to bend it.

Sports have a long history in Canada, from early Indigenous games (e.g., baggataway) to more recent sports such as snowboarding and kitesurfing. Officially, Canada has two national sports: lacrosse (summer) and hockey (winter).