The History of Lacrosse - Research Paper Example

The sport of Lacrosse has diplomatic, spiritual, entertaining, physical and cultural meaning/ significance. Thesis statement: The meaning/significance given by Indian tribes to Lacrosse game is beyond its value as a sports item (special reference to historical background of Lacrosse). The history of Lacrosse as an ancient game is interconnected with the Indian tribes in North America. The Native Americans considered Lacrosse as a gift from the god, their creator. As pointed out, the Native Americans played the crude form of Lacrosse and its modern form is indebted to the European settlers.

For instance, the European settlers who reached in the southern parts of the American continent got interested in this game. Montreal, an important settlement of the Europeans is considered as the birthplace of modern Lacrosse. Eventually, the warm relation between European settlers and the Native American tribal people resulted in the popularity of Lacrosse to other parts of the world. The crude form of Lacrosse game cannot be termed as a single game because it was a set of ball games played by a number of Indian tribes.

For instance, the Northeast tribal people used one stick and the Southeast tribal people used two sticks to play Lacrosse. The tribal people used different names to denote the same game. For instance, the Ojibwa Indians used the word “beggataway” to denote the game. The name of the game “Lacrosse” originated from its similarity with crosier, which was used for religious purposes. Donald Lee Fixico makes clear that the French settlers in North America used the word ‘Lacrosse’ to denote the game (Fixico 103).

The European settlers who settled in North America gradually converted the aboriginal population to Christian faith. Some of the converts moved to the border regions of Canada. This resulted in the spread of Lacrosse in Canada. Eventually, the European settlers who