Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport in which players use long-handled sticks with nets to catch, carry, and shoot a ball into the opposing team’s goal.
Lacrosse stick: A long-handled stick with a mesh pocket used to catch, carry, pass, and shoot a lacrosse ball. Its pocket and shaft shape how players handle the ball and defend.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas: The diverse peoples native to the continents of North, Central, and South America. Lacrosse originated among Indigenous communities across parts of North America.
Box lacrosse: An indoor lacrosse format played in an enclosed rink, typically with six players per team on the floor. The confined rink produces faster, more physical play than outdoor field formats.
Field hockey: A team sport in which players use hooked sticks to move a ball and score in a goal. Both use sticks and goals, but lacrosse carries the ball in a netted pocket.
Indigenous sovereignty: The inherent authority of Indigenous nations to govern themselves and determine their own affairs. Haudenosaunee participation in international lacrosse raises questions of nationhood and representation.
Lacrosse ball: A solid rubber ball used in lacrosse, traditionally white but also made in other colors. Players move and score with this ball, whose bounce affects play.
Haudenosaunee: A confederacy of Indigenous nations in the northeastern woodlands, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy. Haudenosaunee communities have longstanding lacrosse traditions and continue to shape the sport.
Women's lacrosse: A lacrosse format historically governed by different contact and equipment rules from men's field lacrosse. Its rules produce distinct tactics, defensive spacing, and stick skills.
Ice hockey: A team sport played on ice in which players use sticks to shoot a puck into a goal. Its stick-and-goal structure resembles lacrosse, while the puck stays outside the stick.
Haudenosaunee Nationals: The national lacrosse teams representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in international competition. Their teams connect elite competition with Haudenosaunee identity and sovereignty.