User:Mavinstar/sandbox

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Iroquois men's national lacrosse team

History

For Native Americans lacrosse is more than a sport, originally played as part of a spiritual endeavour meant to praise and give thanks to the gods, a tradition still followed toady by the Iroquois Nationals. For example, before each game the Iroquois Nationals gather around their spiritual advisor who leads a traditional tobacco-burning rite, in addition to other rituals in an effort to prepare players before they take the field (Camara, n.d.). The traditions attached to lacrosse extend to the wooden sticks, central to the Iroquois religion and culture (Price, 2010). Specifically, males are given a miniature wooden lacrosse stick at birth, sleep with their stick nearby throughout their life, and even take one to the grave. It is believed that the first thing an Iroquois does after reaching the afterlife is grab the stick placed in his coffin (Price, 2010). The importance given to these wooden lacrosse sticks stem from the belief that these are gifts from Mother Earth. The Iroquois believe that a living organism (i.e., a tree) died to make the stick and that its spirit has been transferred to the stick’s owner. Therefore, the Iroquois play humbly in an attempt to honour the tree’s sacrifice (Price, 2010).

Although holding cultural importance among Iroquois communities, lacrosse has been described primarily as a men’s game (Downey, 2012). After the recognition of the male lacrosse team in the 1980s, a group of female Haudenosaunee lacrosse players attempted to create a national women’s team. However, Haudenosaunee leaders refused to sanction a women’s team citing traditional and cultural restrictions. Despite this, lacrosse remained vital to the national identity of Haudenosaunee women (Downey, 2012). Ultimately, the Haudenosaunee women were able to form a national team, becoming members of the FIL in 2008 (Keller, 2015).

The Iroquois Nationals men's lacrosse team was formed and sanctioned by the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee in 1983 in preparation of friendlies at the NCAA championship in Baltimore, Maryland. The Nationals lost to the Syracuse Orange 28-5 and the Hobart Statesmen 22-14. Prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Nationals held the Jim Thorpe Memorial Games and Pow-Wow, a 6-team event with local and international teams in Los Angeles. The nationals achieved their first victory over the national team of England. The following year, using their Haudenosaunee passports, the Nationals traveled and toured England losing only once.

The Iroquois Nationals team is the only Native American team with international recognition as a sovereign people (Price, 2010). After being denied membership by the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) to compete in the 1986 World Lacrosse Championship in Canada, the Iroquois hosted the teams for preliminary games at the University of Buffalo. The IFL accepted the Iroquois as a full member nation in 1988. This approval by the FIL was a significant achievement for the Haudenosaunee and Iroquois Nationals who joined Australia, Canada, England, and the United States as member states (Keller, 2015).

The Iroquois Nationals took part in their first international competition at the 1990 World Lacrosse Championship in Australia, finishing fifth out of five teams. They warmed up for the world championship by competing in the Lacrosse USA tournament in Syracuse against top men's club teams.

Nike deal

Historically, the Iroquois Nationals operated on a very small budget while simultaneously trying not to accept any financial resources from the Canadian and American governments in an attempt to assert their sovereignty through financial independence (Downey, 2012).

In 2006, the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Program signed a partnership with Nike, Inc. in which Nike will provide the Nationals with their brand uniforms, clothing, footwear, and other equipment.The company is to develop programs to "promote wellness-and-fitness activities in Native American communities throughout the region", and team members may go to speak to local groups. Team members will also assist in testing of sustainable produced sportswear for Nike's research and development of processes to use non-toxic dyes and biodegradable organic cotton.

Nike is the only Fortune 500 company to have such a relationship with a Native American organization, and the Iroquois Nationals are the only such group. This partnership extends beyond simply providing equipment and apparel and includes programs to promote wellness and fitness among Native American communities. This focus on the promotion of physical activity among Native Americans is part of Nike’s Native American Business Program and have worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Services to establish and manage physical activity programs among Native American communities (Nike, 2006). These programs are particularly important given the disproportionately high rates of obesity and diabetes among Native American communities (Fryling, 2006).

Passport issues

The Iroquois Confederacy began issuing their own passports in 1927 and its holders were able to travel without problem for many years (Camara, n.d.). However, with stricter security measures following the 9/11 terrorist attack, the European Union member states no longer recognized the Iroquois Confederacy passports as legal travel documents. While holders of these passports were still able to enter Canada, neither the United States nor Canada recognized the passports as valid travel documents (Camara, n.d.).

These passports became an issue when the Iroquois Nationals attempted to enter England for the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship held in Manchester. The Nationals were unable to attend and compete in the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship in England as the United Kingdom did not accept their Iroquois passports. The Nationals’ players were told by British officials to obtain either U.S. or Canadian passports if they wished to enter the country, as the team’s 23 players were eligible to be issued passports from these countries (Gross, 2010). The Iroquois Nationals refused to travel with Canadian or American passports, arguing that this would be a strike against their identity. As a result, the Nationals were forced to forfeit their three preliminary games. In 2018, the Nationals travel to Israel was delayed 48 hours because of nonrecognition of their Haudenosaunee passports. The team ultimately cleared customs in Israel the opening day of the event.

In 2015, while traveling to the United Kingdom (UK) for the Under-19 World Championship in Scotland, the Haudenosaunee women’s national lacrosse team were refused entrance into the country due to the same passport issues faced by the Iroquois Nationals in 2010. Ultimately, like their male counterparts, the Haudenosaunee refused to travel under Canadian or American passports (Keller, 2015). In 2018, the Iroquois Nationals’ travel arrangements to Israel for the World Lacrosse Championship were delayed due to passports issues once again. However, after the intervention of the Federation of International Lacrosse and the local organizing committee, the Israeli and Canadian governments were able to resolve the issue and lift the travel restrictions (Deer, 2018). As a result, the Iroquois Nationals were able to compete in the championship.

Peer Review Kevin

Make sure to proof-read. For example, first sentence you misspelled "today".

There are very interesting points and pieces of information throughout the reading. I would expand on some topics a bit more - for example more details on how the team was formed.

Adding a few extra headings would hep with the organization/flow. Start with a brief introduction of what the Iroquois men's national lacrosse team is rather than jumping straight into their history.

Another big area that could be added are the competitions/tournaments they have participated in, and how they performed. Not very knowledgeable on the team, but this came up to me as a curiosity thing while reading the article.

It is frustrating to see that the current Wikipedia article doesn't contain much information. For example, what are they up to today? Are they training? Competing? Another area of interest would be the roster/important players in their history. There is a lot that could be talked about - and making your life harder.

My reply,

Thanks for the feedback. I only copied the sections I will be adding information to. I chose not to copy the rest of the Wikipedia Iroquois Nationals page because I will not be adding any information to those sections.

Mavinstar (talk) 18:27, 5 March 2019 (UTC)

I plan on adding more information about the Iroquois men's national lacrosse team. Right now, the page lacks information concerning the cultural and traditional impact attached to the game of lacrosse.

Here are a few sources:

  • Camara, L. (n.d.). A History of Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse. Iroquois Nationals. Retrieved from https://iroquoisnationals.org/the-iroquois/a-history-of-iroquois-nationals-lacrosse/
  • Deer, J. (2018, July 12). Iroquois Nationals arrive in Israel for World Lacrosse Championships after passport issues resolved. CBC. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/iroquois-nationals-arrive-israel-lacrosse-world-championships-1.4743850
  • Downey, A. (2012). Engendering Nationality: Haudenosaunee Tradition, Sport, and the Lines of Gender1. Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, 23(1), 319-354.
  • Federation of International Lacrosse (n.d.). Retrieved from https://filacrosse.com/mens-lacrosse/#history-men
  • Fryling, K. (2006, July 27). Nike deal promotes Native American wellness, lacrosse. University of Buffalo Reporter. Retrieved from http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/archive/vol37/vol37n43/articles/BrayLyonsLacrosse.html
  • Gross, S. (2010, July 14). UK won't let Iroquois lacrosse team go to tourney. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieve from https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-uk-wont-let-iroquois-lacrosse-team-go-to-tourney-2010jul14-story.html
  • Keller, A. (2015, September 29). The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Story. Florida Lacrosse News. Retrieved from https://www.floridalacrossenews.com/the-iroquois-nationals-lacrosse-story/
  • Nike (2006, May 4). Historic Partnership Begins with Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse. Retrieved from https://news.nike.com/news/historic-partnership-begins-with-iroquois-nationals-lacrosse

Price, S. L. (2010, July 19) Pride of a Nation. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved from https://www.si.com/vault/2010/07/19/105961100/pride-of-a-nation

Evaluating sources.

  • Some of the links provided in the references either don't work or lead to site where information isn't provided.
  • Not a lot of information available to the Talk Page.



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