American Indian Lacrosse: Little Brother of War

by Thomas Vennum

Overview

To understand the aboriginal roots of lacrosse, one must enter a world of spiritual belief and magic where players sewed inchworms into the innards of lacrosse balls and medicine men gazed at miniature lacrosse sticks to predict future events, where bits of bat wings were twisted into the stick's netting, and where famous players were-and are still-buried with their sticks. Here Thomas Vennum brings this world to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801887642
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	01/02/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas Vennum, senior ethnomusicologist emeritus at the Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., is the author of Lacrosse Legends of the First Americans. Retired and living in Tucson, Arizona, he continues research among Indian tribes in Sonora, Mexico, specifically the Seri.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface
Prologue Carrier Dome, Syracuse University, 21 May 1989
1. Huron Country, 1637
2. "How the Bat Got Its Wings"
3. Iroquois Country, 1794
4. The Bishop's Crook and Other Misnomers
5. Ballistas and Cannonshot
6. Fort Michilimackinac, 1763
7. A Stake in the Game
8. The Overhead Flourish" and "The Pounce"
9. Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, 1834
10. "The Indian Gallery"
11. Breechclouts and Bare Feet
12. Cherokee Reservation
13. Little Brother of War
14. "It's a Toss-up"
15. Montreal, 1866
16. "Lo, the Poor Mohawk"
Epilogue Niagara-Wheatfield High School, 1991
Appendix A Lacrosse Legends
Appendix B Indiana Lacrosse Stick Making
Notes
Bibliographic Note
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index

What People are Saying About This

David Klarmann

In our attempts to be better, to be successful, to be champions, American Indian Lacrosse helps us achieve greater reward—understanding the essence of the game.

Robert Lipsyte

From the first great super bowls of America, those heroic, spiritual contests played out on mile-long arenas for days at a time, to the modern box game on struggling reservations, Indian lacrosse is a telling thread in our national tapestry, and Tom Vennum has brought it to life.

Mark Burnam

Never before has the story of American Indian lacrosse been told in such a way... [Vennum] explains how the sports world failed to give proper recognition to what was once solely a Native American game.

From the Publisher

From the first great super bowls of America, those heroic, spiritual contests played out on mile-long arenas for days at a time, to the modern box game on struggling reservations, Indian lacrosse is a telling thread in our national tapestry, and Tom Vennum has brought it to life.
—Robert Lipsyte, New York Times sports columnist

In our attempts to be better, to be successful, to be champions, American Indian Lacrosse helps us achieve greater reward—understanding the essence of the game.
—David Klarmann, head lacrosse coach, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Never before has the story of American Indian lacrosse been told in such a way . . . [Vennum] explains how the sports world failed to give proper recognition to what was once solely a Native American game.
—Mark Burnam, 1993 Major Indoor Lacrosse League Champion

Editorial Reviews

Brings the game's cultural complexities and historical roles to life . . . A major contribution to the cultural history of sport.
--American Anthropologist

In a mix of narrative, interviews, analysis, and tribal lore, Mr. Vennum has crafted a complex and entertaining book . . . American Indian Lacrosse offers a sweeping new perspective on a game that has functioned, at various times, as symbolic combat ritual, healing ceremony, gambling spectacle, war ruse, and intercollegiate sport.
--Washington Times

This book presents a rare account.
--Book News

This exhaustive, well-documented work serves as a definitive study of the sport in its traditional form. A worthy addition to core subject and Native American collections.
--Library Journal

An important study and a good read. . . Vennum's writing style is an alluring blend of hygienic academic analysis and historical accounts, narratives and interviews, a style used deliberately throughout the book. . . His book is a compelling journey into the historical exploration of an old team sport.
--Halvdan Haugsbakken, idrottsforum.org/recensioner

An interesting recount of the various ways that Indians utilized the game in their cultural, social, and curative worlds.
--Joe Watkins, Journal of Anthropological Research

From the Publisher

This book presents a rare account.

Book News

An important study and a good read. . . Vennum's writing style is an alluring blend of hygienic academic analysis and historical accounts, narratives and interviews, a style used deliberately throughout the book. . . His book is a compelling journey into the historical exploration of an old team sport.

idrottsforum.org/recensioner - Halvdan Haugsbakken

Brings the game's cultural complexities and historical roles to life . . . A major contribution to the cultural history of sport.

American Anthropologist

An interesting recount of the various ways that Indians utilized the game in their cultural, social, and curative worlds.

Journal of Anthropological Research - Joe Watkins

In a mix of narrative, interviews, analysis, and tribal lore, Mr. Vennum has crafted a complex and entertaining book . . . American Indian Lacrosse offers a sweeping new perspective on a game that has functioned, at various times, as symbolic combat ritual, healing ceremony, gambling spectacle, war ruse, and intercollegiate sport.

Washington Times

An interesting recount of the various ways that Indians utilized the game in their cultural, social, and curative worlds.

— Joe Watkins

Journal of Anthropological Research

An important study and a good read... Vennum's writing style is an alluring blend of hygienic academic analysis and historical accounts, narratives and interviews, a style used deliberately throughout the book... His book is a compelling journey into the historical exploration of an old team sport.

— Halvdan Haugsbakken

idrottsforum.org/recensioner

Often viewed as a gift from the spirits and as far more than recreation alone, lacrosse has functioned in Indian life as a surrogate or "little brother" of war, as a healing ritual, and as a memorial celebration. Featuring archival illustrations, this book presents a rare account of the rules, equipment, techniques, regional differences, and legendary underpinnings of the game among tribes of the Northeast, Southeast, and Great Lakes regions, including the spiritual components of the game, with interesting sections on lacrosse legends and Indian stick making. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews