While the bison is prominent in our area, the bison is an even more important figure to the Native Americans, who were the first to play lacrosse, or stickball, as the Creator’s Game. In our community, you don’t need to go far to find bison roaming the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge or an elementary school and recreation center bearing its name. But for thousands of years, Native Americans found the bison to be sacred and relied on them for their survival and well-being. Bison were used for food, clothing, shelter, tools, jewelry, and in their tribal ceremonies.

 

Centuries ago, stickball, known to us as lacrosse, was started by Native Americans and believed it was gifted to the people by the Creator. Lacrosse was ideal for training young Native Americans to become warriors in the art of battle, but lacrosse competitions also took the place of some battles and was also used by tribes to cultivate social relationships. It was a highly ceremonial event with deep-rooted spiritual significance to the community, spectators, and players. Lacrosse is also known as the Medicine Game as it symbolized a spiritual ritual to honor, heal, and celebrate individuals and communities.

 

In the Bison Lacrosse community, we recognize the important symbolic relationship between the bison, the Native Americans, and the game of lacrosse. We recognize the significance of our name because it represents our community and the foundation of this game. We recognize that as Bison, we must also travel in our herd with a unified HERD mentality: Humility, Energy, Respect, Determination.