Description
The Creator's Game: Lacrosse, Identity, and Indigenous Nationhood charts the history of lacrosse in Indigenous communities and how it's contributed to Indigenous identity formation despite the game’s appropriation by non-Indigenous sport. Allan Downey, an assistant professor of history at McGill University. He is Dakelh, Nak’azdli Whut’en and in addition to teaching he works with Indigenous youth, and he splits his time volunteering for a number of Indigenous communities and youth organizations throughout the year. The 364-page book published by UBC Press recounts the history of lacrosse in Indigenous communities from the 1860s to the 1990s. The title of the book is a reference to the Haudenosaunee understanding that lacrosse was a gift from the Creator. The author pays tribute to this Haudenosaunee game in his acknowledgements and references as he was fortunate to have many current and former players and coaches as well as knowledge keepers from Six Nations communities assist in the writing of the book. In addition to 56 archival and contemporary photographs the book includes an extensive bibliography and comprehensive index. Using interviews, storytelling, and archival research the author examines the importance of the game of lacrosse for First Nations in Canada and the United States and includes the men’s game as well as the women’s game. This is a must-have reference for sports historians, Haudenosaunee scholars, and the general public. 2019, Winner - Canada Prize in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Highly recommended.