October 17, 2023 | @HAU_Nationals
The Haudenosaunee (Confederacy of Six Nations), as the originators of the game of lacrosse, are incredibly pleased with the return of lacrosse to the Olympics. Lacrosse is America’s first sport, now played by over 80 countries of the world.
“This is truly exciting and humbling news,” said Leo Nolan, Executive Director of the Haudenosaunee Nationals. “The hard work of the international lacrosse community for including lacrosse as an Olympic sport is a wonderful example of respect and cooperation. It is humbling because when we realize the long history of lacrosse, we see that our efforts have created a new turning point for lacrosse. We can only move forward, honoring all of the players of this great game.”
All-American goalie (Syracuse 1958) Oren Lyons of the Onondaga Nation, and one of the founding members of the haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Program said, “We believe that lacrosse is also a form of healing and by participating in International Lacrosse, we have built strong ties to other peoples, other countries, and other cultures. These experiences have enriched our players and made us even more aware of how lacrosse is bringing the nations of the world together in celebration of peace and friendship.”
We congratulate all who helped make this possible and offer our total support to the Olympic lacrosse movement.
“We are grateful for the tireless commitment and vocal advocacy of so many people from around the world who helped make this possible”, noted Claudia Jimerson, GM of Haudenosaunee National’s Women’s Team Operations, and for the support of World Lacrosse, the LA28 Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee.”
The Haudenosaunee have worked hard over the last four decades to help spread lacrosse around the world, and along with international advocates from the United States, Canada, England, Australia, Ireland, and many more, we have finally achieved and important turning point to have an Indigenous-created sport be recognized at the international level.
Haudenosaunee teams played in the 1904 and 1932 Olympics. Our players won the Bronze Medal in St. Louis in 1904 and participated in an officially sanctioned pre-Olympic tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
We welcome this opportunity to build upon that historic legacy, and we have been heartened by the support we have received from the Los Angeles 2028 Committee for our inclusion. We would be thrilled to be involved in the games.
