Medicine to the soul: Petoskey lacrosse players learn Native American history of the game

PETOSKEY — For a lot of people, the game of lacrosse around Northern Michigan may seem very new.

But, in reality, it’s been around long before many even came to the area.

Petoskey High School head lacrosse coach Brian Main knows that and the rich Native American history of the sport and wanted his players within the program to learn it as well.

“It used to be, when I was younger and there weren’t as many people playing, everyone knew that history of the game and it was really important that it was taught,” said Main. “I feel like, with it growing so fast, it’s kind of getting lost.”

So, Main did something about that.

With the help of R.J. Smith, who serves on the Petoskey Lacrosse Board of Directors and is a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe (Wis.), Petoskey lacrosse players from the middle school level on up to the high school varsity learned the tradition of the game recently and got to experience the traditional Native style of the game.

“It was an honor,” said Smith. “It was already something I’ve wanted to do, then to get the opportunity, I kind of jumped at it.”

Smith taught players the history of the sport, known as Baagadowe to the Odawa, while bringing enough traditional sticks for players to put a game together, which was a challenge to say the least for many.

Smith felt they soon got the hang of it, though.

“They had an awesome time,” said Smith. “The high schoolers really took to it right away. Of course a lot of them were intimidated to start, thinking it was going to be impossible or something, but it was a good teaching thing for them. Definitely a great equalizer. There were guys that were better at this than the modern game. You could tell it really brought a lot of good spirit out of them.”

Main saw the competitive side come out of his team of course once everything got going and players learned the traditional rules, which instead of a hockey like goal, two 6-foot long cedar posts are used as the goal, one at each end of the field. Players then try to hit the post with the ball, either thrown, or while the ball is still in the net of the stick.

“It’s a totally different game, but it was really cool,” said Main. “They loved it, even more than I thought they would. They asked if he would come back again. So they really liked it and hopefully we can do that every year.”

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The message from Smith is what Main loved perhaps more than anything, particularly after the last couple years of challenges and trying times both while trying to get the game going and away from the field.

Smith spoke of lacrosse being much more than just a game.

“For them, the game is medicine,” said Main on what Smith expressed. “I thought that was really important, especially after the last few years with COVID and everything. For them, it’s almost like therapy to get out and play. The game is medicine to the soul. I think for our guys to get out and have a semi-normal year again, I think that’s huge and it was a great message for them to receive.”

Main and Smith also worked together on incorporating other ways of honoring the Native American culture of the game and now have a design on their warmup uniforms that represents the origin of the game and the people it came from.

“I went to four elders of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa and I asked their permission and their advice on what to use,” said Smith. “They led me to what to put together and made sure to let them know the symbol is on loan. It’s a real great opportunity to wear that symbol.”

Smith’s son, Zhaawon, recently graduated from Petoskey and was a member of the varsity team, while his daughter, Miigwaans, was a member of the Central Michigan University women’s lacrosse team years back after graduating from Petoskey.

Smith also helps run the area Native American lacrosse group Makwa Ziibi Baagadowewin (Bear River Lacrosse), which he hopes to get going again this summer.

In the future, both Smith and Main hope to continue to spread the history of the game and Smith also hopes to showcase the traditional game for others.

“I would love to have a game at halftime or at the end of a game sometime at the stadium, where the parents and everyone else can see it and experience it as well,” added Smith.

Petoskey’s varsity lacrosse will host a Michigan High School Athletic Association regional game at Northmen Stadium at 5 p.m. next Tuesday, May 31 against Saginaw Heritage.

Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Medicine to the soul: Petoskey lacrosse players learn Native American history of the game