104. Lacrosse stick
- Rainey Knudson
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
The rules of the game as we understand them—as we would insist on them—simply did not exist. It was played on a great open space of anywhere from 500 feet to a mile or two. There was no “out of bounds” because the world itself was the field. Duration of play was measured by sunrise and sunset. The goal, in the small sense of the word, was a two-inch pole that players had to strike with the ball.
But in the larger sense, this was not merely a game. This was physical and spiritual conditioning, practice for war, gathering of the whole community for trade, settling of disputes, and worship—of the strength of bodies young and old, of the earth and existence itself. It was called the Creator’s Game, medicine for mind and body as much as play.
For a day or two, hundreds of players, sometimes a thousand or more, would run together, bearing the wooden stick that was given to them at birth and that would be buried with them. The stick was bent into a curve, which French explorers thought resembled a bishop’s crook, la crosse. But for the original players of the oldest sport on the continent, it symbolized a sacred weapon—a marker of identity, painted and decorated with feathers.
Modern plastic lacrosse sticks resemble the originals. But they are merely equipment. The prep school game played with pads and helmets is something else entirely, a distant descendant of the Creator’s Game.
Special thanks to E. Philip Cannon for suggesting the lacrosse stick.
Links:
This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country's 250th anniversary. 250 words on 250 works, from January 1 to December 31, 2026.
Too many emails? To receive a weekly recap instead, please subscribe on my Substack blog. Instructions for turning on the weekly summary can be found here.
Have something you’d like me to consider for inclusion? Please feel free to leave a comment!
