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Deyhontsigwa’ehs-The Creator’s Game, Lacrosse Weekend 2018

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Saturday September 29 thru Sunday September 30, 2018
Onondaga Lake Park, Liverpool, New York in the heart of Onondaga Nation Territory

 

view the tentative schedule

Follow along with all the updates via our hashtag: #laxweekend18

A unique and exciting weekend of events is happening in Central New York celebrating the origins of Lacrosse at Onondaga Lake which is the birthplace of the game we now call Lacrosse.
There are two main elements to the weekend:

  • The Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival
  • The First Annual Thohneñ’datek Randy Hall Masters Wooden Stick Lacrosse Tournament

The Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival

The festival will feature Native American/First Nations People’s wooden lacrosse stick makers, and other crafters. There will also be traditional Haudenosaunee singing, dancing, and foods. As an educational and entertainment event for the whole family, there will also be plenty of educational and entertainment options including some engaging guest speakers.

The First Annual Thohneñ’datek Randy Hall Masters Wooden Stick Lacrosse Tournament

About Randy Hall

Thohneñ’datek Thomas Randall “Randy” Hall, Akwesasne Mohawk Wolf Clan, passed away January 18, 2018. He served in Vietnam with US Army (1965-68) and he also participated in the 1972 AIM takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington D.C. He loved sports and he was deeply involved with the Onondaga Athletic Club where he played and coached lacrosse and basketball teams. One of his favorite things to do was to travel and be part of tournaments. In his memory the Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival honors him by naming the wooden sticks tournament after him. ( Syracuse.com Obituary).

The inaugural Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival was held at Onondaga Lake in 2013. The games had previously been played exclusively on Haudenosaunee Nation territories, but in 2013, Randy Hall asked Philip P. Arnold and Sandy Bigtree for help in bringing the game back to Onondaga Lake––its place of origin––where the Peacemaker arrive well over 1,000 years ago bringing peace to five warring nations. Deyhontsigwa’ehs, the Creator’s Game, was an integral part of this process. This ancient game is still play ceremonially among the Haudenosaunee. It is played hard, but always played to foster good relationships between human beings and the natural world.

About The First Annual Thohneñ’datek Randy Hall Masters Wooden Stick Lacrosse Tournament

There will be referees, a tent for changing, a box sized field marked out on the grass with 4×4 nets by Onondaga Lake. Players will be responsible for helmets and gloves, and wooden stick is preferable. Teams will be responsible for their jerseys. Wooden sticks are preferred but not required. Rules forthcoming. The tournament entrance fee is $200 per team.

  • First Prize: Leather Game Ball, Plaque, $150 cash.
  • Second Prize: Plaque & $75 cash.
  • Third Prize: Plaque & $75 cash.

Enter the Tournament
The First Annual Thohneñ’datek Randy Hall Masters Wooden Stick Lacrosse Tournament

Hotels

We have secured a block of rooms for folks at the Hampton Inn and Suites.

  • Hampton Inn and Suites East Syracuse Carrier Circle
  • 6377 Court Street Road East Syracuse NY 13057
  • Phone: 315-437-1060
  • Fax: 315-437-1061

For more reservation details see: Hotels

Get Involved

Enter the Tournament
Be a Sponsor
Be A Vendor

There are a lot of ways to get involved with the Deyhontsigwa’ehs-The Creator’s Game, Lacrosse Weekend. You can attend the event or you can take part in the festivities by playing in the tournament, being a vendor, or by being a sponsor.

About the Haudenosaunee

The Haudenosaunee (who have been labeled “Iroquois”) are the originators and keepers of the game now known as “lacrosse.” Deyhontsigwa’ehs (“They Bump Hips”, in the Onondaga Language) is thier word for the game, which is also referred to as “The Creator’s Game.” The Onondaga Nation is the “Central Fire” of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy of six separate nations (Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora).

This confederacy was founded on the shores of Onondaga Lake––in what is now Liverpool and Syracuse New York––over 1000 years ago and it was Deyhontsigwa’ehs that brought together these original nations in what is referred to in English as “The Great Law of Peace .”

About Indigenous Values Initiative & The Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival

Indigenous Values Initiative is dedicated to educating articulating, disseminating and promoting the values expressed by the leadership of the Onondaga Nation, the Central Fire of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (made up of the Seneca, Tuscarora, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk Nations).  To learn more visit About Indigenous Values initiative .

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