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For Native Americans, play is serious business.
Games and sports are often played in a sacred way. They benefit the whole tribe that way. A game might be played to honor the dead or to gain favor with spirits. It might be played to heal illnesses, to improve the weather, or to change a situation.
In the past, games helped train players to hunt and wage war. Games also made a tribe’s social ties stronger. Anyone could play, and most games focused on the value of teamwork.
Native American games fall into two main categories: games of chance and games of skill. Gambling was a key element of games of chance. Gambling didn’t take away from the spiritual nature of the game. It actually boosted a game’s sacred purpose. According to an Iroquois teaching, the purpose of a game of chance is to remind players that the things around them do not belong to them. They belong to the world. Playing a game and taking the chance of losing your possessions sends a message to the Creator that you are grateful for the use of these things and willing to share with others. Despite their spiritual and social importance, games are also fun. Let’s join Native Americans at play.
▲ Little Brother of War is what Indians of the Southeast called stickball. It turned into the modern game of lacrosse. A stickball game might go from midmorning to late afternoon without a break. Pushing, pulling, butting, and biting were allowed, and bloodshed and broken bones were common. Versions of stickball were played all over America.
▲ Hoop and pole games also were played all over America. Two males would shoot spears, arrows, or darts at a hoop. Points were scored based on where they entered the hoop. The game sharpened a player’s aim, which made him a better hunter.
In the East and on the Plains, only women played double ball. But in northern California, men played the game. Players used a stick with a crook on one end to throw two balls that were connected by a strip of hide. The object was to toss the balls over the opponent’s goal. ▶
◀ There are many versions of the hidden ball game. It’s also called the moccasin game. An object is hidden under one of four moccasins. It could also be hidden in one of four hollow tubes or under a piece of buckskin. Players try to guess where the object is located, sometimes by pointing to it with a stick. After the Europeans came, the hidden object was often a bullet.
Native Americans also played cat’s cradle. But it wasn’t just for young people. Skilled players could weave the forms of animals, birds, butterflies, or fish. They also could create household objects or show humans doing various things. ▶
Native Tongue
Here are some Native American words that are used in English.
◀ The World Eskimo-Indian Olympics were founded in 1961. They re-create ancient tests of skill and endurance. These were once used to prepare young men for the hard work of Arctic hunting. Today’s games open with the Race of the Torch. The games’ logo is six interlocking rings. These rings represent the six main Alaska Native tribes: Aleut, Athabascan, Eskimo (made up mostly of Inupiat and Yupik), Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian. The events include the Alaskan High Kick and the Blanket Toss. They also include the Ear Weight, in which contestants walk with 16 pounds of lead hanging from an ear until they can no longer hold the weight.
▲ For centuries, Native Americans ran to train for warfare and hunting. They also ran to carry messages over large areas. They ran to enact certain myths, and they ran to keep in touch with the forces of nature. In 1992, a group of mostly Native Americans ran toward the Pyramid of the Sun, in Mexico. A similar group of South Americans met them there. Their meeting was a protest of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s landing in America.
◀ At boarding schools, Native Americans began to play modern American sports. Jim Thorpe was of Sac and Fox-Potawatomi heritage. At the 1912 Olympics, he won the pentathlon and the decathlon. He took home two gold medals. But the International Olympic Committee later took his medals away. In 1909 and 1910, Thorpe had accidentally given up his amateur standing. He’d taken $2.00 a day in expense money for playing minor league baseball. Thorpe didn’t try to get his medals back. However, in 1982, the Jim Thorpe Foundation was set up to try to restore his medals. In 1983, the Olympic Committee gave exact copies of Thorpe’s medals to his heirs.
Check It Out!
There are 26 U.S. states that got their names from Native American languages. How many of them can you name?
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
