headsThe Iroquois are the originators of the modern day game of Lacrosse. Shrouded in time, Lacrosse was played among the Confederacy long before the coming of the Europeans to the shores of North America. It can be said that when the Europeans first came to America, Lacrosse was one of the most popular and widespread games played across the continent and with many variations. The long stick game played internationally today belongs to the Iroquois.



Historical evidence indicates that the Iroquois had a significant role in the development of democratic principles in North America and the ideas and concepts of the Iroquois form of government influenced the thinking of Benjamin Franklin, who was instrumental in the development of the American Constitution. All the nations of the confederacy speak dialects of the Iroquois language. The people of the Confederacy belong to any one of the nine family clans (Turtle, Bear, Wolf, Deer, Beaver, Hawk, Heron, Snipe or Eel) of the Haudenosaunee and share many common beliefs and traditions under the Great Law. In 1987, the Congress of the United States unanimously passes Concurrent Resolution S.76, recognizing the contribution of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) to the democratic principles of the Constitution of the United States.

Today, approximately 70,000 plus Iroquois people reside in eighteen communities in the states of New York, Wisconsin and Oklahoma, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.