BROADCASTS.com

b'

Lacrosse was played by the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora (the Six Nations) long before European settlers set foot on the continent and eyes on the sport. Living in what\\u2019s now the St. Lawrence Valley straddling Quebec, Ontario and upstate New York, they belong to the transborder Haudenosaunee Confederacy and compete as the Iroquois Nationals.\\u201cOur mandate is peace, friendship and healing,\\u201d says Lyons. \\u201cThat\\u2019s what we\\u2019re governed by. Those are our fundamental values. We have a \\u2018medicine game.\\u2019 It\\u2019s our game.\\u201dThere may be no better ambassadors for any sport than the Iroquois Nationals are for lacrosse.\\u201cWe\\u2019re always the unsung heroes,\\u201d says Lyons. \\u201cOur merchandise is the first to sell out at every world event. We\\u2019re the underdogs. Against all odds, we\\u2019re competing at a world level and winning medals.\\u201dThe World Games invited the top eight women\\u2019s lacrosse teams in 2017. It was a success, so the men were up next for Birmingham. They invited the top sides that met the proposed Olympic criteria: Australia, Canada, Germany, Britain, Ireland, Israel, Japan and the host United States. The Iroquois Nationals were not invited.The Iroquois women aren\\u2019t highly ranked, but for the men \\u2014 rated third in the world \\u2014 it was a slap in the face.\\u201cThe World Games were looking at the Iroquois as a roadblock (to the Olympics), rather that seeing the glass half full and what we bring to the table,\\u201d says Lyons.Meanwhile, because of the pandemic, the 2021 World Games became the 2022 World Games, with the Tokyo Olympics moved to 2021. That meant there was more time to lobby to reverse the decision. That\\u2019s when Ireland stepped in. The Irish, the lowest seed, have a keen sense of right and wrong and immediately said they would step aside.\\u201cIt was the right thing to do,\\u201d says Michael Kennedy, chief executive officer of Ireland Lacrosse, who\\u2019d canvassed the 30 or so leaders of Irish lacrosse. \\u201cIt was unanimous. We said we want to do whatever it takes to support the inclusion of the Iroquois.\\u201cThere\\u2019s way more for the sport to gain with the Iroquois\\u2019 inclusion than there was for including Ireland.\\u201dIt strengthened relations between the Irish and the First Nations of North America, a connection that dates back to the 1840s and the potato famine. Back then, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, impoverished themselves, sent $170 to starving Irish families. The Irish never forgot.\\u201cThere\\u2019s a silver-feathers sculpture in Ireland to commemorate that,\\u201d says Kennedy. \\u201cThere\\u2019s a fantastic connection. It\\u2019s amazing, that history between ourselves and First Nations people.\\u201dThis year, the Irish had a fundraising campaign for First Nations that were hit hard by COVID-19.\\u201cIt was never our intention to have Ireland have to withdraw,\\u201d says Lyons. \\u201cWe have quite a bond and friendship that is only going to get stronger.\\u201dIreland\\u2019s tricolours \\u2014 green, white and orange \\u2014 will still be at the World Games. After the gracious act, the Iroquois Nationals changed the colours of their eagle logo from purple and gold to those on the Irish flag as a public gesture of gratitude. The Irish are also launching their lacrosse shirts in Iroquois colours. Everyone is splitting the proceeds to help youth lacrosse. There\\u2019s talk the Nationals will also incorporate Ireland\\u2019s flag at the Games.By Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star