Frank Belleau, of Garden River First Nations, is a man of many talents with an especially deep spiritual connection to baaga’adowewin, lacrosse in the English language, a game that is traced back almost 1,000 years. Native oral traditions tell us that lacrosse was first played between birds and mammals, that the sport was a gift from the Creator to be used for enjoyment and as medicine, and beyond serving as a ritual ceremony lacrosse was often used to settle disagreements between tribes.

Painting by: George Catlin

 “Lacrosse is part of that story of our creation, of our identity, of who we are, so, when we play the game, we always say that there’s a simultaneous game going on in Sky World and our ancestors are playing with us.”

Date:5 June 2025 .