On Oct. 17 the Turtle Island Student Organization (TISO) hosted a traditional lacrosse workshop. This is the third workshop TISO has hosted since their first workshop in Spring of 2024.
TISO’s main purpose is to advocate for Native voices on campus and generate a welcoming community on Winona State Universities campus. The lacrosse workshop is one of many events TISO hosts to educate the Winona community about Indigenous culture and history.
The workshop began with a speech about traditional lacrosse and its history. Josh VandeBerg, who has been helping out with the workshop since it began, has been playing for 14 years. He was introduced to traditional lacrosse with his son at the Dakota Gathering.
The first recitation of his speech was in Ho-Chunk followed by the English translation. Josh VandeBerg invited the participants to choose their stick, as each one is handmade and slightly different. 40 sticks were brought to the event, but Josh VandeBerg has made over 100. He tries to keep 40 on hand at all times for events like the workshop but gives away any additional sticks to community members.
His daughter, Zoe VandeBerg, a fourth-year Winona State student majoring in sociology and part of the leadership team for TISO, was also present at the event.
“[Traditional lacrosse] died out for a little bit after the 19th century and we’re working on revitalizing that right now. It’s very powerful to have this game being played on campus, on Dakota and Ho-Chunk land, and bring that back to the Winona area. That’s why we’ve been doing all this and it’s a really good way to gather in community,” Zoe VandeBerg said.
Josh VandeBerg explained the game by telling the rules to the participants, therein, there aren’t any.
“We just have a guideline that we play with respect and honor the game. So that means we respect ourselves, respect the others who are playing, respect the sticks and the people watching the game,” Josh VandeBerg said. “We call it the creator’s game but also the medicine game. So, we try to play it with good intentions. Generally, when we do that, everybody comes out of the game feeling better about everything.”
The group was divided into teams of four and the game began. To begin, everyone gathered in a circle and a tennis ball was thrown into the air from the middle. Before it reached the ground, the players all let out shouts and then the game was on.
Unlike modern lacrosse which uses netted goals, traditional lacrosse has two tall poles on either end. The players score points by either launching the ball and hitting the pole or touching the pole with the tennis ball while it’s in their stick.
“The Ojibwe play a very similar version. If we go down to Oklahoma, they play a stick ball game with two sticks where they hold the ball clamped between the two sticks and throw it a little different. So, there’s lots of versions across Indian country,” Josh VandeBerg said.
The game concluded when a team got to five points. Faculty and students alike were seen with smiles on their faces throughout the game. One participant who played modern lacrosse in college, was amazed at the small differences in the game styles.
Zoe VandeBerg hopes that by exposing people to the traditional game, her culture can continue to live on and grow.
“I want Winona State to be more inclusive and welcoming to Indigenous students,” Zoe VandeBerg said. “So I think having more events like this we can bring more visibility to Indigenous communities and also our traditions. This is a traditional game that my people time immemorial. Having students that aren’t Indigenous or aren’t familiar with the game coming to play or learn about it, it makes them think about it a little bit more. It’s about perpetuating our culture.”
