A series of lectures and presentations on a variety of lacrosse topics, featuring numerous authors and academics, was also be part of the celebration. This gave attendees the opportunity to learn about the game from people that have studied its history.
The Lectures and Presentations:
The Speakers:
J. Alan Childs
Topic: History of Lacrosse on the Prairie
J. Alan Childs is a researcher and historian on the sport of lacrosse in the Midwest. His book “Minnesota Lacrosse: A History” focuses on the roots of lacrosse in the Ojibwe and Dakota communities up to the early Midwest lacrosse. Mr. Childs lives in Savage, Minnesota with his wife and five children who play, coach, and teach lacrosse at all levels.
Jane Claydon
Topic: History and Influence of Canada in the Worldwide Development of Women’s Lacrosse 1884-1924
Jane Claydon grew up in England and was introduced to lacrosse at Dartford College of Physical Education. In 1975, she was appointed Head of the Physical Education Department at St Leonards School, in St Andrews, Scotland, where lacrosse for women began in 1890. She has been a lacrosse administrator for over 40 years, which includes acting as the Director of the inaugural 1982 Women’s World Lacrosse tournament at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. In 2009, Jane published a book entitled St Leonards: Cradle of Lacrosse, which outlined the role St Leonards played in the early development of the game for women in Scotland, England and the USA. She wrote a second book in 2012, St Leonards: First in the Field, which shows how St Leonards played a pivotal role in the introduction of major and minor games in girls’ schools in the United Kingdom. She also assisted Jim Calder and Ron Fletcher with research for the book Women Play Lacrosse, which was launched at the 2015 FIL U19 Women's Lacrosse World Championship. She is currently President of Lacrosse Scotland, a post she has held since 2008, and is also Chair of the Lacrosse Scotland Hall of Fame.
W.B. (Bruce) MacDonald
Topic: The Rise and Fall of Canada’s First Professional Leagues 1901-1924
Bruce MacDonald is a governor of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and a historian, author and poet. He has published six history books, including Salmonbellies vs The World: The Story of Lacrosse’s Most Famous Team & Their Greatest Rivals and The Good Hope Cannery, three books of poetry, two books of short stories and poems in Canadian periodicals. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria and an Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Bruce has taught at the University of British Columbia and the Ontario College of Art and Design and is a member of the Writer’s Union of Canada and the League of Canadian Poets.
Louis 'Tewenhni'tatshon' Delisle
Topic: The History of Lacrosse in Caughnawaga/Kahnawake and How the Warriors/Lacrosse Players Played a Significant Role in the Evolution of Turtle Island
Tewenhni'tatshon, also known as Louis Delisle, is a 2014 inductee to the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a player and builder. He has been an educator in his community since 1975 after graduating from McGill University with a bachelor's degree in education. His experiences in lacrosse go back to the mid-1950s. He has had the benefit of hearing lacrosse history through the oral traditions of elders of the Six Nations Confederacy. He is still involved with lacrosse today, acting as elder advisor to the Kahnawake Survival School lacrosse team.
Donald M. Fisher
Topic: Before Beers: The World of Native Lacrosse in North America to 1867
Donald M. Fisher, Ph.D. is the author of Lacrosse: A History of the Game, a book published by the John Hopkins University Press in 2002, as well as Splendid But Undesirable Isolation: Recasting Canada’s National Game as Box Lacrosse (1931-1932), a lacrosse article that appeared in Sport History Review in 2005. He was a presenter at the 2014 Transnational Lacrosse Conference which took place in Nova Scotia. Fisher currently lives near Buffalo, N.Y. and is a Professor of History at Niagara County Community College.
Daniel Ferland
Topic: The Significance and Cultural Role of the Game of Lacrosse
Daniel Ferland holds both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in history from the University of Sherbrooke. His post-secondary research was centered on the sport of lacrosse and its First Nations origins. This historian has had an interest in the sport for quite some time, having played it for over 40 years. This has allowed him to see first-hand the evolution of in-game techniques and equipment, spanning from the end of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century.
Women and Gender in Sports
The Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at McGill University hosted a series of presentations on the topic of Women and Gender in Sports on Thursday evening.
Contact: Alexandra Ketchum
- Panel: Lisa-Marie Breton-Lebreux (Co-Founder and Assistant Coach; Canadiennes de Montreal Hockey Club), Dr. Homa Hoodfar (Professor, Sociology and Anthropology; Concordia University) and Robyn Flynn (Sports Radio Journalist; CJAD800 and TSN690) took part in a panel discussion on women and girls in sport.
- Presentation: Kari Miller, the founder of women’s lacrosse league in Six Nations and head coach of the Haudenosaunee U19 national team, gave a short presentation.
- Film Screening: The film Keepers of the Game, which made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival and has been broadcast on ESPN, was shown. The documentary tells the story of the Salmon River High School girls' lacrosse team, which is composed completely of Native Americans players from the Mohawk nation. As their season comes to a head, the team is faced with increasing ambivalence in their own community and the girls must prove that the game of lacrosse is their rightful inheritance. With more than just the championship on the line, the girls fight to blaze a new path for the next generation of Native women, while still honoring their people's tradition in a changing world.