SALAMANCA — The Seneca Nation welcomed a large crowd of visitors for a celebration of the Creator’s game when it hosted the Haudenosaunee Lacrosse Weekend on its Allegany Territory.
The weekend included exhibition practices by the U20 Haudenosaunee Nationals, as the team prepares to play in the World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship in Korea this summer. The Nationals also played an exhibition game against the Buffalo Performaxx on Saturday afternoon.
“We were excited to welcome the Haudenosaunee Nationals and friends and supporters from far and wide to Allegany for a fun weekend,” said Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca. “The Haudenosaunee Nationals represent our Nations, our ancestors and our culture by competing on the world stage this summer in Korea — and hopefully in the Olympics in 2028. We wanted to show them our support and to celebrate the Creator’s game.”
After the opening ceremonies at Veterans Memorial Park, the Nationals started the lacrosse action with an exhibition practice. As part of the weekend schedule, a special Masters game was also played at Vets Park on Saturday, featuring many outstanding veteran players 40 and older. That game was followed by the Nationals-Performaxx exhibition game. Several legends of the game were in attendance and were honored during a special halftime ceremony.
On Sunday, the Haudenosaunee Nationals held another exhibition practice, followed by a sendoff ceremony with Seneca Nation leaders and a community chicken BBQ to wrap up the festivities.
In 2023, it was announced that lacrosse would be included in the 2028 Summer Olympics being held in Los Angeles. The Haudenosaunee people were the first people to share the game of lacrosse with the world. Efforts are underway to encourage organizers of the 2028 Summer Olympics to allow the Haudenosaunee Nationals to compete in the games under their own flag.
“The game was gifted to our ancestors by the Creator as a spiritual game and a medicine game,” President Seneca explained. “With lacrosse returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a century, I believe the only right decision is to include the Haudenosaunee team in the competition, to celebrate our connection to the game, and to recognize our athletes under the sovereign Haudenosaunee flag, just as they have competed at the highest level in tournaments and competitions around the world.”
