Red Lake Oshkiimaajitahdah (New Beginnings) Lacrosse Day

(Red Lake) The fastest growing sport in the country and state is coming to the Red Lake Nation and possibly throughout the Northland. The Red Lake Oshkiimaajitahdah (New Beginnings) Lacrosse Day will be held on Saturday, September 12 at Red Lake and Ponemah. All training sessions are geared toward beginners and intermediate players and are free to local and area youth and adults. All equipment will be provided. The event day at Red Lake is from 8:30 am to 1 pm and at Ponemah from 2 pm to 6:30 pm.

“These events are the testing ground for the future of lacrosse at the Red Lake Nation,” said event director Dan Ninham who also directs Bemidji Lacrosse, North Central Lacrosse and Northern Indigenous Lacrosse. “We have outstanding support from the Oshkiimaajitahdah (New Beginnings) Program and Red Lake Nation to provide opportunities for local and regional players to play lacrosse.”

Former Iroquois Nationals and National Lacrosse League Coach Freeman Bucktooth will be featured as an instructor on September 12. The Iroquois Nationals are the only indigenous recognized team to play in international competition.

A similar event, the Creators Game Gathering, will be held at the Red Lake Nation on October 10 and at Cass Lake on October 11. The Red Lake and Cass Lake event features pro native players Brett Bucktooth and Jeff Shattler, who will be competing this month for the Iroquois Nationals at the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships hosted by the Onondaga Nation in New York. Curtiss Summers, director of the Oneida Nation Lacrosse Program in Wisconsin, will also be featured.

“We have coaches who are sponsored and others volunteer their time to work with us,” said Ninham. The October 10 Red Lake Nation event will feature Mark Hellenack, founder of the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association (MBSLA) and state and college champion coach, Kevin Reed, former head coach at St. Louis Park, coach at Hopkins and the University of St. Thomas, and president of the MBSLA, and Dan Shook, Ohio Division II State Coach of the Year.

“It is ideal for leadership to be within the community for lacrosse to grow,” said Ninham. “It is also ideal to provide opportunities for players to advance their skills and to compete at high levels.”

Chris Jourdain has started an elementary program at Red Lake, Pat Haugen is beginning fall lacrosse at Cass Lake, Dennis Williams has a program at White Earth, and Lukas Fineday is developing a program at Ponsford on the White Earth Nation.

For more information, contact Dan Ninham at 218.368.6430 or coach.danninham@gmail.com