Native Americans invented lacrosse-and now the modern league is embracing it

The sport of lacrosse started as a Native American tradition centuries ago. Early European settlers observed tribes playing a far more aggressive variation involving long sticks that were affixed with hooked nets on one end. Those tools worked great for catching and re-slinging a deerskin ball among teammates en route to the goal. But because the games involved thousands of players on a sprawling field and could last for days on end, the real win was being able to knock out other competitors along the way.

The whole exercise approximated battle training. When compressed into something more appropriate for club play in Montreal circa 1842, the French also renamed it. Various indigenous names like baggataway and tewaraathon were replaced by the current one, which pays homage to the fact that those sticks looked a lot like a bishop's religious staff.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90368565/native-americans-invented-lacrosse-and-now-the-modern-league-is-embracing-it