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American Indian Lacrosse

Little Brother of War

Thomas Vennum

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To understand the aboriginal roots of lacrosse, one must enter a world of spiritual belief and magic where players sewed inchworms into the innards of lacrosse balls and medicine men gazed at miniature lacrosse sticks to predict future events, where bits of bat wings were twisted into the stick's netting, and where famous players were—and are still—buried with their sticks. Here Thomas Vennum brings this world to life.

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Reviews

In a mix of narrative, interviews, analysis, and tribal lore, Mr. Vennum has crafted a complex and entertaining book... American Indian Lacrosse offers a sweeping new perspective on a game that has functioned, at various times, as symbolic combat ritual, healing ceremony, gambling spectacle, war ruse, and intercollegiate sport.

Brings the game's cultural complexities and historical roles to life... A major contribution to the cultural history of sport.

This exhaustive, well-documented work serves as a definitive study of the sport in its traditional form. A worthy addition to core subject and Native American collections.

This book presents a rare account.

An important study and a good read... Vennum's writing style is an alluring blend of hygienic academic analysis and historical accounts, narratives and interviews, a style used deliberately throughout the book... His book is a compelling journey into the historical exploration of an old team sport.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
7
x
10
Pages
376
ISBN
9780801887642
Illustration Description
77 halftones
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface
Prologue Carrier Dome, Syracuse University, 21 May 1989
1. Huron Country, 1637
2. "How the Bat Got Its Wings"
3. Iroquois Country, 1794
4. The Bishop's Crook and Other Misnomers
5

Acknowledgements
Preface
Prologue Carrier Dome, Syracuse University, 21 May 1989
1. Huron Country, 1637
2. "How the Bat Got Its Wings"
3. Iroquois Country, 1794
4. The Bishop's Crook and Other Misnomers
5. Ballistas and Cannonshot
6. Fort Michilimackinac, 1763
7. A Stake in the Game
8. The Overhead Flourish" and "The Pounce"
9. Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, 1834
10. "The Indian Gallery"
11. Breechclouts and Bare Feet
12. Cherokee Reservation
13. Little Brother of War
14. "It's a Toss-up"
15. Montreal, 1866
16. "Lo, the Poor Mohawk"
Epilogue Niagara-Wheatfield High School, 1991
Appendix A Lacrosse Legends
Appendix B Indiana Lacrosse Stick Making
Notes
Bibliographic Note
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index

Author Bio
Thomas Vennum
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Thomas Vennum

Thomas Vennum, senior ethnomusicologist emeritus at the Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., is the author of Lacrosse Legends of the First Americans. Retired and living in Tucson, Arizona, he continues research among Indian tribes in Sonora, Mexico, specifically the Seri.