Why Traditional Indigenous Games Were Created

Long before modern organized sport, Indigenous Peoples across North America played games of endurance, dexterity and skill, with meanings that reached far beyond recreation. Many reflected relationships with the land, water and air, while others carried spiritual meaning and connections to the Creator.

For the Haudenosaunee, lacrosse holds deep cultural and spiritual significance and is often known as the Creator’s Game. Dene Games developed strength, endurance and skills connected to traditional life. Across the Arctic, games tested balance, strength and even pain tolerance—abilities shaped by life in a demanding environment. These activities brought people together while passing skills, knowledge and traditions from one generation to the next. Their survival through generations of colonial disruption speaks to their lasting importance as expressions of identity, resilience and continuity.

WHAT TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS GAMES HAVE IN COMMON

From the Arctic to the Great Lakes and Plains, the games vary widely, but many share a purpose: building strength, agility, focus and belonging.

The environment often shaped how they were played. Some northern games developed abilities useful on the land, while others could be played indoors during long winters. Elsewhere, Indigenous Nations developed stick-and-ball games suited to large outdoor spaces.

More than tests of athletic ability, these games created opportunities to gather, compete, teach and learn. Through play, physical skills and cultural knowledge could travel between generations.

Double Ball

Double Ball uses two small balls connected by a leather thong and carried or thrown with sticks. Different forms were played by Indigenous Nations across the Plains and Great Lakes, including the Cree and Potawatomi.

Historically played almost exclusively by women in many communities, Double Ball held recreational, spiritual and healing importance, while success could also bring recognition to the community. Players needed speed, coordination and teamwork as they moved the ball toward their goal.

Today, the game continues at traditional sporting events, connecting a new generation of girls and women with a tradition carried forward over centuries.

Inuit High Kick

The One-Foot, Two-Foot and Alaskan High Kicks combine remarkable strength, balance and precision. Athletes leap toward a suspended target, touch it with a foot and complete the movement under control.

The One-Foot and Two-Foot High Kicks are linked to an old signalling tradition: after a successful hunt, the movement could carry the good news back to people watching from a distance. The Alaskan High Kick has a different tradition. During indoor competitions, athletes once used ash from a fire to mark how high they could reach.

Today, high-kick events remain highlights of competitions such as the Arctic Winter Games, carrying athletic skill and cultural tradition forward together.

Stick Pull

Stick Pull is a Dene game in which two competitors grip opposite ends of a greased wooden stick and try to pull it away from each other. The slippery surface makes technique, concentration and grip as important as strength.

The game reflects the challenge of holding onto a slippery fish and helped develop skills connected to traditional life.

Today, competitors continue to test those abilities while demonstrating the respect and sportsmanship central to Dene Games.

Snow Snake

Snow Snake is a Haudenosaunee winter game of distance and precision. Players send carefully prepared wooden “snakes” along a track in the snow, competing to see which travels farthest.

The game has roots in an old winter communication practice, when wooden snakes could carry messages between communities. Over time, it developed into a competitive tradition filled with skill and friendly rivalry.

Today, experienced players continue to share their knowledge with younger generations, keeping the game moving forward.

Looking Forward

Preserving traditional games matters because cultural knowledge cannot be carried by books alone. Colonial policies, including the residential school system, disrupted Indigenous languages, cultures, families and the passing of knowledge between generations. Indigenous communities, however, continued to carry traditions forward.

Today, traditional games competitions bring together Elders, young athletes, families and communities. Larger gatherings such as the Arctic Winter Games and North American Indigenous Games unite thousands through sport and culture. For many participants, success is about more than a medal. It is also about learning from those who came before and ensuring that knowledge reaches those who come next.

More Than Winning

Watch a Stick Pull match, and you’ll see that winning isn’t everything. Competitors encourage one another, share advice and show respect. That spirit is reflected in the Arctic Winter Games’ Hodgson Trophy, which honours sportsmanship and team spirit.

It’s this same spirit that ties the games together. Double Ball gave generations of women a place to show strength and skill; Snow Snake brought competition and connection to winter; and Stick Pull and the high kicks developed abilities connected to life on the land. More than competition, these traditions are about community, pride and resilience. They bring people together, carry traditions forward and pass knowledge between generations. The true victory lies not only in the score, but in what continues through play.

Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia — Dene Games; Lacrosse • Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center — Péski’a (Double Ball) • Onondaga Nation — Snow Snake • Arctic Winter Games — Arctic Sports; Dene Games; Hodgson Trophy • North American Indigenous Games Council — History of NAIG • National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation — Residential Schools and Their Legacy