Indigenous History Month | Cody Jamieson
Jun 8, 2020
Cody Jamieson | Mohawk
Produced by: JACKIE SHARKEY (cbc.ca)
“Our culture is so deeply rooted in lacrosse that it’s in our Creation story,” says lacrosse player Cody Jamieson, who is Mohawk from the Turtle Clan at the Six Nations of the Grand River.
“We play it for the Creator’s enjoyment. It has been around for as long as we have.”
Jamieson has turned his natural talent for the sport into a livelihood. He plays professionally for the Halifax Thunderbirds of the National Lacrosse League. Jamieson has also played pro for the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse and was named MVP in 2014 for the Rochester Knighthawks of the NLL.
According to the Sachem, a paper in Caledonia, Ont., that has long covered the sport at nearby Six Nations, he is “one of the best lacrosse players on the planet” and the “heart and soul” of the Six Nations Chiefs, the Major Series Lacrosse Senior A team that Jamieson co-captains.
Despite his personal achievements in this highly physical game, Jamieson says lacrosse transcends mere competition. And it all stems from its history.
Known as Canada’s national summer sport, lacrosse has great significance in Mohawk culture. Played with netted sticks and balls, it goes back long before European contact.
“The Creator first gave the game to the animals and they played the winged animals against the legged animals,” says the 28-year-old Jamieson. “That’s the way it goes in our Creation story. It was passed down to us.”
Traditional burials at Six Nations include a wooden lacrosse stick, he says, so “you can play lacrosse in the spirit world with everybody who has passed on already.” Jamieson followed the cultural practice of giving a small, traditional lacrosse stick to his son in his crib to symbolize “the beginning of his path.”
Jamieson himself began playing lacrosse as a toddler. Now, as an adult, he is using it as the basis for suicide prevention workshops for Indigenous youth. In them, he explains how the sport belongs to their culture and can be a healthy outlet for pent-up emotions.
“Everybody thinks it’s a rough, intimidating game, but it really is so peaceful.”
Here are three life lessons Jamieson says we can draw from the sport.
Lacrosse is medicine
“When things aren’t going well or when things are a little hectic in my day-to-day life or if I had a rough day, I can come out [to the arena] and it’s my safe zone. Everybody thinks it’s a rough, intimidating game, but it really is so peaceful. It really is medicine and it can heal a lot of things.”
A lacrosse stick can be your best friend
“We have a high suicide rate among Native Americans. You can use that [lacrosse] stick as medicine. It can be a best friend for somebody, and it was for me for a really long time. It’s always going to be there. You can pick up a ball and play. You don’t even have to have someone there to play with, [but] you’re going to get better as long as that stick is in your hand.”
There’s a spot on the team for everybody
“I’m not the biggest guy, I’m not the strongest guy, I’m not the fastest guy. That’s what I love about lacrosse: it all comes down to head, heart, hustle. If you’ve got that and you want to be better, you’re going to be better.”