Local laxers go to California 

While this part of Turtle Island experienced major snowfall, laxers from Kahnawake and Kanesatake got to experience the California sun over the weekend. The six athletes played for the Pacific Northwest Native Lacrosse team in Irvine, California, as part of US Box Lacrosse’s Western Regionals from February 15-17.

Logan Gabriel from Kanesatake was joined by Dash Diabo, Oakley Dickson, Jackson Norton, Wyatt Cross, and Cade Stacey from Kahnawake. They were invited by the program to come play in California.

“I was excited because the tournament was in California,” said Stacey, who added that being able to explore some parts of Los Angeles was one of the highlights of his time at the Western Regionals.

Pacific Northwest Native Lacrosse is a newer program, having only competed in three tournaments prior to this one, none of which were for box lacrosse.

Their team in Irvine was comprised exclusively of Indigenous high school-aged players, with the goal of giving those players experience on a stage like the Western Regionals.

The program also emphasized their desire to bring together players from many different nations to represent the diversity of Indigenous lacrosse players. Along with players from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the team featured players who were Diné, Algonquin, from Squamish Nation, and the Samson Cree Nation, among others.

“With only one practice together, our team came into this weekend as a group of players who had never played alongside each other. We left as a team that battled hard, learned valuable lessons, and took a huge step forward in growing Native representation in US box lacrosse,” said the team in a post on social media following the tournament.

The team played five games, finishing with a record of 2-3.

“These tournaments are about more than just the wins and losses - they’re about building something special, learning how to play for each other, and honouring our game,” said the team in the same post.

That being said, Stacey felt as though they did have a good team.

“We just ran into some good goaltending,” he said.

Stacey said that Pacific Northwest Native Lacrosse invited him to come back in the future when they will participate in other tournaments, although it is not yet known when the program will assemble another team for box lacrosse.

Kirby Joe Diabo, president of the Kahnawake Minor Lacrosse Association, raised money for the players’ travel expenses on Facebook with the help of a Super Bowl squares board.

Diabo said the fundraising was a success, raising $1,000 for each player.

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