Showcasing the Creator’s game

The fourth annual McGill Legacy Game, the lacrosse game on September 30 to honour the Indigenous roots of lacrosse, was the biggest yet this year, with many fans in the stands at Percival-Molson Stadium wearing orange to see the Redbirds and University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in action - in spite of the game happening on a chilly weekday evening during midterms season.

“It’s exciting to get more and more people coming out and getting a bigger reach,” said Zachary Pilling, the assistant manager of Varsity Student-Athlete Services.

Pilling has been involved with the Legacy game since its inception, when the initiative was taken by Redbirds player from Akwesasne Isaiah Cree in 2022 to have this game be played on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

“I’m really happy to see where it’s gone,” said Pilling.

It has been five years since the Redbirds team name was adopted by McGill, following a campaign that was led by Indigenous students to change the old Redmen name. For Pilling, who was a student-athlete at McGill from 2015-2018, the Legacy Game shows how far the school has come since it was fighting against the name change.

“We work very closely with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. Working with them, learning from them, having them be as big of a part of this as the athletic side. It’s rewarding, it’s empowering, and I think it’s the right steps that we should be taking,” he said.

This year was the first year that the opposing team in the Legacy Game brought their own orange shirts, Pilling said. In the past, the other teams were supplied with shirts by McGill for the ceremonial portions of the game.

“It’s nice to have them participate, even more than just being here and playing the game,” said Pilling.

He said that the good attendance may be caused by a new initiative for this year’s game, where people who wore orange shirts to the game had free admission. Specially marked Legacy Game orange shirts were also available to buy.

“We hope that more and more people will come and partake in the future,” said Pilling.

This year, the matchup between the Redbirds and the Gee-Gees was preceded by a few words from Akwesasne Elder Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell, who is in the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and had been a council chief in Akwesasne for over 30 years.

Traditional stickmaker Travis Gabriel, from Kanesatake, also spoke to the Redbirds prior to the game.

“It’s always such an honour to hear these guys speak. It really makes you listen and really take the moment in of the game that you’re about to enjoy and play,” said Kahnawa’kehró:non Stone Jacobs, assistant coach for the Redbirds lacrosse team.

Both he and first-year player Ryder Sunday, from Akwesasne, appreciated being involved with the Legacy Game.

“It’s great to be a part of this. Seeing people in the stands, everyone wearing the orange shirts, and everyone being here for the greater purpose of the game and the reconciliation is awesome,” said Jacobs.

“It’s really an honour, honestly. Everyone coming together, watching the lacrosse game, it’s really amazing. To play in the game is another level. Playing my sport, in the game that’s meant for my people, is unreal,” said Sunday.

McGill got off to a fast start against the Gee-Gees, going up 6-1 after the first quarter.

“The support from everyone was definitely a driving force between all of us, and coming out flying was really something we wanted to do for the people,” said Sunday of the crowd’s influence on their fast start.

Although the game tightened up in the three other quarters, and the Gee-Gees tried to gain momentum numerous times throughout, the Redbirds never trailed and were never up by fewer than three goals, winning by a final score of 13-9.

Sunday and Cylis Charlton, who is from the Shuswap Nation in British Columbia, accepted a handmade and engraved stick made by Gabriel during a postgame ceremony.

The victory gives the Redbirds a record of 6-1-0 so far this season and is their fourth straight year of winning the Legacy Game.

[email protected]