A school-wide lacrosse event held Friday, June 20, in Portage la Prairie marks the latest step in a growing effort to reconnect students with the sport's Indigenous roots and build momentum for a long-term school-based program.
Allan Patterson, vice-principal at La Verendrye School helped lead the initiative. He says his passion for lacrosse began when he was young and continued when he moved to Portage to play junior hockey.
“It’s been a passion of mine since I was a little guy,” notes Patterson. “When I came down to Portage when I was playing junior hockey here, the game didn’t exist. I started teaching at the high school, had a group of kids that were interested in playing. What better opportunity than to create a team at that point in time, which was about 2012.”
Celebrating heritage through sport
The event is held in connection with National Indigenous Peoples Day and aims to honour the deep cultural significance of lacrosse.
“There’s a huge cultural piece to it,” says Patterson. “[This is] a fun way to introduce a cultural activity that’s existed for hundreds of years and get the kids to understand the reason why it’s here.”
The Friday event, hosted at Portage Collegiate Institute, brought together Grade 7 and 8 students from across the division for skill-building and friendly competition.
Honouring the roots of Canada’s national summer sport
Patterson says the hope is for students to leave with more than just athletic experience, he wants them to understand where the game came from and why it matters.
“I’m hoping that they understand the reason why the game is played,” he adds. “The fact that Indigenous people brought such a popular activity, Canada’s national summer sport, we respect that. It just continues with that reconciliation part, giving them the acknowledgement that they deserve.”
He continues, “Hopefully some of these kids grow up to play professional at some point in time in their career if they take a liking to it.”
Looking ahead to long-term goals
All schools in the division were represented at the event except for North Memorial, which serves only students in kindergarten through Grade 6. Patterson says he hopes to eventually develop lacrosse into a regular offering for middle years students.
“Every school was represented in some way, shape or form. The only one that wasn’t was North Memorial because they don’t have Grade 7 and 8,” remarks Patterson. “We started this program as a Grade 7 and 8. I’m really hoping to add more, it's a long-term goal of mine, but hoping to maybe develop this into one of our traditional sports with Grade 7s and 8s.”
Patterson has said previously that he believes expanding lacrosse could have even broader impacts, helping to boost student engagement and offer new paths forward both on and off the field.
- with files by Tristen Sokolosky
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