Haudenosaunee Nationals women's team set course for semifinals at box lacrosse championships

The Haudenosaunee Nationals women's team have won three out of four of their games so far at the first-ever women's World Lacrosse Box Championship in Utica, N.Y.

Team captain Fawn Porter, who is Cayuga from Six Nations of the Grand River, said although the team lost their first game against the U.S. 11-4, it motivated her to lead the team to the gold medal game.

"That fired us up," she said.

"No one freaked out on that first game. They all knew what they had to do... The chemistry really showed and we all showed that we were there for each other."

The Haudenosaunee Nationals, made up of athletes from the Kanien'kehá:ka, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora nations, is a member of World Lacrosse and competes at the global level.

Traditionally only a men's sport, women's lacrosse is not sanctioned in all Haudenosaunee communities. Box lacrosse differs from field lacrosse in that it's typically played indoors on converted rinks.

The rules for women's box lacrosse are no different from the men's and the game is fast-paced and rough.

Porter said her grandmother is one of those traditional elders who does not sanction women playing the sport but still supports her granddaughter.

"The medicine picks you, you don't pick the medicine," Porter said she was told by her player liaison.

She said she and her teammates have been playing their whole careers for an opportunity to compete at this level.

Goaltender Chelsea Gibson, who is Cayuga from Six Nations, is a mom of three and she urged husbands to take notes from her partner "because he's at home with the babies and being a good hanih (father)" while she lives her dreams.

She said her children are self-proclaimed super fans of the Haudenosaunee Nationals after seeing their mom tend goal.

"This is so amazing to be a part of this history and I can't wait to see all the other younger ones coming up," Gibson said.

'These girls can ball'

Head coach Jason Johnson, who is Onondaga from Six Nations, has coached championship teams in the National Lacrosse League for 16 years.

He said the Canada and U.S. teams are strong opponents because they're high-level college and university athletes with experience competing at the international level, he said — experience members of the Haudenosaunee women's team don't have yet as they play for club teams in Ontario.

But Johnson said he's watched the team progress since try-outs back in June. In order to win, he said, "We're going to have to play our best lacrosse, mistake free."

Claudia Jimerson, (Cayuga Nation, Bear Clan) is director of the women's Haudenosaunee Nationals and said that at first she was concerned about a lack of support from her community for fielding a women's box lacrosse team. 

Jimerson said she's heard different perspectives throughout the Haudenosaunee Confederacy regarding women playing lacrosse.

"The thing is, this is a secular version that we're playing," she said.

"We're not even playing like the men's version. We're not using wooden sticks. We're not doing things that people would do in a traditional game of lacrosse and ceremony. While the game can still feel spiritual to us and give us that good medicine, it's just a different type of version."

Jimerson said in the last five years people have become "more supportive while we advocate for ourselves."

Due to the physical nature of box lacrosse, Jimerson said it takes a special person to be able to play — and the Haudenosaunee team has 23 of them. Watching the women play, she said, is "electric" and a vast improvement since June.

"This is a whole different team," Jimerson said.

"These girls can ball."

Thursday night the Haudenosaunee Nationals take on Germany, on their way to this weekend's semifinals.