Games and athletic contests were played for reasons such as religious beliefs, politics, wagering, solving disputes, healing benefits, land use, and for entertainment (Delsahut). Several indigenous games were tribe-specific one of the most common games played specifically by the Iroquoian was the Bowl Game, played using colored balls and sticks.
Several contests and games invented by American indigenous groups contributed to modern-day sports (like the game of lacrosse) and casino play. Card and dice games were commonly used as forms of entertainment among tribes such as the Iroquois and Lakota. Common athletic contests held by early American tribes (such as the Algonquian, Cherokee, Iroquoian, Sioux, Lakota, Choctaw, and Great Lakes peoples) included games of stickball (an early form of lacrosse also known as 'Little Brother of War'), chunkey, archery, darts, foot races, and canoeing. Most of these games and sporting events were recorded by observations from the early 1700s. Stickball was one of the many early sports played by American indigenous people in the early 1700s.Įarly Native American recreational activities consisted of diverse sporting events, card games, and other innovative forms of entertainment.
