I am a Mohawk. I was raised about three hours north of Syracuse, in Akwesasne. So, as an indigenous person, there is a lot of imagery in this haiku that spoke out to me. In our history, when lacrosse was given to us, it was the Creator's game. You play it to praise him. It keeps you healthy, it keeps the people's spirits up, and those who are unable, the elderly, the disabled and the young. The game is medicine and it feeds the spirit of our community at large.

Initially I wanted to go back to the old days, when there would be hundreds of players on the field at once. Then I wanted to make a tribute to my father, Brandon David, and the age of '90s lacrosse. But I felt it would be more powerful to do a modern-day version. This piece has tributes to my father, my sister, and the nationally known Thompson brothers.