To the Editor:
Indigenous Americans have been playing the game of lacrosse since 1100 AD. According to aboriginal lore, the game is a “gift from the creator,” giving it significant sacred value within these native cultures; becoming a ceremonial ritual of thanks for many of these tribes.
The Mohawk and Iroquois nations believe that the game has a healing power, serving as a collective spiritual message to a greater power. Many communities within these tribes have cited lacrosse as a means of salvation for their community, a “miracle working” phenomena that ameliorates even the worst ailments. As a result, the sport has been dubbed “The Medicine Game.”
Last week, Foran and Law's lacrosse teams met just two weeks after a tragedy that left confusion, devastation and heartbreak in its wake. On this somber occasion, these two, seemingly opposing tribes united as one for the purpose of healing.
The convalescence of the community was palpable as these two teams took the field to partake in Milford's own “medicine game.”
There is great and beautiful irony in the unifying capability of competition, the solace and camaraderie that follow shared strife. The nature of such sentiments became liminal as the sea of purple shirts that read “Foran and Law, United as One” gathered to take a post-game picture, honoring the game, the rivalry and the life of an amazing individual.
As in the Native American tradition, the final score of the game was trivial compared to its cathartic, curing effect. While the process of healing and recovery is ongoing and onerous, the unification and mutual support of people from opposite teams and opposite sides of town can go a long way.
Andrew Jones