NY State Senate panel endorses Haudenosaunee Olympic lacrosse bid

Republican members of the New York State Senate’s Subcommittee on State-Native American Relations have backed calls for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, according to WXXI News. The confederacy — composed of Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, Tuscarora, Seneca and Cayuga nations — views lacrosse as a traditional spiritual game, returning to Olympic competition for the first time since 1908.

State Sen. Rob Ortt, who co-authored a letter to the International Olympic Committee, said, “It’s only fitting Native American tribes are properly represented as an independent, sovereign nation.” LeRoy “Jock” Hill, Haudenosaunee Nationals board member, was quoted as saying, “Lacrosse is interwoven, and so it has great spiritual significance to our people and to the Creator.” The IOC has not yet ruled on whether to recognize the Haudenosaunee as their own nation for the Olympics.