Native students revive stickball tradition at Harvard campus

Native students and educators are reviving the traditional game of stickball at Harvard University, using it as a way to build community and reconnect with culture, according to a report by WBUR. James Walkingstick, a Cherokee Nation citizen and academic engagement coordinator at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, helped organize games on campus after seeing historic stickball artifacts on display. 

Participants gather in Harvard Yard to play and share knowledge about the game, which has long held cultural and diplomatic significance in many Native communities. Terry Scott Ketchum, director of Native American Studies at East Central University, said the sport has historically been used to resolve disputes and strengthen relationships. Players and educators said the effort reflects a broader revitalization of the game. For Ketchum, playing the game openly on a university campus acts as a “liberating space” and the “first step of healing.”