First Nations Lacrosse Association (FNLA; formerly Iroquois Lacrosse Association) is the governing body of lacrosse for First Nations within Canada and Native American tribes within the United States.
The Iroquois Nationals men's lacrosse team was formed and sanctioned by the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee in 1983 in preparation of friendlies at the NCAA championship in Baltimore, Maryland. The Nationals lost to Syracuse Orange 28-5 and Hobart College 22–14. Prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Nationals held the Jim Thorpe Memorial Games and Pow-Wow, a 6-team event with local and international teams in Los Angeles. The Nationals achieved their first victory over the national team of England. The following year, using their Haudenosaunee passports, the Nationals traveled and toured England losing only once.[3]
After being denied membership by the ILF to compete in the 1986 World Games in Canada, the Iroquois hosted the teams for preliminary games at the University of Buffalo.[4] In 1988, the IFL accepted the Iroquois as a full member nation.[5]
The Iroquois Nationals took part in their first international competition at the 1990 World Lacrosse Championships, finishing fifth. The first FIL sanctioned U17 box lacrosse friendly took place between the Iroquois Nationals and Team Canada during the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.[6]
Nike deal
In 2006, the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Program signed a partnership with Nike, Inc. in which Nike will provide the Nationals with their brand uniforms, clothing, footwear, and other equipment. The company is to develop programs to "promote wellness-and-fitness activities in Native American communities throughout the region", and team members may go to speak to local groups. Team members will also assist in testing of sustainable produced sportswear for Nike's research and development of processes to use non-toxic dyes and biodegradable organic cotton.[7]
Nike is the only Fortune 500 company to have such a relationship with a Native American organization, and the Iroquois Nationals are the only such group.[8]
Passport issues
The Nationals were unable to attend and compete in the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship in England as the United Kingdom does not accept their Iroquois passports. The Nationals were forced to forfeit their three preliminary games. In 2015, the Haudenosaunee Nationals women's under 19 team was forced to withdraw from the 2015 U19 World Lacrosse Championship in Scotland for the same reason.
Name change
In 2022, the team formally changed their name from the Iroquois Nationals to the Haudenosaunee Nationals, citing their desire to use the endonym for their people rather than an exonym used historically by enemy tribes and European colonists.[9]
Can-Am Senior B Lacrosse League, founded in 1969 as North American Lacrosse Association,[14] was organized beginning in 1978. League winners compete for the Presidents Cup, the Senior B championship of North America. Can-Am teams have won the championship five times (1994, 1996, 2000, 2010, 2014).