AILA prepares to host 10th annual Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival
The American Indian Law Alliance will host its 10th annual Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival this weekend to underscore Haudenosaunee history and the restoration of Onondaga Lake. Ike Wood | Asst. Photo Editor
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Adam Brett attended his first Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival in 2016 as a curious, recent graduate of Syracuse University. Despite initially not considering himself a fan of the sport, he quickly fell in love with the festival and its wooden stick lacrosse tournament.
Brett has increased his involvement with the festival since winning a handmade stick by Alfie Jacques, an Onondaga craftsman who handmade over 80,000 wooden lacrosse sticks, years prior. This inspired him to help spread the Haudenosaunee legacy and culture.
“Since the festival began, it’s grown so much,” Brett said. “Each year that I come and I’m a part of participating in the festival, I learn more and more.”
The American Indian Law Alliance will celebrate its 10th anniversary of the Wooden Stick Festival at Onondaga Lake Park this weekend, hosting its Restore Our Sacred Lake 5k on Saturday and the wooden stick tournament across both days.
After going to his first tournament and festival in 2016, Brett has worked as an international research associate with the AILA, founded in 1989. AILA’s mission is to represent Indigenous Nations, communities and organizations globally “in our struggle for sovereignty, human rights, and social justice,” according to its website.
Brett said the wooden stick tournament and the origins of lacrosse embody AILA’s mission, and the values of the game are important for the community to learn about, he said.
“It’s a game of peace and healing, and it was founded on the shores of Onondaga Lake,” Brett said. “I really love all of the things that we do, and I believe in our mission.”
Betty Hill (Lyons), AILA’s president and executive director, said the organization first held the event to bring back the game of lacrosse to Onondaga Lake and Syracuse.
Hill said the event is designed to be welcoming for all, and describes it as a “family-friendly” experience where the community can educate themselves about the origins of lacrosse and its local origins.
“Our peacemaker came to the lake over 1,000 years ago, bringing us the message of peace and unity,” Hill said. “We thought it was very important to bring it back to the shores of the lake and thought it would bring about some healing.”
Bringing in over 1,000 attendees last year, the event has rapidly grown under the AILA, she said. Hill said the crowd’s diversity has expanded in recent years, and highlighted the ways attendees can learn about Haudenousee culture outside of the wooden stick tournament.
Hill said 24 native vendors will be at the event, selling arts and crafts, and will serve traditional Haudenosanusee food so attendees can have a “taste of our culture.” There will also be a smoke dance competition, a fast-paced Haudenosaunee social dance featuring rapid spins and footwork, along with a social dance for all attendees later.
“In the very beginning, it was mostly just our own folks,” Hill said. “Now we’re seeing it expand out to a non-indigenous crowd, which we are welcoming.”
As part of the event, AILA will also seek to preserve the site where it’s hosting the festival, and continue restoring the Onondaga Creek and the lake after reclaiming 1000 acres of the land in September 2024.
Brett highlighted the return of wildlife to the lake, such as the bald eagles, as a sign that AILA’s work and the festival have made an impact.
“The wish and the dream and the hope is that someday the lake will be completely clean,” Hill said. “It’s about bringing awareness to the lake and also the potential of us gaining a piece of the lake back.”
The organization and Haudenosaunee culture remain interconnected with the university and local community. Before his passing in 2023, Jacques spoke at the festival and in classes at SU, highlighting how interwoven Haudenosaunee culture has become with the Syracuse community, Brett said.
Hill said AILA hopes to maintain and strengthen this connection through this weekend’s festivities.
“It’s really about what we embody culturally,” Hill said. “We’re all about peace and friendship and wanting to show everyone that we’re still here to carry on all of our traditions, and we’re hoping that other people will come and enjoy it as well.”
