| First Nations Lacrosse Association | |
| Abbrev: | FNLA |
| Sport: | Lacrosse |
| Jurisdiction: | National |
| Founded: | 1983 |
| Aff: | Lacrosse Canada[1] |
| Affdate: | 1988 |
| Headquarters: | Cornwall, Ontario |
| President: | Brian Phillips |
| Coach: | Mark Burnam (2018 WLC)[2] |
| Womenscoach: | Ashley Pike (2017 WLWC) |
| Url: | https://fnjbll.wordpress.com/fnla/ |
| Countryflag: | Iroquois |
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 FNLA oversees five national teams, the Haudenosaunee men's national lacrosse team, the Haudenosaunee men's national under-19 lacrosse team, the Haudenosaunee women's national lacrosse team, the Haudenosaunee women's national under-19 lacrosse team, and the Haudenosaunee national indoor lacrosse team. These teams are recognized by World Lacrosse for international competition, making them the only indigenous peoples' national teams sanctioned in any sport.
FNLA also sanctions three men's box lacrosse leagues: Can-Am Senior B Lacrosse League, Three Nations Senior Lacrosse League, and First Nations Junior B Lacrosse League.
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]
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]
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.
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]
The Haudenosaunee Nationals are the national team representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. First recognized by the Federation of International Lacrosse as a full member nation in 1987, the Nationals competed in their first tournament at the 1990 World Lacrosse Championship, finishing fifth.[10]
| Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Member | Award | |
| 2002 World Championships | Neal Powless | All World Team | |
| 2006 World Championships | Brent Bucktooth | All World Team | |
| 2008 U19 World Championships | Emmett Printup | All World Team - Attack | |
| - | 2008 U19 World Championships | Jason Johns | All World Team - Defense |
| 2012 U19 World Championships | Seth Oakes | All World Team - Attack | |
| 2012 U19 World Championships | All World Team - Midfield | ||
| 2012 U19 World Championships | Warren Hill | All World Team - Goalie | |
| 2014 World Championships | Lyle Thompson | All World Team - Attack | |
| 2014 World Championships | Jeremy Thompson | All World Team - Midfield | |
| 2016 U19 World Championships | Tehoka Nanticoke | Attack MVP | |
| 2016 U19 World Championships | Tehoka Nanticoke | All World Team - Attack | |
| 2016 U19 World Championships | Austin Staats | All World Team - Attack | |
| Year | Competition | Result | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | World Lacrosse Championship | 5th | ||
| 1994 | World Lacrosse Championship | 5th | ||
| 1998 | World Lacrosse Championship | 4th | ||
| 2002 | World Lacrosse Championship | 4th | ||
| 2006 | World Lacrosse Championship | 4th | ||
| 2010 | World Lacrosse Championship | DNP | Passport controversy[11] | |
| 2014 | World Lacrosse Championship | Bronze | ||
| 2018 | World Lacrosse Championship | Bronze | Passport delay[12] |
| Year | Final | Finish | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 Canada | 7 | 5 | 2 | 126 | 81 | Lost to Canada 21-4 | ||
| 2007 Canada | 5 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 35 | Lost to Canada 15-14 (OT) | ||
| 2011 Czech Republic | 5 | 4 | 1 | 84 | 37 | Lost to Canada 13-6 | ||
| 2015 Onondaga Nation | 6 | 4 | 2 | 84 | 48 | Lost to Canada 12-8 | ||
| Totals | 23 | 17 | 6 | 392 | 201 | 4 Silver Medals | ||
The Iroquois Nationals played host to the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championships for the first time in the tournament's history. The event took place on Haudenosaunee Territories at Tsha’Hon’nonyen’dakhwa’ Onondaga Nation Arena and the Carrier Dome near Syracuse, as well as the First Niagara Center in Buffalo September 18–27, 2015.[13]