The game of lacrosse can be traced back to 1100 A.D. in what is now Canada. It is believed that Native Americans played the game with essentially a giant wooden spoon and a ball made out of deerskin or some other animal skin sewn together. Goals were located anywhere from hundreds of yards to even miles away from each other and hundreds of men from two opposing villages made up the teams.
The Six Nations of the Iroquois made up the villages that faced each other. Games were played for either religious purposes or settling disputes between villages in order to keep the nations together.