When was the native American stick game invented?

Answer 1

This is rather like asking, "when was the native American basket invented?"--you'll get many answers that will reflect, let's say, one's admiration of one's roots. In other words, "well, WE invented it,of course, and then those northern people (southern/eastern/western) learned it from us...they just don't make them quite right."

Even the name you use reflects persona/national/tribal/band experience--in the Pacific NW, Native people refer to this as the "Bone" game along the coast--in the Salish language, it's called slahal (which means-well, it means Bone), reflecting the fact the playing pieces are normally made from Deer Bone, and more rarely, Cougar Bone. I have found no truth in the rumor there's an old lady along the coast who has a set made of human shin bones...

Further east from the coast, the game is called the Stick game, which probably is more descriptive of the counting sticks (usually of wood, but for a while some folks got crazy using lucite and other less traditional materials) used in the playing. Go south from the Pacific NW and it's often called Hand Game, since well, you hide the pieces in your hands.

Then you get the messiness of trying to use English to describe Native experiences in English---a person from a rez in the northwest might find him or herself in another American state and be surprized the local game is called something they're used to, but is played by hiding something in a moccasin, or using wooden sticks that are painted or carved on one side, or that the pieces are made of ivory.

As I have writen in "The Origin of the Bone Game" which was published in

I Become Part of It: Sacred Dimensions in Native American Life (New). by Dooling, D. M.. Publisher: Parabola Books.

I was taught by my Twana relatives the game was given by the Creator, following a time when People (all the People--not just the Human ones) had forgotten their responsibilities and ways of harmony. As a punishment, the Creator stopped the normal cycle of things, and People began to starve. They approached the Creator and asked for forgiveness.

The Creator responded by giving them the Bone Game--where Human People would play against the Animal People--and the winner--would eat the loser.

As a therapist and college professor, I would say one of the real gifts of the Bone game was a way of settling conflict in a non-violent manner.

In the tradition of my Sahaptin relatives, the Stick Game is tied to healing--in essence, the healer "bets" his life against the life of the patient that the healer's power is greater than the power of the disease to kill. This is why in many traditions, a healer has 4 days to make a decision as to accepting a patient since his or her Power may not be appropriate to serve the patient's need.

There's also an interesting comment from a gentleman of the Canadian First Nations, who shares that the game was invented by the Cree, who then shared it with others...

In the teaching of his elders, it was a gift from the "Little People" or the memegwaysak, as the Cree call them. The game was used to heal a Cree man, who then took the gift back to his community. You can read more of this at: http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:yRK-ZpdibcIJ:www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27356574_ITM+hand+game+gift+from+the+little+people&CD=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Among my Sahaptin relatives, there's also a tradition of "Little People" although they're called Steeyaha, or in Chinook Jargon, "Stick Indians." They aren't considered to be the ones who gave the game to Human Beings, Sahaptin or otherwise, but they are considered incredibly good Stick Game players...even in the 21st Century, to see a Stick Indian while out and about is considered to be very good luck for Stick Game players.

Hope this helps...

(and for those who are somewhat anal or a little over interested in details...in Chinook Jargon, one of the meanings of "Stick" is "Forest" or "Woods." Thus, a "Stick Indian" was a person (in this case, a "Little" person) who lived in the Woods or Forest. It's not about a person made of Sticks. This is a different use of the word "Stick" than in the term "Stick Game.")