Playing the Creator’s Game on God’s Day: The Controversy of Sunday Lacrosse Games in Haudenosaunee Communities, 1916-24

During the late nineteenth century there was a growing movement in Canada led by Protestant denominations and their organization, the Lord’s Day Alliance, for the national observance of the Christian Sabbath. After several years, the Canadian government enacted the Lord’s Day Act in 1906, prohibiting non-essential activities on Sundays, including sports for financial gain. Sabbatarians across the Dominion attempted to enforce the Sunday law. In …