Meet the Onondaga man joining Canada's sports hall of fame in 2023

Oren Lyons, who helped found the Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse team in the 1980s, will be added to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame next month.

Lyons, now 93, was born in 1930 on the Onondaga Nation in New York state. He earned a scholarship to play lacrosse at Syracuse University, where he was teammates with NFL legend Jim Brown. During his time at Syracuse he also won All-American Honours and the Orange Key Award for athletic and academic excellence.

The Haudenosaunee Nationals became the first (and currently only) sovereign Indigenous team competing in international sport, winning bronze medals at the World Lacrosse Championships in 2014, 2019 and 2023.

Lyons spoke recently with CBC Indigenous.

The following was edited for length and clarity:

Q: What were your thoughts when you first found out you were being inducted into the hall of fame?

A:  It's amazing, an amazing honour. It caught me by surprise. I got it in the letter, but I had to keep quiet about it until the announcement. When I think back to all the great players out there, to receive this is an amazing honour. It caught me by surprise, a good surprise and you don't get that kind of surprise this time of your life, I'll tell you that.

Q: Why was lacrosse so important to you all these years?

A: To the Haudenosaunee, it's much more than a sport. It's a medicine game and we've been playing it over 1,600 years. In fact, we played it on the other side of the stars. Any of our nation's people can call for a game, you never question it because it's spiritual and it activates the whole community. It's played in the old style, no pads, just sticks and the ball and up to 60 to 80 people.

Q: Can you tell me about your first experience with lacrosse?

A: My father