An Interview with Rex Lyons | Pt. 1: The Creation Story

An Interview with Rex Lyons

Pt. 1: The Creation Story

On sovereignty, Climate change, Family, Identity, and of course, Lacrosse

I’ll be honest. When I joined the One Bowl team this summer and learned I would be spending most of my time working with a film about Lacrosse, I was a little hesitant. I signed up to work on films about indigenous rights, not sports! Soon, I came to realize that for the Haudenosaunee, Lacrosse and indigenous rights are one and the same. Rex Lyons’s impassioned, emboldened, and yet off-the-cuff interview solidified this notion within my mind. He explained to me, 

“Just to give you an idea, when you're born and you're a male, you're one of three things, you're either a Speaker of the Language, which means you're carrying on the language and doing the ceremonies, or you're a Singer of the Ceremonial Songs, or you’re a Lacrosse Player. That's how fundamental lacrosse is to our culture… I had a stick in my hand before I could even walk. In the crib, they have the little crib sticks that the boys get at birth. And on the other side of that, when it's my time to go to the Creator's world, I'll be buried with my wooden stick, and that's a great comfort to me."

Below is a visual representation of the connection between Lacrosse and the Creator’s world, as well as another beautiful quote from Rex on this topic. 

#IroquoisNationals #TogetherAsOne #SovereigntyMatters #LandAcknowledgement #CreatorsGame

An Interview with Rex Lyons | Pt. 2: The Interview

An Interview with Rex Lyons

Pt. 2: The Interview

The Haudenosaunee Nationals and Sovereignty

I canceled a (distanced) coffee date with an old friend to prepare for my interview with Rex Lyons. I was so nervous; how could one person assume so many roles? A lacrosse player, coach, cultural ambassador, businessman, musician, producer, grandfather, the list goes on. Furthermore, I prepared some questions that I was nervous might be met with anger and hostility. Not anger towards me exactly, but simply towards the situation. The situation, naturally, being the fact that Mr. Lyons’s nation, The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, is consistently denied entrance to participate in the global competition of a sport that his people created and gifted to the rest of the world. 

The second Rex hopped on the other end of Zoom, however, my nerves eased a little as he greeted our colleagues with a warm smile, and shortly after, a booming laugh. When we got into the meat and potatoes of the interview, the “touchy topics” some might say, I was fully reassured that this was an important conversation to be having. He did not meet my inquiries with anger or hostility, but rather patience and understanding. He’s spent his whole life fighting to be seen, to be visible, and yet when yet another person asks him to share his story, he does so with grace and empathy. 

Mr. Lyons effortlessly connected the dots between the impending climate crisis, the current crisis of COVID-19, and the fight for sovereignty in ways that I was never able to put words to. And he kindly implied that this is knowledge that Indigenous Nations have held for centuries. He shared with me, 

“There’s no mercy in nature. It does what it does. And if you don't adhere to those universal principles and laws that govern us, there will be consequences. The tree of peace is our symbol for the Haudenosaunee, The Haudenosaunee Confederacy. It’s a metaphor for those universal laws that govern the whole earth. And we (the Haudenosaunee) were taught to never challenge those laws. Never. Because you will fail.” 

This was a recurring theme throughout our conversation: Western civilization’s incessant challenge of the laws of nature in the name of “progress”. And for what? Money? Well, folks, look where that has gotten us. Hundreds of thousands of deaths from a pandemic many aren’t taking seriously and the slow, yet exponentially increasing, demise of our earth, the one home we all have in common. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy has experienced just one case of COVID-19. When the pandemic hit the Americas, they hunkered down in the name of the community and wellbeing for the public. One quickly gets the sense that the Haudenosaunee practice collectivism over individualism. 

The collectivist nature, according to Rex, was only heightened by the establishment of The Haudenosaunee Nationals in 1983. 

“I think one of the best things that ever happened to the Haudenosaunee was playing together on the same team. That dynamic brought us and all our communities closer together. We were always close and interacting, but it goes a step further when you’re on the same team. There is nothing more enthusiastic than Nation spirit when it comes to lacrosse.”

An Interview with Rex Lyons | Pt. 3: Words from Rex

An Interview with Rex Lyons

Pt. 3: Words from Rex

Concluding Thoughts and Quotes from Rex

It’s been a long road The Haudenosaunee Nationals have taken since 1983, and they still have a ways to go, yet they have overcome so many hurdles in that short span of time. The constant battle to keep the Iroquois Nationals afloat coincides with the struggle to achieve and maintain national identity in the eyes of outsiders. 

When speaking of the Haudenosaunee Nationals in the beginning, Rex mentioned,

“We were still enjoying lacrosse and making progress, but not as quickly. We were a shoestring operation. We didn’t know how we were getting from point A to point B. We were lucky if we got a brown bag lunch, maybe some gas money. But we would do it. We would do anything like that for lacrosse.”

These are world-class athletes we’re talking about, facing more uncertainty than I ever did when I was playing 5th-grade soccer. These issues present themselves still today to The Haudenosaunee Nationals.

“I think that’s one of the things that people don’t understand,” Rex told me, “people just assumed we were established because we’re metal winners, not realizing that we were sitting on the tarmac in Toronto not knowing if they’re going to let us fly out of the country or not. And then arrive an hour before the game and have to play all jet-lagged because we couldn’t get there.” 

I can barely get out of bed when I’m jet-lagged, nonetheless play a world championship. This is just a testament to not only The Haudenosaunee Nationals’ extreme athleticism but also to their unyielding dedication to their sport and their nation. 

Let the record show the Haudenosaunee themselves never lose sight of who they are, where they come from, or how they got there. Theirs is a story of being the victims of death, violence, genocide, hate, and resiliency. Yet, when Rex walked me through his side of history, the version that isn’t printed in our history books, he still concluded the narrative with,

“We understand why they may have taken that path.” “They” being the colonizers and those denying The Haudenosaunee Nationals a chance to play on international levels. “I think it’s based on fear, which is never a good thing to base any strategy on, in my opinion, over inclusivity. I always emphatically express that we are much stronger together.” 

This notion of inclusivity is expressed in one of the most fundamental symbols of The Six Nations: their flag. The Haudenosaunee flag presents the Hiawatha belt and,

“on either side of those squares, you’ll see a little tab on either side and that is open arms. That suggests that anybody can come join our Confederacy. They can come under the shelter of the tree of peace. And the white roots of peace going in all four cardinal directions around the globe, you can follow those white roots back to the tree of peace and find a place to stay.” 

It’s astounding, despite the lack of respect or even acknowledgment from other nations, generational trauma, and systemic oppression, the Haudenosaunee continue to implement welcoming and warming practices. Rex says this is because,

“At the end of the day, we have to enjoy life. That’s one of our mandates, too, that you’re supposed to enjoy life.” 

Sacheen is Not Yesterday's News. Sacheen is Now.

Sacheen is not just yesterday's news. Sacheen is alive and present today, and has broken her silence. Sacheen is now.

Sacheen asked One Bowl Productions @onebowlproductions to produce her film, SACHEEN, Breaking the Silence, to share her message in her own words. 1973 was Marlon Brando's time. Sacheen's time is now.

Please take a moment to share Sacheen's message with your community, and together the truth will be told after 45 years of oppressive silence.

Rebecca Brando, Peter Spirer (Director/Producer), and Sacheen Littlefeather holding two awards from the Red Nation Film Festival. Sacheen was honored with the Marlon Brando award, presented by his daughter, and her film won Best Documentary Short.

Photo by Chris Pizzello / AP

Oscar season is upon us...

Oscar season is upon us once again, and despite our efforts so far, the Academy has not yet invited Sacheen back to the stage. We are seeking redemption for the pain and insult she suffered after sharing her and Brando's message 47 years ago. We call upon the Academy to right their wrong and bring Native American voices to the forefront of the stage after years of systematic exclusion.

Please share this message far and wide. With your help, we hope Sacheen will be invited to speak at the #Oscars2021.

In love and solidarity, One Bowl Productions