Brief Summary Of The Novel 'The Orenda' By Joseph Boyden

The novel The Orenda by Joseph Boyden follows the lives of three different characters at the point of first contact between the Europeans and Native Americans. The story follows Bird, a Huron war-chief, Christophe “Crow”, a Jesuit priest, and Snow Falls, an imprisoned Iroquois forced to live amongst the Huron. During the main events of The Orenda, two groups of Huron join for the Creator’s Game. The portrayal of the Creator’s Game, now known as lacrosse, is shown through the purpose of the game, the equipment used, and the rules. The purpose of the game is to honour the Sky Woman, practice for war, and to unite groups. In The Orenda, the equipment used was netted sticks and wooden posts. The Orenda mentions the rules of the game, such that there is no standard arena, upwards of five players on each team, and no contact rules. Though The Orenda is generally historically accurate, there are a few differences between the book and the historical game of lacrosse, namely the ball used and the groups of Native Americans that played the Creator's Game. As such, The Orenda portrays an overall historically accurate version of lacrosse, with minor differences between the book’s depiction and historical facts.
After the game is finished, an elder addresses the crowd by saying that:
“You Attignawantan have travelled a great distance to challenge us in the Creator’s Game. And Sky Woman smiled down on us today. Aataentsic has watched us suffer much these last years and I dreamed that she’s sad for us and is ready to take pity on us and so this is why I called you to partake of her game. She told me in my dream that we’re to play in her honour...” (Boyden,