WIIKWEMKOONG—Mackenzie Wasnode Shigwadja, age 13 of Wiikwemkoong, will be heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia later this month to play for the Team Ontario Girls Box Lacrosse team. Mackenzie was selected to represent the Province of Ontario and the Ontario Lacrosse Association at the National Championship in July 2017.
The daughter of Shawn and Melissa Shigwadja, Mackenzie also happens to be the only First Nations player on the team.
Lacrosse is Canada’s national summer sport. The game was originally created and played by the Iroquois people for ceremonial purposes and to give thanks to the Creator. Now it is known as the “fastest game on two feet” and is rumoured to be making its way to the 2024 Olympics.
Mackenzie has played lacrosse since she was six-years-old. She first played for the Sudbury Rockhounds, then later the St. Catharines Athletics rep team in 2009. Up until three years ago, Mackenzie played on the boys’ team. Then she learned about the girls’ division and was invited to play with the Mississauga Tomahawks Bantam Girls team.
For the last two years she has played up with the Midget girls in St. Catharines. Despite being only Bantam age, she has fit in quite well with her team. The team is currently rated number one in the province and recently won the Kitchener-Waterloo Lax Angels tournament and the Gloucester Girls Shootout tournament. Mackenzie scored the game winning goal in overtime for both tournament championship games.
