> In addition to hockey, what's the other national sport of Canada, as defined bythe National Sports of Canada Act?And the answer: lacrosse. In 1994, Canada’s Parliament passed the National Sports of Canada Act, whichdeclared two national sports. Ice hockey became the country's official wintersport, while lacrosse became the official summer sport.The origins of lacrosse in Canada date back before the French title defined thesport. The First Nations, Canada’s indigenous people, were observed playing thegame of lacrosse back in the 17th century by European settlers. The Algonquinpeople named it Baggataway, while the Iroquois Nation called it Tewaarathon. TheFirst Nations played the game for their Creator, as it was a way for them toshow their gratitude to the Great Spirit.French settlers soon picked up on the game and began calling it la crosse, theFrench word for crozier, or staff. In the 1800s, Montreal residents becameinterested in the sport and struck up local games against First Nations teams. It wasn't until the 1860s that William George Beers produced a pamphletoutlining the rules and instructions for the sport. Now known as the father ofmodern lacrosse, Beers went on to replace the deerskin ball with one made fromhard rubber, and organize a conference in 1867 to create the National LacrosseAssociation (today known as the Canadian Lacrosse Association). Today, lacrosseis recognized as a national sport in Canada, and is popular around much of NorthAmerica.Learn more about lacrosse's Native origins below.