Legendary Syracuse lacrosse coach Roy Simmons Jr. and Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper Oren Lyons received the 2025 Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award on Friday
Roy Simmons Jr., Oren Lyons honored with Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award
Roy Simmons Jr. remained seated as he spoke, for the 90-year-old’s voice is now much stronger than his legs. Simmons Jr. held his microphone tightly, surrounded by his loved ones as he accepted the Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award.
There was an extra guest at the table, too. A green pot rested in front of him, a hickory sapling sprouting from it.
In forests, Alfie Jacques didn’t see trees. He saw lacrosse sticks. The Onondaga stickmaker learned to make sticks from his father, Louis, and before his death in 2023, he dedicated the rest of life to perfecting his craft. Whenever Jacques felled a tree, he placed a hickory nut in the soil surrounding it. He was a man of principle, and if he took a tree from the earth, it needed to be replaced.
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The Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award
As a proud citizen of the Onondaga Nation Turtle Clan, Alfie understood that lacrosse is more than a game. It is medicine. Wherever he went he taught people about the importance of the living wooden stick and reminded us that there are some things you can never get from a piece of plastic and carbon fiber. Thank you for helping to support and carry this legacy forward.
