Maple syrup, lacrosse and kayaks have one thing in common. Guess what? No idea? Well, they are all inventions of Native Americans. Yesterday we told you about some important inventions by African-Americans, today let´s have a closer look at things Native Americans came up with.

Maple syrup, for instance. Aboriginal peoples living in the northeastern part of North America were the first groups known to have produced maple syrup and maple sugar. They let the sap of the maple tree drip into pails and boiled it until it turned into syrup.




The game of lacrosse was invented by the American tribes living around the St. Lawrence River in New York and Ontario, and was spread by the Huron and the Iroquois.

Traditional lacrosse games were sometimes major events that could last serveral days. As many as 100 to 1000 men from opposite villages or tribes would participate. The Cherokees called the sport „the little brother of war“ because it was considered excellent military training.

The kayak on the other hand was invented by the Inuit Peoples. The skin-covered kayaks of the Arctic people are excellent examples of a technology developed over centuries of experimental refinement and everyday use.