Indigenous Games and Game-Based Learning: From Slahal to Strategy

TEK8 Petal Mapping

Attribute	Value
Petal	D10 — PLAY
Element	Chaos
Sense	Mind
Attribute	Willpower
Die	D10 (ten-sided)
Core Theme	Indigenous games, game-based learning, strategic thinking, decision-making under uncertainty
Color	Chaos spectrum
Opulence	Knowledge (Jnana)
Connected Petals	D12 Sound/Music (singing and drumming in Slahal), D8 Air/Strength (physical games and sport), D20 Water/Empathy (reading opponents, social-emotional learning), D4 Fire/Agility (hand dexterity and quick movement), D6 Earth/Endurance (sustained focus and patience)

Acknowledgment and Credit

The Slahal/Lahal rules referenced in this study were created in consultation with Elder Brother Rick, Emma Paul, and Reese Thomas. We recognize their expertise in the game and honour each of them for their generous contribution of their knowledge.

Source: 2025 Lahal Information and Rules document (Greater Victoria School District 61, Indigenous Education Department)

We further acknowledge that the Indigenous games discussed in this document belong to their respective Nations and communities. This research is presented in the spirit of education and cultural appreciation, not appropriation. We encourage all educators to seek guidance from local Indigenous knowledge holders before incorporating these games into their programs.

Executive Summary

This research document examines the D10 “Play” petal of the TEK8 Learning Lotus, exploring Indigenous games and game-based learning as vehicles for developing mind, willpower, and strategic thinking. At the center of this study is Slahal (also called Lahal, stickgame, bonegame, or handgame), the ancient Coast Salish guessing game that oral tradition holds was given to humanity by the Creator as an alternative to war. Slahal serves as the primary case study because it exemplifies every dimension of the D10 petal: it demands mental focus (Mind), tests resolve under pressure (Willpower), and operates in a space where pattern recognition meets irreducible uncertainty (Chaos).

The study extends outward from Slahal to survey Indigenous games across cultures — from the Haudenosaunee Creator’s Game (lacrosse) to the Mississippian game of Chunkey, from the African Mancala family to India’s Pachisi, from China’s Weiqi (Go) to ancient Egypt’s Mehen. Each of these traditions encodes sophisticated mathematical, strategic, and social knowledge within the structure of play.

Drawing on over 40 academic sources, this document synthesizes research on game-based learning outcomes (Gee, 2003; Squire, 2011; Salen, 2011), social-emotional learning through games (Hromek & Roffey, 2009), ethnomathematics (D’Ambrosio, 1985), and the psychology of decision-making under uncertainty. Practical applications for educational settings are provided, along with a comprehensive resource list for course database population.

The central argument is that play is not peripheral to learning — it is foundational. Indigenous traditions worldwide have understood this for millennia. The D10 petal of the TEK8 Learning Lotus honors this understanding by placing Play at the intersection of Chaos, Mind, and Willpower — precisely where genuine learning occurs.

Slahal/Lahal: The Centerpiece
Indigenous Games Across Cultures
Game-Based Learning Research
Mind, Willpower, and Strategy Connections
Ethnomathematics and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Course Database Materials and Resources
Practical Applications for Educational Settings
Connections to Other TEK8 Petals
Bibliography and Citations

1. Slahal/Lahal: The Centerpiece

1.1 History and Cultural Significance

Slahal (also rendered as Lahal, Slhahal, or Lahalle) is a gambling and guessing game played by Coast Salish peoples across the western coast of North America, particularly in the lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, parts of Vancouver Island, and northwestern Washington State (Wikipedia, “Slahal”). The game is known by many names across different Nations: Sk’ak’eltx among the Squamish, A’la’xwa among the Kwakwaka’wakw, and Sllekme’wes among the Secwepemc (Wikipedia, “Slahal”).

Oral histories of the First Nations hold that Slahal is an ancient game played since time immemorial. The game’s antiquity is supported by archaeological evidence: handgame pieces from some sites have been dated to as far back as 5,000 years ago (Wikipedia, “Handgame”). Some tribal stories hold that the game was a gift to people from “tricksters” such as Coyote, and skilled players were thought to possess great power (Wikipedia, “Handgame”).

The game’s reach extends far beyond the Pacific Northwest. Variations of the handgame are played across North America, making it “the traditional Native game most widely played by young children through seniors in the United States” (Meadows, 2025). The broader handgame tradition is attested in the myth, oral traditions, and archaeological records of Native American peoples across the continent (NMAI Magazine, “More Than Meets the Eye”).

1.2 Chinook Jargon Origins

The word “slahal” derives from the Chinook Jargon trade language, itself originating from the native Chinook word ETLALTLAL (Wiktionary, “Appendix: Chinook Jargon”). Chinook Jargon was the lingua franca of the Pacific Northwest trade networks, and the adoption of the word into this shared vocabulary speaks to the game’s widespread importance across tribal boundaries. The Lingit (Tlingit) word nahein for “stick game” also corresponds to the Chinook Jargon form, typically rendered with a southern Vancouver Island pronunciation as lahe(e)l (Chinook Jargon blog, 2022).

In Chinook Jargon, slahal (sla-hal’) referred specifically to “a game played with ten small disks, one of which is marked” (findwords.info), though this description reflects one regional variation of the game rather than its universal form.

1.3 “The Creator Gave Stickgame as an Alternative to War”

In Coast Salish oral tradition, the Creator gave the stick game to humanity at the beginning of time as a way to settle disputes and serve as an alternative to war (Wikipedia, “Slahal”; Tulalip News, 2025). This founding narrative is not merely mythological decoration — it articulates a sophisticated understanding of conflict resolution through structured competition. The game provided a shared medium for interaction and peaceful rivalry between communities, enabling the exchange of goods, information, and even territories without bloodshed (Wikipedia, “Slahal”).

In many Northwest Native American communities, it is believed that Slahal was gifted from the animals as a means to prevent war and unite the Coast Salish tribes (Tulalip News, 2025). This belief positions the game as a peace technology — a structured alternative to violence that maintains social bonds while acknowledging the reality of competition and conflict.

This tradition resonates deeply with the TEK8 framework’s placement of Play in the Chaos petal: the game channels the chaotic energies of rivalry and competition into ordered, communal expression. The Chaos element is not randomness for its own sake — it is the creative force that, properly channeled through Mind and Willpower, produces resolution rather than destruction.

1.4 Game Mechanics as Educational Tools

The mechanics of Slahal encode multiple layers of learning:

Equipment and Setup. The game uses four carved bones — usually deer, moose, or elk bone — approximately two inches long. Two are plain (the “female” bones) and two have a ring or band around them (the “male” bones). Teams sit facing each other, with eleven counting sticks used for scoring (Carrier Sekani Family Services; Comox Valley Schools, “How to Play Lahal”).

Core Gameplay. One team holds the bones and sings while the other team’s designated guesser (the Captain or First Guesser) must determine which hands hold the marked bones. The guessing team’s leader uses specific hand gestures to indicate their guesses. A correct guess transfers the bones to the guessing team; an incorrect guess transfers counting sticks to the hiding team (SD61 Indigenous Education, 2025 Lahal Info & Rules).

Mathematical Thinking. The scoring system with eleven sticks introduces concepts of addition, subtraction, and probability. The live/dead stick distinction adds strategic depth: players must track accumulated scores, calculate odds, and make decisions based on incomplete information.

Probability and Pattern Recognition. Each guess involves probabilistic reasoning. With two pairs of bones hidden among four hands, the guesser must rapidly assess visual cues, behavioral patterns, and statistical likelihood. This constitutes an embodied probability lesson conducted at high speed under social pressure.

Body Language and Perception. The hiding team actively attempts to mislead through movement, eye contact, and misdirection, while the guessing team’s captain must read micro-expressions, posture, and behavioral tells. This develops sophisticated social perception skills.

Strategic Leadership. The role of First Guesser or Captain is a direct leadership exercise: one person makes decisions on behalf of the entire team, bears responsibility for outcomes, and must maintain composure under pressure. The captain’s teammates can offer input, but the final call — and its consequences — rest with the leader.

1.5 Singing and Drumming: The D12 Connection

Music is not an accessory to Slahal — it is integral to the game. The team holding the bones sings Slahal songs while drumming, serving multiple functions: boosting team morale, intimidating opponents, maintaining rhythm and focus, and connecting players to spiritual tradition (Wikipedia, “Slahal”; CSFS, “How to Play Lahal”).

Ethnomusicological research reveals that Slahal songs average 252 beats per minute (4.3 beats per second), are predominantly in duple metre, and are mostly pentatonic, using all possible inversions with great frequency. Most songs are monophonic, though parallel fourths or fifths occasionally occur when women sing above men (Amoss, as cited in Canadian Journal of Traditional Music).

The percussion includes circular or octagonal deer-skin drums held at the back and beaten with a leather-ended stick. When drums are unavailable, players beat on the log or plank in front of them with a stick (Canadian Journal of Traditional Music). This accessibility is significant: participation in the musical dimension of the game requires no specialized equipment.

This musical dimension represents a direct bridge to the D12 Sound/Music petal of the TEK8 Learning Lotus, demonstrating how petals interconnect in practice. The drumming and singing of Slahal cannot be separated from the game itself — they are the game’s heartbeat.

Recently, children have been taught Lahal because it allows Elders to teach traditional songs and different drum-beats used during various styles of songs, along with tribal histories and stories relating to the game (CSFS, “How to Play Lahal”). The game thus serves as a vessel for intergenerational knowledge transmission.

1.6 Regional Variations

The handgame tradition spans the continent with significant regional variation:

Pacific Northwest / Coast Salish: Slahal/Lahal with bone pairs, strong singing and drumming tradition, large team format
Southern Plains (Kiowa, Comanche, Apache): Round-robin tournament format, now includes public school and university teams (Meadows, 2025)
Great Plains: Varied rules regarding which bone is guessed — California, Oklahoma, and Dakota Indians generally call for the striped bone, while most other tribes guess for the plain bone (Wikipedia, “Handgame”)
Plateau: Stick game played with pairs of bones, often at large intertribal gatherings
Great Basin and California: Various adaptations with different scoring conventions

These regional differences provide educational opportunities for comparative cultural study, while the underlying structure — concealment, guessing, scoring, singing — remains remarkably consistent across thousands of miles and centuries of practice.

1.7 Contemporary Tournaments and Cultural Revitalization

Slahal is experiencing a powerful resurgence as a tool for cultural revitalization and youth engagement:

Tulalip Tribes Annual Stick Game Tournament. Each year, the Tulalip Tribes hosts a weekend-long tournament at the Tulalip Amphitheater. In 2024, the 9th Annual Tournament attracted a record-breaking 142 teams competing for cash prizes including a $50,000 grand prize. Coast Salish families journey from as far as British Columbia to participate. The event is drug and alcohol-free and open to all ages, providing multi-generational family learning (Tulalip News, 2025).

Greater Victoria Tri-District Lahal Tournament. Beginning in 2024, school districts SD61, SD62, and the WSANEC Leadership School have organized student Lahal tournaments. The 2025 event in Langford brought together more than 200 students across 20 teams. As SD61’s director of Indigenous Education noted: “When we start to normalize this as part of a curriculum, we start to bring forward the understanding of history and culture and really great pride” (Victoria News, 2025; Sooke News Mirror, 2025).

Vancouver Island Resurgence. In early 2025, multiple news outlets reported that the traditional Coast Salish game was “enjoying a resurgence with Vancouver Island students” (Port Alberni Valley News, 2025; Campbell River Mirror, 2025), with schools increasingly incorporating Lahal into their curricula as part of Indigenous education initiatives.

Muckleshoot Documentation. The Muckleshoot Tribe has produced the documentary “Alive and Well in Indian Country — Slahal, the Stick Game,” documenting how families from far and wide exchange songs, match wits, and preserve their culture through the game (Muckleshoot Storytelling, wearemuckleshoot.org).

These contemporary developments demonstrate that Slahal is not a historical artifact — it is a living, evolving tradition that serves urgent present-day needs for cultural connection, youth engagement, and community building.

1.8 The Friendship Tournament Model

The Coast Salish tradition of Slahal as an alternative to war provides a direct model for contemporary conflict resolution education. While the specific term “friendship tournament” is not formalized in the literature, the principle is embedded in the game’s origin: competing communities channeled disputes into structured gameplay rather than violence. This mirrors Indigenous peacemaking practices more broadly, which emphasize community-directed conflict resolution using traditional rituals, group circles, and shared processes that involve all interested parties in searching for understanding (Native American Rights Fund, Indigenous Peacemaking Initiative).

For educational settings, the friendship tournament model suggests organizing inter-class, inter-school, or inter-community Slahal events specifically framed as relationship-building exercises. The competitive structure provides energy and engagement while the communal singing, shared ritual, and post-game fellowship build social bonds. The 2024-2025 Vancouver Island tri-district tournaments already demonstrate this model in practice: students from different schools and districts come together through the game, building connections across institutional boundaries.

2. Indigenous Games Across Cultures

2.1 Lacrosse — The Creator’s Game (Haudenosaunee)

Lacrosse is considered the oldest team sport played in the Americas and holds sacred status among the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) peoples, who know it as “the Creator’s Game” (HISTORY.com, “The Native American Origins of Lacrosse”). The Haudenosaunee believe the game was a gift from the Creator and was to be played for the Creator, with teams historically ranging from 100 to 1,000 men playing on borderless fields (Oneida Indian Nation).

It is Haudenosaunee tradition that when a child is born, they are given a lacrosse stick with a shaft made from shagbark hickory, repeatedly dried and steamed until bent like a shepherd’s crook. From the moment a child can hold the stick and comprehend the game, they are taught respect: “for the power of the game is sacred, and it demands the purity of mind, body and spirit” (Indigenous Values Initiative, “The Creator’s Game at Onondaga”).

The act of playing lacrosse is believed to have medicinal effect and is said to heal the sick — a belief that continues among present-day Haudenosaunee (Field Museum, “The Creator’s Game: Keeping Traditions Alive Through Lacrosse”). This positions the game not merely as recreation or competition, but as ceremony and healing practice.

Allan Downey’s award-winning book The Creator’s Game: Lacrosse, Identity, and Indigenous Nationhood (2018) documents how Indigenous peoples used lacrosse to resist residential school experiences, initiate pan-Indigenous political mobilization, and articulate Indigenous sovereignty. The book received the 2019 Federation of Humanities & Social Sciences Canada Prize (Downey, 2018).

The history of lacrosse also carries painful colonial dimensions: in 1867, the National Lacrosse Association of Canada prohibited Indigenous players from joining, and by 1880, they were banned from championship games entirely (HISTORY.com). Today, the Haudenosaunee Nationals continue to advocate for Indigenous representation in the sport they created, making a case for participation in the Olympics as a sovereign nation (Spectrum Local News, 2025).

TEK8 Connection: Lacrosse embodies the D8 Air/Strength petal through its physical demands, the D10 Chaos/Mind/Willpower petal through its strategic complexity, and the D20 Water/Empathy petal through its healing and communal dimensions.

2.2 Chunkey/Chungke (Mississippian Cultures)

Chunkey is thought to have originated at Cahokia around 600 CE and was popular among many Native nations across the American Southeast (World History Encyclopedia, “Chunkey”). The game involved rolling disc-shaped stones across prepared ground surfaces while players threw spears, attempting to land them as close to the stopped stone as possible.

Cahokia, the largest urban center in pre-Columbian North America with a population reaching 20,000, facilitated the game’s spread through its extensive trade networks (World History Encyclopedia). The game traveled along these routes to many different nations, making Chunkey one of the most widely played games in the early colonial Southeast.

Chunkey was played not only for entertainment but to improve eye-hand coordination, dexterity, and stamina, to encourage teamwork, and was held by some nations to have spiritual significance (World History Encyclopedia). The elaborate chunkey stones themselves — carefully shaped, polished discoidals — represent significant investments of craft skill and are among the most recognizable Mississippian artifacts.

TEK8 Connection: Chunkey bridges D10 Mind/Strategy (predicting stone trajectory), D4 Fire/Agility (precision throwing), and D8 Air/Strength (physical skill).

2.3 Double Ball, Shinny, and Ring-and-Pin

Several traditional Indigenous games particularly associated with women and girls deserve attention:

Double Ball was a women’s game resembling lacrosse, involving tossing and catching a double ball — two small oblong deerskin bags joined by a deerskin thong — using curved sticks. The objective was to get the ball over the opponent’s goal (EBSCO Research Starters; Milwaukee Public Museum).

Shinny is a form of hockey played throughout North America. The ice version was played by both sexes, but the field version was primarily women’s. Players used curved sticks to hit a ball or buckskin bag through the opponent’s goal; the ball could be kicked or struck with the stick but not touched with hands (Wikipedia, “Shinney”; Milwaukee Public Museum).

Ring and Pin games involved a ring attached to a thong or cord, which was then attached to a pin. The ring was swung in the air with the goal of catching it on the pin. This game was typically played by women and girls and develops fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination (Milwaukee Public Museum).

These games challenge the erasure of women’s athletic traditions and provide models for gender-inclusive game-based education.

2.4 Mancala Family Games (Africa)

The Mancala family of “sowing” or “count-and-capture” games originated on the African continent and includes regional variations such as Oware (Ghana), Bao (Tanzania/Kenya), Moruba (South Africa), Morabaraba (South Africa), and Omweso (Uganda) (Mancala, Wikipedia; tradgames.org.uk).

Mancala is “a wholly mathematical game — its more complex versions have as much scope as Chess, despite its primitive origins” (tradgames.org.uk). The “marching order” strategy in Oware features “a self-replicating pattern at the heart of some sophisticated mathematical concepts” (tradgames.org.uk).

For classroom applications, Mancala games naturally reinforce counting, addition and subtraction, pattern recognition, and multiplication (EuroSchool, “Mancala Games for Kids”). The Africa Heartwood Project promotes Oware boards as both cultural artifacts and mathematical teaching tools, connecting students to West African heritage through gameplay (Africa Heartwood Project).

Bao, the East African variant, requires particularly deep strategic thinking and has been compared to Chess in its complexity. The game’s sophistication challenges colonial narratives that diminish African intellectual traditions.

TEK8 Connection: Mancala directly embodies D10 Mind/Strategy through its mathematical depth, while connecting to D6 Earth/Endurance through the patience required for mastery.

2.5 Pachisi / Chaupar (India)

Pachisi, the cross-and-circle board game that originated in ancient India around the 4th century CE, derives its name from the Hindi word paccis meaning “twenty-five” — the highest score throwable with cowrie shells (Wikipedia, “Pachisi”; Penn Museum). The game is played on a cruciform board with pieces moved according to cowrie shell throws, incorporating both chance and strategy.

The related game Chaupar is older and more complex. In the 16th century, Mughal Emperor Akbar was famously addicted to chaupar and had a massive board laid out in flagstones at his palace in Fatehpur Sikri, where he and his courtiers played using enslaved people as pieces (Masters of Games; Britannica, “Pachisi”). This historical detail, while disturbing, illustrates the game’s deep integration into Indian court culture and political life.

Pachisi and its descendants (including the modern game Ludo) represent one of the world’s oldest families of race games, with branches reaching into nearly every culture. The game’s combination of chance (cowrie throws) and strategy (blocking, capturing, and routing decisions) models the interplay of fortune and skill that characterizes real-world decision-making.

TEK8 Connection: Pachisi maps to D10 Chaos/Mind (combining randomness with strategic decision-making) and D2 Wealth/Coin (the game’s deep association with gambling and economic exchange).

2.6 Go/Weiqi (East Asia)

Go, known as Weiqi in China, is one of the oldest board games still played today, originating in China over 2,500 years ago (Wikipedia, “Go (game)”). Black and white stones compete to control territory on a 19x19 grid, with players encircling empty spaces or capturing opponents by surrounding their stones.

In Chinese culture, Go held important status among elites and was considered one of the four cultivated arts of the scholar-gentleman, alongside calligraphy, painting, and playing the guqin (Wikipedia, “Go (game)”). The game tests aptitude for mathematical problem-solving, creativity, and strategic planning, and is known to enhance critical thinking, concentration, and decision-making (LC Chinese School, “Weiqi: Strategic Depths”).

Go’s significance for the D10 petal lies in its relationship to complexity: despite having extraordinarily simple rules, Go produces a game tree of such vastness that it defeated algorithmic approaches until the advent of deep learning AI (AlphaGo, 2016). This makes Go a profound illustration of how Chaos (vast possibility space) interacts with Mind (pattern recognition and strategic intuition) and Willpower (the patience and discipline required for mastery).

TEK8 Connection: Go is the quintessential D10 game — pure strategy emerging from simple chaos, requiring decades of study to master.

2.7 Mehen (Ancient Egypt)

Mehen is the leading contender for the title of “oldest board game in the world,” with evidence dating to approximately 3000 BCE (Wikipedia, “Mehen (game)”; tradgames.org.uk). Named for Mehen, the serpent deity who encircled and protected the sun god Ra during his nightly journey through the underworld, the game board depicts a coiled snake whose body is divided into rectangular spaces.

Around 1896, Flinders Petrie discovered a limestone disk with a segmented coiled snake carved into its surface during excavation of a Predynastic gravesite — a gaming disk buried at least 5,300 years ago (Egypt Museum, “Mehen, the Serpent Game”). Archaeological evidence suggests the game was played with lion-shaped pieces and small spheres, likely as a race game in which pieces representing deceased kings moved from the tail to the head of the snake (Wikipedia, “Mehen (game)”).

Mehen disappeared from Egypt after the Old Kingdom (c. 2300 BCE) but survived longer in Cyprus, demonstrating the game’s cultural transmission and adaptation across the ancient Mediterranean (Wikipedia, “Mehen (game)”).

TEK8 Connection: Mehen connects to D10 through its strategic gameplay and to D100 Order/Intelligence through its cosmological symbolism of cyclical journeys and divine protection.

3. Game-Based Learning Research

3.1 Foundational Scholarship

The academic study of game-based learning rests on several foundational works:

James Paul Gee published What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy in 2003, identifying 36 principles of “good learning” built into the design of effective games. These principles include identity development, interactive approaches, student production, risk-taking, individual customization, personal agency, well-ordered problems, “just-in-time” learning, situated meanings, systems thinking, active exploration, lateral thinking, and performance before competence (Gee, 2003; Wikipedia, “What Video Games Have to Teach Us”). Gee argued that games naturally scaffold learning, foster identity through role-play, and ground knowledge in real-world contexts.

Kurt Squire’s Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age (2011) extended Gee’s work into classroom practice, demonstrating how game-based pedagogies could transform traditional education (ERIC, ED523599).

Katie Salen co-designed Quest to Learn (Q2L), a public middle and high school in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood that opened in 2009. Q2L frames every piece of curriculum as a mission involving game strategies such as collaboration, role-playing, and simulation. Students perform at or above New York City-wide averages on standardized tests, and in the school’s first 20 months, students showed statistically significant gains in systems thinking skills according to a Florida State University study (Wikipedia, “Quest to Learn”; Salen, “Quest to Learn,” MIT Press).

David Williamson Shaffer, Kurt R. Squire, Richard Halverson, and James P. Gee co-authored “Video Games and the Future of Learning” (2005) in Phi Delta Kappan, arguing that games represent a new form of literacy essential for 21st-century education (Shaffer et al., 2005).

Hromek and Roffey (2009) published “Promoting Social and Emotional Learning With Games: ‘It’s Fun and We Learn Things’” in Simulation & Gaming, arguing that “games are a powerful way of developing social and emotional learning in young people” and that “the natural affiliation between children, play, and the desire to have fun with others makes games an ideal vehicle for teaching SEL” (Hromek & Roffey, 2009, pp. 626-644).

According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), students who participate in SEL programs score approximately 11 percentile points higher in academic achievement than those who do not, with additional benefits including fewer behavior problems, less stress and anxiety, and stronger overall well-being (CASEL).

Recent research on Brain Agents, a trauma-informed, game-based SEL intervention for students in grades 5-9, found the program was positively received by students and demonstrated potential as an effective tool for enhancing resilience and emotional intelligence among youth exposed to adversity (PMC/JMIR Formative Research, 2025).

Playworks, a program placing full-time game coaches in low-income schools, demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial that teacher-reported rates of bullying and exclusionary behavior were 43% lower in program schools, with significantly less time needed to transition from recess to learning activities (ERIC, ED563086; Playworks research).

3.3 Probability and Statistics Education Through Traditional Games

The field of ethnomathematics — a term introduced by Brazilian mathematician Ubiratan D’Ambrosio in 1977 — provides the theoretical framework for understanding how traditional games encode mathematical knowledge (D’Ambrosio, 1985; Mathematical Association of America). D’Ambrosio defined ethnomathematics as “the mathematics which is practiced among identifiable cultural groups” and articulated six dimensions of the program: Cognitive, Conceptual, Educational, Epistemological, Historical, and Political (D’Ambrosio, 1985).

Research has documented specific mathematical content embedded within Indigenous games:

The Ghanaian game Alikoto incorporates probability and algebraic ideas (Batiibwe, 2024)
The Ivorian cowrie game Nigbe Alladian incorporates elements of probability (Batiibwe, 2024)
The traditional Indonesian game Paser has been used as a context for teaching probability and statistical concepts (ResearchGate, Culturally Responsive Mathematics Education, 2024)
Indigenous peoples played three types of board games — games of chance, games of strategy, and lifestyle games — with mathematical concepts including patterns, numbers and operations, problem solving, critical thinking, and data management and probability (Bernard & Gamble, Burnaby Schools Indigenous Logic Math Games)

Slahal itself is an embodied probability lesson: each guess involves calculating odds based on observable behavioral cues weighed against baseline probabilities, performed at high speed in a socially charged environment. The eleven-stick scoring system adds running arithmetic to the cognitive load.

3.4 Leadership Development Through Team Game Roles

Research consistently shows that team games develop leadership competencies through structured role assignment. The First Guesser/Captain role in Slahal is a particularly rich example: this person must make rapid decisions on behalf of the group, bear responsibility for outcomes, read social cues under pressure, and maintain composure regardless of results.

Game-based leadership training has been shown to improve retention by up to 25% and outperform traditional models in skill-building outcomes (GroupDynamix, “Student Leadership Games,” 2026). The captain role in games develops specific leadership capacities including: setting behavioral expectations, motivating teammates through example, strategic decision-making with incomplete information, and maintaining team cohesion during adversity (gearUP, “The Role of a Team Captain”).

In Slahal specifically, the captain’s role models several dimensions of Indigenous leadership: decisions are made in service to the community (the team), authority is earned through demonstrated skill and judgment rather than imposed by hierarchy, and the leader’s effectiveness depends on their ability to read both opponents and teammates.

3.5 Cross-Cultural Understanding Through Shared Play

Games serve as universal bridges between cultures. Stewart Culin’s monumental 1907 study Games of the North American Indians documented games across over 200 tribes, revealing shared structures and principles beneath surface variation — a finding that anticipated D’Ambrosio’s ethnomathematics by nearly a century (Culin, 1907, Bureau of American Ethnology).

The handgame tradition itself historically enabled cross-cultural communication: “Guesses are made with hand signs, which in the past allowed tribes to play each other regardless of what language each spoke” (NMAI Magazine, “More Than Meets the Eye”). This feature made the handgame a tool for intertribal diplomacy and relationship-building — precisely the function described in the Creator’s gift narrative.

3.6 After-School Game Programs and Youth Development

A decade of research confirms that children and youth who participate in structured after-school programs reap positive benefits across academic, social/emotional, prevention, and health domains (Harvard Family Research Project; SEDL Letter, 2008). A meta-analysis of 35 studies found that out-of-school-time programs had positive effects on reading and math achievement for at-risk youth (ASPE/HHS, 2021).

However, research also warns that program quality matters critically: without focused and intentional programming, youth participants can fail to achieve positive outcomes or even perform worse than peers (ERIC, ED523997). This finding supports the TEK8 approach of grounding game-based programs in specific cultural traditions and explicit learning frameworks rather than unstructured “free play.”

4. Mind, Willpower, and Strategy Connections

4.1 Reading Body Language and Intuition Development

The Slahal guesser must read opponents’ body language in real time — a skill that involves rapid assessment of micro-expressions, posture, hand tension, eye movement, and behavioral patterns. This practice develops what psychologists call social perception or interpersonal sensitivity.

Research on deception and body language reveals important nuances. An analysis of dozens of studies involving more than 1,300 estimates found that cues people commonly associate with lying — fidgeting, avoiding eye contact — have either no links or only weak links to actual deception (APA Monitor, “Psychological Sleuths — Detecting Deception”; PMC, “Research on Non-verbal Signs of Lies and Deceit”).

However, research in interactive game contexts tells a different story: when deception occurs in the context of actual social interaction (rather than scripted scenarios), a liar’s behavior is influenced by the expectations and responses of the listener, creating a dynamic feedback loop (Journal of Cognition, “Cues to Lying May be Deceptive,” 2018). This interactive dimension is precisely what Slahal cultivates: players develop not a checklist of “deception tells” but rather an intuitive, context-sensitive ability to read the flow of social interaction.

This aligns with the D10 petal’s association with Mind — not as abstract intellect but as the faculty of perception that operates between and beyond the five senses.

4.2 Decision-Making Under Uncertainty

The Chaos element of the D10 petal finds its psychological counterpart in research on decision-making under uncertainty. Cognitive science research demonstrates that decision models attempt to achieve the best possible performance under cognitive and task constraints, with individual differences in working memory capacity and information framing effects significantly influencing risk decisions (Frontiers in Psychology, “Cognitive Constraints on Decision Making under Uncertainty,” 2011).

Games provide uniquely effective training for uncertainty management. Research from the IARPA Sirius program found that game-based training showed advantages in teaching bias mitigation skills (procedural knowledge) for real-world decision-making (Rhodes et al., 2017, “Teaching Decision Making With Serious Games,” Simulation & Gaming). A separate study on serious games for climate adaptation found that gameplay improved participants’ understanding of uncertainty types and facilitated deeper learning about political and institutional dynamics (Nature, npj Climate Action, 2025).

Games “educate in strategy and ethical thinking, compelling players to confront their decision-making power and manage uncertainty, offering a pedagogy of regulated risk in which error is expected and useful” (Project ICARUS, “Playing with Consequences”).

Slahal is a masterclass in decision-making under uncertainty: the guesser must integrate probabilistic reasoning, behavioral observation, team input, and gut intuition into a single decisive gesture, all while opponents actively work to confuse and mislead. Each round provides immediate feedback, enabling rapid iterative learning.

4.3 Mental Focus and Concentration

The sustained attention demanded by competitive Slahal — tracking multiple opponents’ movements, maintaining singing rhythm, reading the captain’s signals, concealing bones effectively — develops the kind of focused concentration that educational research associates with improved academic outcomes.

Go/Weiqi provides another model: the game demands hours of sustained concentration over a single session, developing what psychologists call sustained attention and what contemplative traditions call one-pointed focus. In Chinese educational tradition, Go was explicitly understood as training for the disciplined mind required for governance and scholarship (Wikipedia, “Go (game)“).

4.4 Growth Mindset Through Iterative Play

Carol Dweck’s research at Stanford University established that students who believe their intelligence can be developed (a growth mindset) outperform those who believe their intelligence is fixed (Dweck, 2006, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success). Games naturally promote growth mindset because they provide:

Immediate feedback loops: each round of Slahal, each move in Go, each turn in Mancala provides clear information about the effectiveness of one’s strategy
Low-stakes failure: losing a game round is temporary and recoverable, teaching that mistakes are learning opportunities
Observable improvement: players can track their developing skill over time
Social modeling: watching skilled players demonstrates that ability develops through practice

Dweck’s research found that a growth mindset was “far more likely to take root when their school’s institutional culture, and their teachers and peers in particular, were supportive of challenge seeking” (Dweck, 2015, Education Week). Game-based learning environments naturally support challenge-seeking by framing difficulty as inherent to engaging play rather than as a sign of inadequacy.

4.5 The Psychology of Deception and Perception in Guessing Games

Guessing games like Slahal occupy a unique space in the psychology of social cognition. Unlike passive observation of deception (watching a video of someone lying), Slahal places players in active, interactive deception scenarios where both parties are strategically adapting in real time.

Research published in the Journal of Cognition demonstrates that in interactive deception contexts, “a liar’s behavior is influenced not only by the act of conceiving a lie but also by the expectations listeners may have,” creating a dynamic social feedback system far more complex than simple truth-or-lie detection (Loy et al., 2018). This interactive complexity is what makes Slahal a sophisticated training ground for social intelligence: players learn not to detect deception per se, but to navigate complex, fluid social interactions where multiple actors are simultaneously trying to influence each other’s perceptions.

5. Ethnomathematics and Indigenous Knowledge Systems

5.1 D’Ambrosio’s Ethnomathematics Program

Ubiratan D’Ambrosio’s ethnomathematics program provides the theoretical foundation for understanding how traditional games encode mathematical knowledge within cultural contexts. D’Ambrosio’s framework includes six dimensions — Cognitive, Conceptual, Educational, Epistemological, Historical, and Political — recognizing that mathematical knowledge is always culturally situated (D’Ambrosio, 1985).

The International Study Group on Ethnomathematics (ISGEm), founded in 1985 at the NCTM annual meeting, established objectives including encouraging “solid research paradigm and serious recognition of how this program guides policy in education, government, peace, and social justice” (Wikipedia, “Ethnomathematics”).

For the D10 petal, ethnomathematics affirms that the mathematical thinking embedded in Indigenous games is not a simplified version of “real” mathematics but a distinct and sophisticated knowledge system. The probability reasoning in Slahal, the combinatorial strategy in Mancala, the territorial calculus in Go — these represent mathematical traditions with their own internal logic, depth, and elegance.

5.2 Mathematical Content in Specific Games

Game	Region	Mathematical Concepts
Slahal/Lahal	Pacific NW	Probability, pattern recognition, statistical inference, arithmetic scoring
Mancala/Oware	Africa	Counting, distribution, modular arithmetic, self-replicating patterns
Go/Weiqi	East Asia	Territory calculation, encirclement, combinatorial complexity, spatial reasoning
Pachisi	India	Probability (cowrie throws), strategic routing, blocking optimization
Chunkey	Mississippi Valley	Trajectory prediction, distance estimation, spatial geometry
Picaria	Zuni Pueblo	Strategy, spatial reasoning, pattern completion

5.3 Culturally Responsive Mathematics Education

The utilization of traditional games in mathematics education aligns with broader movements toward culturally responsive pedagogy. Research demonstrates that integrating familiar cultural contexts into mathematics instruction improves both engagement and outcomes, particularly for students from Indigenous, Latino, and underserved communities (7 Generation Games; D’Ambrosio, 1985).

7 Generation Games, founded by Maria Burns Ortiz and Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, provides a compelling case study: children who played their Indigenous-themed math games saw learning outcomes improve 30% in 10 weeks — a three-fold improvement compared to the control group — in multiyear, peer-reviewed, federally funded efficacy studies (7 Generation Games; Wharton ESG Initiative). The company’s games integrate math learning with Indigenous and Latino history, including converting from miles to kilometers while retracing the Ojibwe migration and solving division problems in Lakota (7 Generation Games).

6. Course Database Materials and Resources

6.1 Audio/Video Materials for Teaching Slahal

Resource	Type	Source
Alive and Well in Indian Country — Slahal, the Stick Game	Documentary video	Muckleshoot Storytelling (wearemuckleshoot.org)
Coast Salish Medley: Six Slahal (Bone Game) Songs	Sheet music / audio	Music K-8 / World Music Press (musick8.com)
How to Play Lahal	Instructional guide	Comox Valley Schools Indigenous Education
Lahal: A Game to Teach Children Traditional Songs and Drumming	Curriculum guide	Carrier Sekani Family Services (csfs.org)
2025 Lahal Information and Rules	Rules document	Greater Victoria SD61 Indigenous Education Dept.
Gambling Music of the Coast Salish Indians	Scholarly monograph	University of Ottawa Press
Instructional Outline: Lahal Game	Classroom lesson plan	UVic/iMinds (uvic.ca)
Slahal Lesson Plan (Grades 4-12)	Lesson plan	Aboriginal Resources for Teachers

6.2 Organizations Running Indigenous Games Programs

Organization	Focus	Location
Tulalip Tribes	Annual Stick Game Tournament	Tulalip, WA
North American Indigenous Games Council	Multi-sport + cultural event for Indigenous youth ages 13-19	Continental
7 Generation Games	Indigenous-themed math education games	National (US)
International Traditional Games Society	Curriculum development, instructor certification	Montana / National
National Indian Education Association (NIEA)	Culturally-based curriculum resources	National (US)
Carrier Sekani Family Services	Lahal instruction and cultural education	British Columbia
Greater Victoria SD61 Indigenous Education	Tri-District Lahal tournaments	Victoria, BC
Montana Office of Public Instruction	Indian Education for All traditional games unit	Montana
Playworks	Structured recess and game-based learning	National (US)
Institute of Play	Game-based school design (Quest to Learn)	New York City

6.3 Curricula for Game-Based Learning in Schools

Curriculum	Developer	Grade Level	Focus
Indian Education for All: Traditional Games Unit	Montana OPI / International Games Society	K-12	Traditional Native games integrated with math, arts, social studies, science
Slahal Lesson Plan	Aboriginal Resources for Teachers	4-12	Slahal history, rules, cultural significance
UVic/iMinds Lahal Instructional Outline	University of Victoria	10-11 (Social Studies)	Lahal as entry point for Indigenous culture study
Growing Math	7 Generation Games / USDA	K-8	Indigenous-themed math games
Making Camp Ojibwe	7 Generation Games	3-5	Ojibwe culture + math
Quest to Learn Curriculum	Institute of Play / NYC DOE	6-12	Full game-based school curriculum
Playworks Game Guide for SEL	Playworks	K-8	Games for social-emotional learning
Oregon Native American Games Curriculum	Oregon Dept. of Education	4	Games of Physical Skill and Endurance
The Playbook: Indigenous Games in the Classroom	Queen’s University	K-12	Comprehensive Indigenous games curriculum

6.4 Digital Tools Supporting Game-Based Education

Platform	Focus	Key Features
7 Generation Games	Indigenous math education	Culturally relevant game-based math (30% learning improvement in studies)
Kahoot!	Formative assessment	Quiz-based games, AI quiz generator, classroom competitions
Minecraft Education	STEM + collaboration	Classroom-adapted Minecraft with chemistry and coding content
Prodigy Math	Math education (Grades 1-8)	Fantasy RPG with adaptive math problems
Scratch (MIT)	Coding + creative expression	Block-based programming for creating games and animations
Social Cipher	SEL for neurodivergent youth	Game-based social-emotional learning curriculum
Stellarium-web.org	Astronomy / star maps	Free planetarium with 40+ sky cultures (connects to D12 Astrology systems)

6.5 Key Texts and Scholarly Resources

Text	Author(s)	Year	Publisher
Games of the North American Indians (2 vols.)	Stewart Culin	1907	Bureau of American Ethnology / Dover (reprint)
The Creator’s Game: Lacrosse, Identity, and Indigenous Nationhood	Allan Downey	2018	UBC Press
The Handgame of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache	William C. Meadows	2025	Texas A&M University Press
What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy	James Paul Gee	2003/2007	Palgrave Macmillan
Video Games and Learning	Kurt Squire	2011	Teachers College Press
Quest to Learn: Developing the School for Digital Kids	Katie Salen et al.	2011	MIT Press
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success	Carol Dweck	2006	Random House
Gambling Music of the Coast Salish Indians	(various)	—	University of Ottawa Press
Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals	Katie Salen & Eric Zimmerman	2003	MIT Press

7. Practical Applications for Educational Settings

7.1 Introducing Slahal in the Classroom

Before beginning, educators should seek guidance from local Indigenous knowledge holders, Elders, or community liaisons. The game belongs to Indigenous communities, and teaching it requires cultural responsibility. The following steps are offered as a starting framework, not a replacement for community partnership:

Cultural Context First: Before playing, teach the origin story — the Creator’s gift as an alternative to war. Discuss what it means for a game to carry this responsibility.
Make or Acquire Materials: Bones can be carved from appropriate materials under Elder guidance. Counting sticks can be gathered or crafted. The act of making game materials is itself an educational experience connecting to D4 Fire/Craft.
Learn Songs: Slahal without singing is incomplete. Work with Indigenous music teachers or community members to learn appropriate game songs. This connects to the D12 Music petal.
Start with Small Teams: Begin with teams of 4-6 before scaling up. Focus on understanding the guessing mechanics, the captain role, and the scoring system.
Debrief After Play: Facilitate discussion about probability (“What were the odds of that guess?”), leadership (“How did the captain decide?”), social perception (“What cues did you notice?”), and emotional regulation (“How did it feel when the guess was wrong?“).

7.2 Cross-Cultural Game Studies Unit

A multi-week unit could progress through games from different cultural traditions:

Week 1-2: Slahal/Lahal (Pacific Northwest) — probability, social perception, leadership
Week 3: Mancala/Oware (Africa) — counting, distribution, strategy
Week 4: Go/Weiqi introduction (East Asia) — territory, encirclement, patience
Week 5: Pachisi (India) — chance and strategy combined, mathematical probability
Week 6: Lacrosse history and Creator’s Game stories (Haudenosaunee) — physical expression, sacred sport
Week 7: Student-designed games incorporating learned principles
Week 8: Friendship tournament — inviting other classes or community members

Each week would include the game’s cultural context, mathematical analysis, and reflective discussion.

7.3 After-School Game Club Model

Based on research showing that structured after-school programs with intentional design produce significantly better outcomes than unstructured alternatives (ASPE/HHS, 2021), a TEK8-aligned game club might include:

Opening Circle: Brief meditation or breathing exercise (D10 Mind/Focus)
Cultural Story: Origin narrative of the day’s featured game
Skill Building: Practice specific game mechanics
Competitive Play: Tournament-style or team-based play
Reflection Journal: Written or oral processing of strategy and social learning
Closing Song: Musical element connecting to D12 petal

7.4 Assessment Through Play

Game-based learning offers natural assessment opportunities:

Strategy articulation: Can students explain their decision-making process?
Probability reasoning: Can students calculate odds in game situations?
Leadership observation: How effectively do students lead teams?
Social perception: Can students identify and articulate behavioral cues?
Growth documentation: How do students’ strategies evolve over time?
Cultural knowledge: Can students contextualize games within their cultural origins?

8. Connections to Other TEK8 Petals

The D10 Play petal interconnects with every other petal in the TEK8 Learning Lotus:

Petal	Connection to D10 Play
D4 Fire / Sight / Agility	Hand dexterity in bone concealment; quick visual perception in guessing; crafting game materials
D6 Earth / Smell / Endurance	Sustained focus through long game sessions; patience required for mastery; grounding practices
D8 Air / Touch / Strength	Physical games (lacrosse, chunkey, shinny); embodied learning; kinesthetic intelligence
D10 Chaos / Mind / Willpower	This petal — strategic thinking, probability, decision-making under uncertainty, mental focus
D12 Ether / Sound / Creativity	Singing and drumming integral to Slahal; musical composition of game songs; creative expression
D20 Water / Taste / Empathy	Reading opponents’ emotions; social-emotional learning; the Creator’s game as healing
D100 Order / Focus / Intelligence	Pattern recognition across game sessions; systematic strategy development; ethnomathematics
D2 Coin / Instinct / Ownership	Gambling dimensions of traditional games; resource management; economic exchange through play

The Slahal/Lahal tradition demonstrates these connections most powerfully: a single game session activates Mind (strategic guessing), Music (singing and drumming), Empathy (reading opponents), Agility (bone concealment), Endurance (sustained play), and Community (team cooperation) — all simultaneously.

9. Bibliography and Citations

Primary Sources and Indigenous Knowledge

SD61 Indigenous Education Department. (2025). 2025 Lahal Information and Rules. Greater Victoria School District. Created in consultation with Elder Brother Rick, Emma Paul, and Reese Thomas. Retrieved from: https://ied.sd61.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/112/2025/06/2025-Lahal-Info-Rules.pdf
Carrier Sekani Family Services. (n.d.). Lahal: A Game to Teach Children Traditional Songs and Drumming. Retrieved from: https://www.csfs.org/howtoplaylahal
Comox Valley Schools Indigenous Education. (n.d.). How to Play Lahal. Retrieved from: https://www.comoxvalleyschools.ca/indigenous-education/lahal/
Muckleshoot Storytelling. (n.d.). Alive and Well in Indian Country — Slahal, the Stick Game. Retrieved from: https://www.wearemuckleshoot.org/videos/alive-and-well-in-indian-country-slahal-the-stick-game

Books and Monographs

Culin, S. (1907). Games of the North American Indians. Twenty-Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1902-1903. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. Reprint: Dover Publications (1975); University of Nebraska Press (1992). Available at: https://archive.org/details/gamesofnorthamer00culirich
Downey, A. (2018). The Creator’s Game: Lacrosse, Identity, and Indigenous Nationhood. Vancouver: UBC Press. Winner, 2019 Federation of Humanities & Social Sciences Canada Prize.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.
Gee, J. P. (2003/2007). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2nd ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Meadows, W. C. (2025). The Handgame of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache: Spirited Competition on the Southern Plains. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Salen, K., Torres, R., Wolozin, L., Rufo-Tepper, R., & Shapiro, A. (2011). Quest to Learn: Developing the School for Digital Kids. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2003). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Squire, K. (2011). Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age. New York: Teachers College Press. (ERIC ED523599)

Journal Articles and Academic Papers

Batiibwe, M. S. K. (2024). The role of ethnomathematics in mathematics education: A literature review. SAGE Open, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263241300400
D’Ambrosio, U. (1985). Ethnomathematics and its place in the history and pedagogy of mathematics. For the Learning of Mathematics, 5(1), 44-48.
Dweck, C. S. (2015, September 22). Carol Dweck revisits the ‘Growth Mindset.’ Education Week. Retrieved from: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset/2015/09
Gee, J. P. (2005). Good video games and good learning. Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 85(2), 33-37.
Hromek, R., & Roffey, S. (2009). Promoting social and emotional learning with games: “It’s fun and we learn things.” Simulation & Gaming, 40(5), 626-644. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878109333793
Loy, J. E., Rohde, H., & Corley, M. (2018). Cues to lying may be deceptive: Speaker and listener behaviour in an interactive game of deception. Journal of Cognition, 1(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.46
Rhodes, R. E., Kopecky, J., Bos, N., McKneely, J., Gertner, A., Zaromb, F., Perrone, A., & Spitaletta, J. (2017). Teaching decision making with serious games. Simulation & Gaming, 48(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412016686642
Shaffer, D. W., Squire, K. R., Halverson, R., & Gee, J. P. (2005). Video games and the future of learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(2), 104-111. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170508700205

News and Media Sources

Campbell River Mirror. (2025, February 14). Traditional Coast Salish game enjoys resurgence with Vancouver Island students. Retrieved from: https://www.campbellrivermirror.com/home2/traditional-coast-salish-game-enjoys-resurgence-with-vancouver-students-7823624
CHEK News. (n.d.). South Island students celebrate traditional Indigenous game through Lahal tournament. Retrieved from: https://cheknews.ca/south-island-students-celebrate-traditional-indigenous-game-through-lahal-tournament-1238826/
Greater Victoria School District (SD61). (2024). Media Release: First Annual Tri-District Lahal Tournament Celebrates Indigenous Game. Retrieved from: https://www.sd61.bc.ca/news-events/news/title/lahal-tournament-2024/
Missouri State University News. (2025, November 11). Offering a deep dive into the Native handgame. Retrieved from: https://news.missouristate.edu/2025/11/11/native-handgame-book/
Sooke News Mirror. (2025, November 20). ‘A game of chances’ thrills students in Langford Lahal tournament. Retrieved from: https://sookenewsmirror.com/2025/11/20/a-game-of-chances-thrills-students-in-langford-lahal-tournament/
Tulalip News. (2025, June 4). A sleight of hand: Annual Stick Games Tournament keeps ancestral spirit of competition alive. Retrieved from: https://www.tulalipnews.com/2025/06/04/a-sleight-of-hand-annual-stick-games-tournament-keeps-ancestral-spirit-of-competition-alive/
USA Lacrosse Magazine. (n.d.). Indigenous brilliance: A conversation with ‘Creator’s Game’ author Allan Downey. Retrieved from: https://www.usalacrosse.com/magazine/college/men/indigenous-brilliance-conversation-creators-game-author-allan-downey
Victoria News. (2025, November 20). ‘A game of chances’ thrills students in Langford Lahal tournament. Retrieved from: https://vicnews.com/2025/11/20/a-game-of-chances-thrills-students-in-langford-lahal-tournament/

Web and Institutional Sources

Cascadia Department of Bioregion. (n.d.). SLAHAL — Games of the First Nations. Retrieved from: https://cascadiabioregion.org/department-of-bioregion/games-of-the-first-nations-slahal
Canadian Journal of Traditional Music (CJTM). (n.d.). Coast Salish Gambling Music. Retrieved from: https://cjtm.icaap.org/content/2/v2art2.html
Field Museum. (n.d.). The Creator’s Game: Keeping Traditions Alive Through Lacrosse. Retrieved from: https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/the-creators-game-keeping-traditions-alive-through-lacrosse
HISTORY.com. (n.d.). The Native American Origins of Lacrosse. Retrieved from: https://www.history.com/articles/lacrosse-origins-native-americans
Indigenous Values Initiative. (n.d.). The Creator’s Game at Onondaga. Retrieved from: https://indigenousvalues.org/creators-game-onondaga/
Montana Office of Public Instruction. (n.d.). Indian Education for All: Traditional Games Unit. Developed by the International Games Society. Retrieved from: https://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Indian%20Education/Health%20Enhancement/Traditional%20Games%20-%20all.pdf
NMAI Magazine (Smithsonian). (n.d.). More than meets the eye [Native handgames]. Retrieved from: https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/Native-handgames
North American Indigenous Games Council. (n.d.). History. Retrieved from: https://www.naigcouncil.com/history
Oneida Indian Nation. (n.d.). Lacrosse, the Creator’s Game. Retrieved from: https://www.oneidaindiannation.com/lacrosse-the-creators-game/
Playworks. (n.d.). Games for Social and Emotional Learning. Retrieved from: https://www.playworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SEL-Game-Guide-1.11.19.pdf
Queen’s University. (n.d.). The Playbook: Indigenous Games in the Classroom. Retrieved from: https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstreams/42e933d3-455c-4eef-b832-d34b5def3f3b/download
7 Generation Games. (n.d.). Integrating Math, Indigenous and Latino History. Retrieved from: https://www.7generationgames.com/integrating-math-indigenous-and-latino-history/
University of Victoria / iMinds. (n.d.). Instructional Outline: Lahal Game. Retrieved from: https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/cisur/assets/docs/iminds/gam-lahal.pdf
World History Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Chunkey. Retrieved from: https://www.worldhistory.org/Chunkey/

Additional Research Resources

ASPE/HHS. (2021). Afterschool Programs to Improve Social-Emotional, Behavioral, and Physical Health Outcomes. US Department of Health and Human Services.
Bernard, L., & Gamble, K. (n.d.). Indigenous Logic Math Games. Burnaby Schools Indigenous Education. Retrieved from: https://burnabyschools.ca/indigenouseducation/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/01/logic-games3.pdf
Native American Rights Fund. (n.d.). Indigenous Peacemaking Initiative. Retrieved from: https://narf.org/cases/indigenous-peacemaking-initiative/

Appendix A: Glossary of Terms

Term	Definition
Slahal / Lahal	Coast Salish guessing game using bone pairs, accompanied by singing and drumming
Handgame	Broader category of Native American guessing games involving concealed objects
Stickgame / Bonegame	Alternative names for Slahal and related games
First Guesser / Captain	The designated team leader who makes guesses on behalf of the team
Male bone	The bone with a ring or band around it (the marked piece)
Female bone	The plain, unmarked bone
Counting sticks	Eleven sticks used for keeping score
Ethnomathematics	The study of mathematical ideas as they develop in specific cultural contexts
SEL	Social-Emotional Learning
GBL	Game-Based Learning
NAIG	North American Indigenous Games
Chunkey	Mississippian rolling-disc and spear-throwing game
Mancala	Family of African “sowing” or “count-and-capture” games
Weiqi / Go	Ancient Chinese territorial strategy game
Mehen	Ancient Egyptian serpent board game (c. 3000 BCE)
Pachisi	Indian cross-and-circle board game using cowrie shells

Appendix B: TEK8 D10 Petal — Quick Reference

D10 — CHAOS / MIND / WILLPOWER — "PLAY"
Element:     Chaos
Sense:       Mind
Attribute:   Willpower
Die:         D10 (ten-sided)
Opulence:    Knowledge (Jnana)

Core Learning Domains:
  - Strategic thinking and decision-making
  - Probability and mathematical reasoning
  - Social perception and body language reading
  - Leadership through team game roles
  - Cultural knowledge through traditional games
  - Growth mindset through iterative play
  - Conflict resolution through competitive cooperation

Key Practices:
  - Slahal/Lahal (stickgame/bonegame)
  - Cross-cultural game studies
  - Ethnomathematics investigations
  - Game design and analysis
  - Tournament organization and participation

Assessment Indicators:
  - Strategy articulation and adaptation
  - Probability reasoning accuracy
  - Leadership effectiveness in team roles
  - Cultural context knowledge
  - Social-emotional growth documentation

This document is part of the TEK8 Learning Lotus research series. The TEK8 framework maps eight educational petals to the eight dice of the Dice Godz system (D2, D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, D100), each representing a dimension of holistic learning grounded in Traditional Ecological Knowledge principles.

For related research, see companion petal studies in the TEK8 series.

Document version: 1.0 | Created: 2026-02-14 | Framework: TEK8 / Quillverse