by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Tehakwirakarenrons McDonald, which means “He shakes the trees” is Wolf Clan and he is Mohawk of Akwesasne. His father is Dan McDonald and mother was Selena Beauvais. She passed away from cancer when he was young.
“I compete for the Akwesasne Jr. ‘B’ Indians,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “Since I was in minor lacrosse it was always a goal of mine to play for them and represent the community. I’ve played multiple sports growing up so I can get a feel of what I like playing and what I’m good at and lacrosse was the one that always stuck with me. I attended Salmon River High School, where I played field lacrosse and hockey. I’ve been playing box lacrosse since the age of 10. I’ve competed for the Iroquois Nationals team in minor lacrosse, I’ve also played on the U19 World Jr. Lacrosse team in 2019, and have been playing for the Akwesasne Indians for the past four years.”
“Growing up in Akwesasne and being a Native American, our culture has always been a part of us,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “It’s good to know your roots and where you come from, especially being native in the sport of lacrosse. I’ve been exposed to a lot of racism over the years and used to let it get the best of my emotions in the sport. I then learned how to turn that negativity into fuel and use it to train harder, play harder, and also humble me. Rather than getting mad, I would embrace it because I am not ashamed of my culture and who I am.”
“The first person to inspire me to play was my father,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “He was never too hard on me and was always there when I needed him. I wouldn’t be the man and the athlete that I am today if it wasn’t for him. He inspired me to start working out at a young age and helped me discover that fire inside me to compete and be the best player I can be.”
Dad Dan McDonald talked about his son. He said: “When Tehakwirakarenrons was born my bond with my son started right away. His mother Selena Beauvais, Mohawk member from Akwesasne, knew that he was gonna be a boy but I had no clue until he was born. His mother and I were both avid athletes so we were both excited for the future of our children to be involved in sports. Tehakwirakarenrons has an older sister Tekaronhiakwas and she is two years older than him. My mother is full Navajo from the Navajo Nation and my father is Mohawk from Akwesasne and Seneca from Allegany. I am now a member of Akwesasne. I was a member of Colorado River Indian Tribes but I gave up my membership when I moved to Akwesasne at the age of 20 years old. I was 28 years old and his mother was 25 years old when he was born. We were both excited parents to have a boy and girl in our family.”
“A few years later things changed for our family. His mother was diagnosed with cancer. She tested positive for acute leukemia. She fought the cancer and went through a bone marrow transplant to beat it but a few months after the transplant she ended up getting cancer in her lungs and passed away when Tehakwirakarenrons was three years old. This was a difficult time for our family. It was just me raising our children in the community of Akwesasne. I worked construction and at the time when his mother passed I was an ironworker and a lot of the jobs were out of town. So I had to make a decision to give up ironworking to work construction in the community of Akwesasne so I could raise Tehakwirakarenrons and his sister,” added Dan.
“Tehakwirakarenrons means ‘he shakes the trees’ and his name suited him at that age,” said Dan. “He was always full of energy and was always happy. I was a tired single father trying to make ends meet and raise my children right without their mother not being around for them no more. When Tehakwirakarenrons was five years old he wanted to play hockey here in Akwesasne. Some of his classmates from school mentioned it to him. So he was excited about hockey but he never skated before. I signed him up but we made a deal and promise that he would finish this through the season. So he agreed and after a few practices he wanted to quit. I said ‘remember the deal we made.’ He said ‘yes, okay then.’ ‘But that girl is skating rings around me’, he said. I just laughed. I just said ‘the more you skate the better you will get at skating. So no, you are not quitting.’ He agreed even though he hated it. But about three weeks in he was skating. He was so excited that he didn’t give up and learned how to skate. He eventually fell in love with playing hockey and became well respected and a leader of his peers from his hockey minor career right up to his high school career in which he made Salmon River HS varsity hockey team when he was in the 8th grade. He had a five-year varsity hockey career at Salmon HS. He played hockey all those years.”
“He was involved in the minor system for field lacrosse, box lacrosse, little league baseball and even played flag and tackle football. Both my children were involved in sports all year long. I was a busy sports parent. I worked and took care of my children but my children had their responsibility too especially if they wanted to play all these sports. I expected my kids to give 100 percent all the time. I know some days they will be tired but that’s no reason to quit and you can still try. I told them I don’t ever wanna see them give up on the field, floor or ice. You guys always give it your all. I didn’t work all day than rush around after work to feed you and get you to your practices or games to watch you guys not give it a 100 percent out there,” added Dan.
“So Tehakwirakarenrons learned not to give up throughout his career in any of his sports that he played,” said Dan. “His laughter and good spirit was always there for his teammates, coaches and fans to see. He never lost that throughout his career. He had his ups and downs in his career. He had a few injuries that could’ve set him back but he was determined to get better and get back out there for his team and teammates. I raised both my children to be respectful, well mannered, and be leaders in life. Tehakwirakarenrons is that and I can proudly say that I’m proud of my son and his career in sports here in Akwesasne and in the surrounding area.”
“Tehakwirakarenrons has many fans here in community of all ages that really enjoy watching him play. The elders love watching him play because he is tough and plays with heart and always looks out for his teammates. The younger fans love it when he makes a great play and I’ve seen him give kids his lacrosse stick after an intense game and kids even want his broken hockey and lacrosse sticks after a game. He has always made things exciting when he plays his sports. I’m a proud father of Tehakwirakarenrons. Not because people of the community talk him up at times. I’m proud of him because he shows what kind of man he is out there on the floor, field and ice. He is respectful, respected, and a leader and most of all he’s smiling and having fun,” said Dan.
“My coach, Brandon Francis, also made a big impact in my career,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “He showed me character in the sport of lacrosse and what it’s like to have everybody on your team feel like your brother. He showed me the do’s and don’ts of lacrosse that I still practice to this day.”
“I’ve been in and out of the gym since the seventh grade,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “But lately I’ve been trying to focus my training more towards the movements I would be making in the sport. It’s important to know your body and what your body is capable of doing on the lacrosse floor. So when it comes time to battle, your confidence is high because you know what you can’t and can do best. That means once March came around I had to drop the heavy weights and pick up the running shoes and speed ladder.”
“For me, there is always room for improvement,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “I’ve been studying the little things that players do within the game and would try and incorporate it into practice. I’ve come to realize that it’s the little things in players that make them so good. I have been trying to further my knowledge in defense, transition, and offense to best player I know I can be.”
“Spiritually, I’m connected to the sport more than ever,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “Coming from a traditional family, my grandmother would always remind me that the game was for medicine, so don’t act a fool out there and abuse it. Lacrosse is bigger than just a game. It heals the sick, and brings joy to the ones who need it.”
“I always believed that lacrosse was 70% mental and 30% physical, because the mind is capable of giving up long before your body does,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “There are many things I can improve on mentally in the sport. I used to be hard on myself when I would have a bad game or make a bad decision on the floor. But thanks to the people and players around me, I’ve been making sure I learn from my mistakes and to always focus on the next play.”
“It’s a tough time right now because of the pandemic that is happening,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “I’ve been trying to keep my stick in my hand and my running shoes on because the season is gonna come fast and I wanna be ready for it.”
“In my last year of minor lacrosse I tore my ACL and meniscus during the semi-final match of Nationals against Team B.C,” said Tehakwirakarenrons. “It was my first serious injury and being so young, I thought the worst and thought my sports career was over. But lucky my father was there to tell me that it was just a setback and there will be plenty of those in the sport and in life. But it’s how you come back from it that makes you the person that you are. So I didn’t give up, just a couple months later I got surgery on my meniscus, left the ACL, and was playing sports within three months. It was an important life lesson for me and has helped become confident to overcome any obstacles that continue to come my way.”
Photo Credit: Joe Francis, Kawehnoke, Akwesasne
