by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
“Lacrosse is the Creators game and a medicine. I play the game because I enjoy playing it, but I also play for those who cannot play and to entertain the Creator. I put in everything I have when playing the game.”
This quote is a common cultural lesson for indigenous people who play and coach the game of the modern and wooden stickball games. This quote is from Dylan Granquist.
Dylan Granquist is an Oneida tribal member playing lacrosse and going to college at Marian University, Fond du Lac, WI. He is a 5-10, 200 lb., attack player. His dad is Harvey Kosowski (Oneida and Stockbridge Munsee) and mom is Deanna Kosowski of Oneida, WI. Dylan is majoring in criminal justice and with a minor in psychology. He wants to go into federal law enforcement as a career.
Dylan attended Oneida Nation HS, WI. He was a recruit to NCAA DII Barton College in North Carolina as a scholarship athlete and transferred to Marian University. Former Oneida HS alum and lacrosse player Bryan Halona knew Barton’s assistant coach because they went to Lincoln Memorial University together. This is the connection that brought Dylan to NC. He played in the fall but redshirted when he knew he was transferring to Marian.
“Coach Bob Leary has positively influenced me as an athlete,” said Dylan. “His long background of accomplishments gave me confidence that he knows what he is talking about when it comes to the game. He has the hardware to prove it. He always wants the best for his players and puts us in the best position to succeed.”
“He is a gifted crease attackman,” said Bob Leary, Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach, Marian University. “He came with a year of academic success behind him and a great reputation from the Oneida coaches. He had been the second leading scorer at Oneida HS as a senior. He is also skilled as an Oneida dancer, as are many in his family.”
“Dylan Granquist has been a leader in forming the Indigenous Peoples Club,” said Coach Bob. “He is also a very gifted dancer, and we had him bring in some others from Oneida for Indigenous Peoples Day this year. Dylan is proud of his heritage and he doesn’t miss an opportunity to educate others.”
Upon getting to campus, Dylan started investigating the process of starting the Indigenous Peoples Club almost immediately, and is now President of the club. “Positive change starts now” is the motto for Marian University to celebrate the Indigenous Peoples Day last October 14, 2019.
“His hustle and tenacity make Dylan a contributor on the ride and on the scoreboard,” said Coach Bob. “Dylan has an outlook that makes him a natural leader. He is always bringing positive energy to the table in any circumstance. He is a welcome addition to the Marian lacrosse family.”
Butch Summers, Oneida HS Lacrosse Coach, said: “As a player for Oneida Nation HS, Dylan played attack, and he played that position with heart. As a coach, I like to say he was a straight-line attack man, point A to point B, maybe a dodge here and there, his play opened up a lot of assists for him, and he had his share of goals too. As players come and go, I remember specifics, and for Dylan, its his nose to the grindstone attitude when he took to the field, luckily for me, I just have to go down the road a bit to watch him play.”
“I went on athletic and academic scholarships at Barton College but the NCAA prohibited me from playing because they didn’t count my Oneida language credits from high school as real credits so I had to redshirt my freshman year,” said Dylan. “I went to North Carolina and I was able to practice for about two months of fall ball and the rest of the year I just worked the games as a scoreboard and shot clock operator. I transferred because I seen that Marian hired Bob Leary who has had plenty of experience coaching Iroquois players and I knew he has the ability to make me a better player and has a lot of knowledge of the game. Barton was a great experience for me to get away from the ‘Rez’ but I missed my family too much and Marian was closer to home and my family is excited to come watch me play this spring.”
“Barton was a first year program so it was cool to try and start a positive culture,” said Dylan. “For example, the team lifts always went smoothly because of our culture we built in the weight room but outside the weight room the culture was very toxic. Just everyone was trying to figure each other out. Our assistant coach was first year too so he wasn’t very helpful.”
Dylan is making the effort to bring culture to Marian University in another way. “The culture was already built here at Marian,” said Dylan. “The program already had indigenous players. I’m just trying to bring more indigenous people to the campus.”
Tracy Abler, Marian University Co-Advisor of the Indigenous Student Council recalled meeting Dylan: “Coach Bob Leary introduced Dylan to me prior to him starting at Marian University this Fall 2019. Dylan was enthusiastic about starting an Indigenous People’s Group at Marian before he even started classes. We immediately began the work of getting a student organization formed and started planning for an Indigenous People’s Day program on campus. The much anticipated program lead by Dylan’s uncle, Bradley Granquist, filled the cafeteria of the student center. Dylan was extremely proud, and a little bit nervous, to show his smoke dancing skills in front of his fellow students, team members, faculty and staff, but he did so wonderfully. I was extremely proud of him, especially when he led a group of students, faculty and staff in the Stomp Dance. His kind heart was evident as he interacted with his niece and nephew. Dylan continues to impress me with his ambitions. He expressed an interest in Indigenous Studies at the university, which has led to initial conversations about offering courses in this area. Dylan came to Marian for an education, but he also came to educate others.”
