TULALIP — The Tulalip Tribes will host one of the largest stick games in modern history during the weekend of Aug. 20-21, but spectators will have an early opportunity to learn about the games.

The “Battle of Nations Stick Game Tournament” will bring together more than 100 teams and 3,500 players, family and spectators from across the United States and Canada. Stick games, also called “Bone Games,” “Hand Game” or “Slahal,” predate recorded history as a traditional form of tribal trade, landholding and social networking.

The tournament is open to the general public for playing or viewing, and on Aug. 18 from 3-8 p.m., tournament official Andre Picard Jr. will conduct five separate hour-long free public sessions for those who wish to learn about the game before the tournament.

The opening ceremonies for the tournament proper kick off at noon on Aug. 20 at the tented area to the west of the Tulalip Resort Casino. After a demonstration hosted by tournament organizers Rusty Farmer and Tulalip’s Billy Fryberg, three games will commence and last throughout the day.

Those who are interested can also watch a four-minute piece on last year’s Battle of Nations Stick Game Tournament online at Tulalip TV’s “Tulalip Matters” web page, at http://kanutv.com/TM_09-06-10.html.

“The vision of our tribal leaders, both today and in generations past, has been to preserve and perpetuate our culture,” Tulalip Tribal Chair Mel Sheldon Jr. said. “We sponsor Spee-Bi-Dah, the Salmon Ceremony, the Canoe Journey, pow wows and other important events as these carry thousands of years of culture, history and spirituality. Our culture serves as an anchor for our membership and our youth and a source of identity, pride and permanence for all Native Americans in this modern world.”

Although at its core, Slahal is a guessing game, the event holds spiritual, cultural and social significance for Native peoples.

“We teach our youth and other players the pieces represent the player’s family,” Farmer said. “You have a clear bone which represents the wife, the mother and the female, and the striped bone that is the male, husband or dad. Then you have 10 sticks which are like your brothers, sisters, grandparents and the rest of your family. The object of the game is to bring your family together in unity, so when you play this game, you pray to your set and say, ‘I want my family to be together.'”

Historical documentation states that games were once played for land use, wives, lodging and goods such as clothing, horses and cattle, making it a form of trade and social bonding among Native peoples. Game bones and counting sticks have been identified in ancient anthropological digs.

On Aug. 20, players will compete for a top payout of $30,000. Tournament play will continue on Aug. 21, with three-man teams competing for a first prize of $6,000. The games are experiencing a revival, with the player base growing in numbers each year, as more non-Native players join tribal members in dozens of tournaments staged around the country. This event will also feature a variety of Native American arts and crafts vendors, as well as booths for fry-bread, Indian tacos and salmon.