Telluride, CO -- The ancient Greeks may have invented the Olympics but many of the events in the upcoming games are actually Native American in origin.

That's the word from Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee, who currently spends her days promoting Native American culture with an organization called Native Voices.

She says Native Americans created as many as 10 Olympic sports, including soccer, field hockey, canoeing, kayaking and the overhand swimming stroke.

Chaffee also says Native Americans deserve credit for inventing lacrosse and claims baseball is a variation of a game called "long ball" that is still played by some tribes.

Back then though, Chaffee says indigenous Americans used the games to settle disputes at a time when the "civilized world played war games."

The 2004 Olympic Games begin Friday (Aug. 13) in Athens, Greece, but Chaffee hopes folks use the occasion to look back at the athletic contributions made by Native Americans to the Games, including Jim Thorpe, an American Indian considered to be the best all-around athlete ever to compete in the Olympics.

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