The Iroquois National team, posing in Times Square.
Sadly, the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team is still stuck in NY and it appears they’ll miss their opening game at the World Lacrosse Championships in England. Their first game is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday). The team has been stranded in New York City since Sunday, and has already had to spend an additional $30,000 waiting for the problem to get sorted out.
“Since last week, the team learned that the Obama administration declined to honor the Haudenosaunee passports, and instead has asked the group to travel on U.S. passports – an action that would violate the sovereignty of the six Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) Confederacy nations – the Onondaga, Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Tuscarora and Cayuga. Haudenosaunee citizens have been traveling internationally on their own passports for more than 30 years.”
- Chief Oren Lyons
The issue is about more than a team getting to a game – it is about whether the Obama Administration will truly recognize Native American Nation sovereignty. The US passport decision will also set a precedent for recognition of Native American passports in the future, overseas and at the US borders.
“The game of De-hon-tshi-gwa’ ehs (Lacrosse) has become an inspiration to a third of the world’s youth – 109 countries in all. The long-stick game is a gift to the world from the Haudenosaunee, the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. It would be strange – beyond strange, indeed – if the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team, the national team of the Haudenosaunee were denied participation in the World Lacrosse Championships by agencies of the United States. We are perplexed by this position taken by the Obama Administration,” Chief Oren Lyons said.
Read the CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/07/14/sport.iroquois.passport.controversy/
