Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
For some reason, the World Lacrosse Championship is being held in Manchester, England this year. Thirty nations will compete for the right to be the best, including the United States, Canada, Japan and lacrosse hotbed Latvia. The tournament is significant as it allows the Iroquois Nation, consisting of the six nations that make up the Haudenosaunee people, to compete as their own participant.
And they're pretty good too, finishing fourth in 2006. They should be good...they invented the game.
The World Championship has been held all over the world and the Iroquois have traveled to play in it every time without issue. Along with other tournaments, they've traveled to Australia and Japan, amongst other places. Never with any kind of incident.
That changed this week as the team tried to board a plane for England and were told by British authorities that their Haudenosaunee passports would not be accepted. Their concern was whether or not the United States would accept them upon return and in a turn of events from all known incidents in the past, America said no.
And so, the Iroquois team sat and waited in New York City as attempts to remedy the situation began. For the US and England, it was a matter of legalities. The passports were not "up to par" with current standards.
For the Iroquois, a matter of pride. They are of the Iroquois Nation, not the United States. An issue that can be debated til the end of time. Unfortunately, the team only had two days if they wanted to make it to Manchester for their first game, incidentally against the English team.
Semi-good news came down Wednesday morning when, thanks to Hilary Clinton's State department, the U.S. issued temporary, one-time allowances for American-born players. This still meant Canadian-born players on the team would not be allowed to travel without similar action from the Canadian government. Half the team was apart of this Canadian group. And the Brits still needed to sign off on their end that the make-good would suffice.
It would not, it seems. And now the Iroquois are back to square one. Their game, the first game of the World Lacrosse Championships, is set for Thursday night. Considering the time-change, they're pretty much already too late.
It is a shame that the Iroquois Nation, the one that can lay claim to inventing the very game that will be played, will not be present over technicalities. Don't think this group of young men are a courtesy representation, their roster consists of some of college lacrosse's finest players. They're not just a worthy addition, they're a contender for the title. Least they would have been.
The real shame, of course, is the larger issue here. For the Haudenosaunee, it's further validation of what they already know. The U.S., Canada and England consider their way of life a courtesy bestowed on them, not something to be taken seriously. For the Haudenosaunee, having their own passports was one small way to maintain their identity. And now it's one more thing we've taken away from them.
Some will say that it's their own fault. "This is America, dammit. Speak American!" Buried deep within the rhetoric, there may be a point about Native Americans adapting some practices as not to force these kinds of issues in the future. Then again, the people who will say this have also never had to grow up on a reservation or live the lives these athletes have.
Presumably the team will return home now. The players will disperse to Upstate New York and Canada. They'll probably keep an eye on the tournament. They'll watch the sport of lacrosse played by Poland, Argentina, Slovakia and Norway. They'll see England get credited with a dubious, forfeit win over the Iroquois. And in glum, ironic fashion, it will most likely be the United States and Canada that battle it out for the World Championship.
29 Nations will play for the right to be called the best lacrosse nation in the world. Just not the one who would appreciate it the most.
4 comments
Comments
Excellent post
And worthy of some attention. This situation should not be happening.
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by Jeremy Mauss on Jul 14, 2010 11:28 PM EDT reply actions
Great editorial
.. addressing a sorry situation. Plainly wrong (my gut says). For awhile thought governments had found the right answer. Shouldn’t end here, unless wake up tomorrow and find govts went back to sensible, correct, respectful resolution.
As a Stan Freberg Columbus skit said it, "What you mean you discover us? We discover yuo you It’s all how you look at it.’
by Denny Conroy on Jul 14, 2010 11:40 PM EDT reply actions
being of the Iroquois Nation
this is just sad to see. Anyone who would say ‘be American speak American’ doesn’t know that our nation sweeps across the Canada and US. The independence granted to us to operate as our own nation was always something just ‘given’ to us by the government, but in this much of a PC time you would think this wouldn’t happen. I won’t say that we were here first or any of that, the past is the past and things happen for a reason. However, if you grant us our land and tell us we can operate our nation then respect our traditions. You respect others so please respect us.
by hokiewolf on Jul 15, 2010 6:55 AM EDT reply actions
On the Haudenosaunee situation
while at SU, I took a semester long course through the Honors Program on the Haudenosaunee taught by a member of the 6 nations. I deeply respect the history and traditions of the native people and very much enjoyed my visits to the reservation. The course was eye opening and insightful. I would recommend it to anyone at SU who has the opportunity to take it.
Some of the onus in this situation needs to be on the people of the 6 nations. Firstly, their agreement with the US and Canadian governments allows them to cross the border at will, and is supposed to be without being subjected to the typical inspection. This is because parts of their territories are on both sides of the “imaginary line.” Since the last World Lax tourney, there have been several abuses of this agreement including last fall when there was a huge drug bust related to marijuana being trucked across the border for distribution in the US.
The agreement for providing the Haudenosaunee with recognition as an independent state and allowing border crossings is between the 6 Nations, the USA and Canada. England is not involved, does not recognize them as a state, and therefore does not acknowledge their passports. So while their passports are good for US-Canada crossings, it is not a free pass to go jet setting through Europe. If the native people wanted to be recognized, they would have to have been proactive in the past and sought recognition from other governments. We would not recognize an Australian Aboriginal’s homemade passport. Now consider that there are hundreds of different Nations of Native People in the US. Its a lot of sovereign nations. It is very common for one government not to recognize the agreements of another and I could spend all day listing examples (but I have to work).
The “passport” that they are talking about here is a piece of red construction paper that may or may not be laminated depending on the owner. Ive seen them. If you didnt know what it was (ie were not a border patrolmen on the US-Canadian border) you would think its a bad joke. Think the worst fake ID you have ever seen, though it would still get you into Maggie’s. Its not shocking that they got turned away at a customs department in the post 9/11 era, especially when combined with the recent drug trafficking violations.
This Lax tourney seems a lost cause at this point. However, for the future the 6 Nations People may want to consider investing some of their casino revenue in a campaign of international recognition and in some professional passports. If you visit the reservation and see all the people living in trailers, its obvious its not getting distributed anyways (but thats another topic).
My final paper for the course was a reflection on what we learned. It was titled “The Haudenosaunee People Need to Get Their Shit Together.” I got an A. If they got organized, had some form of central government with authority (rather than anyone making deals and saying they are a chief, which is why half the reservation south of SU cant be built on – its a flood plane because some random guy took a deal with the US army) and got that government and its leaders recognized by outside governments, they could be making money hand over fist. Money that would put casino revenue to shame. With an airfield, they could have the worlds largest duty free shops. Think of how much we import from overseas. And not just the 6 Nations, but all Native People. There are too many groups to be operating separately for the same respect. A native passport thats is not tribe specific would be a great thing to come out of this mess. One that these boys could have used as well as the people of the Pacific North West or South West. Then collectively invest some of the revenues into recognition by other governments. But I digress…
No this is not the fault of the Lax players. They should be allowed to represent themselves and their nation at the sport they invented. However, their nation needs to be more proactive in asserting its rights if they want to be recognized as more than a group of Americans and Canadians trying to travel internationally with a homemade ID card.
by ryanwk628 on Jul 15, 2010 9:53 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
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