Iroquois passports don't meet 'new standars' - finalists will miss world cup!

[Peikko 1,575]

In the 18th and 19th centuries, tribes from the Iroquois nations were involved in repeated confrontations with the British and Americans and usually came off badly, victims of one broken treaty after another. Now their descendants are involved in another standoff, entangled in a visa row with the US and British governments.

The native Americans are due to play England in Manchester on Thursday in the world cup of lacrosse, a game they helped to invent 1,000 years ago. But the team is stranded in New York, their Iroquois passports no longer accepted by the US or Britain.

"We hope this gets resolved quickly," Denise Waterman, a spokeswoman for the team, said. "The great irony is that the game of lacrosse was founded by our people on Iroquois territory, so we hope others can respect the history and origins of game and not impede our team from competition."

The team, which has 23 members and represents the Six Nations of the Iroquois, was due to travel from New York to the UK on Sunday but they were told by the British consulate in New York on Friday they were ineligible to fly.

Neither the US state department nor the British government showed any sign of backing down. Nor did the Iroquois, who do not accept US sovereignty and who refused a US state department offer of emergency US passports.

Since 1977, the Iroquois have been allowed to use their own passports as a courtesy after an agreement between the US, British, Canadian and other governments. But that agreement fell foul off new US passport and visa requirements after 9/11 and of tough requirements introduced last year.

One player, Brett Bucktooth, said he would rather miss the tournament than travel under a US passport. "That's the people we are, and that's our identity," he said.

"My father put a wooden lacrosse stick into my crib when I was a baby and now that I have a son, I put a lacrosse stick into his crib," he said. "In our culture, we all start playing lacrosse young."

Waterman said one reason that the Iroquois could not accept the US passports was that the competition was an international tournament and the team had to represent a sovereign nation to participate.

The Iroquois have sent teams over the last three decades to competitions around the world, including to Britain in 1985 and 1994.

The team has been stuck in New York since the end of last week, running up tens of thousands of dollars in hotel bills.

A US state department spokesman said new passport rules came into effect last year. "Since they last travelled on their own passports, the requirements in terms of the kind of documents that are necessary to facilitate travel within and outside the hemisphere have changed," he said.

A British diplomat in Washington said : "We understand the frustration of the Iroquois team but before we can issue visitors with visas to come to the UK we need to be certain they will be allowed back into their countries when they return home.

"I am afraid the US government does not recognise these passports as legitimate travel documents that would allow re-entry."

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[one...two...tree 2,762]

That's just wrong.

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

That's just wrong.

agreed

[Peikko 1,575]

It is quite ridiculous - how they allow bureaucracy to #### things up like this I don't know, but they do, all the time.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

But the important thing is that they are maintaining their identity. And staying on the reervation where we put them...eh?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Iroquois do not accept US sovereignty and who refused a US state department offer of emergency US passports.

I'm wonndering if they are the only Native American tribe that does this?

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

As much as I support the Sovereignty of the Iroquois I also believe that if they want to continue issuing their own passports then it is the Nation's (Iroquois) responsibility to keep up with the requirements of the international community and update them to the current Machine Readable requirements much has the Philippine Government has.

[SMR 368]

As much as I support the Sovereignty of the Iroquois I also believe that if they want to continue issuing their own passports then it is the Nation's (Iroquois) responsibility to keep up with the requirements of the international community and update them to the current Machine Readable requirements much has the Philippine Government has.

Exactly. If they want to be a sovereign nation, then they better be willing to do all of the sovereign nation stuff. That means dealing with visa requirements and international relations. If other nations don't accept their passports or won't issue their passport holders visas, that's the problem of their "sovereign" government. If they want to pretend to be a "sovereign" nation and have the US work out their passport relations then they're just creating a lot of red tape with no real meaning.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Iroquois, there a quois, everywhere a quois quois.

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

Iroquois, there a quois, everywhere a quois quois.

don't make me go mohican on you!

[Darnell 8,478]

British consulate in New York poo. It's been rigged, I tell ya -

Have a no-show? England wins, by Default, yes?

[slim 1,514]

If this sovereign nation has enough money to pay a team of traveling athletes tens of thousands of dollars for hotel costs, you'd think they'd be able to figure out who to bribe to get passports up to speed. I mean, we have no problem paying politicians tens of thousands of dollars. Works for us.