NEDROW, N.Y. – The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team was scheduled to depart today to compete in the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships in England, but have been thwarted by delays from the U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to approve clearance for departure and return through U.S. Immigration for processing visas by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The 23 members of the team were notified by the British Consulate late Friday afternoon that their travel visas were delayed awaiting assurance from the U.S. State Department that they will be allowed to leave the country and be allowed back into the United States following their 14-day competition in Manchester, England to compete in the “equivalent of the Olympics” for lacrosse.
The team is scheduled to play the opening game against England on Thursday, July 15, but will not be able to depart until Tuesday night if the issued can be resolved immediately. This leaves the team no time to rest or practice before the opening game, threatening their ability to win. “This delay has now become extremely urgent and it must be corrected by July 12th or all the practice and preparation will be wasted, and these young men’s hopes and dreams of will be trampled,” said Percy Abrams, the National’s executive director. “We’re urging all our supporters to contact the White House staff at 202.456.4771 to urge the Department of Homeland Security to allow us clearance so that our team can compete.”
The delay is also creating an enormous financial burden since travel arrangements for airline tickets, hotels, lodging, meals, and transportation must all be changed, costing the team and family members more than $23,000. The Nationals fund raise all year long for the $300,000 budget necessary for them to compete in the world championships, a distinction that is hard-earned. “Our young athletes are competing at the highest level of competition against other countries,” said Denise Waterman, a member of the team’s board of directors. “They are excellent role models and have worked all year to prepare, so we hope this gets resolved quickly. 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.”
Three weeks ago, the Haudenosaunee sent notice to the British Consulate in New York requesting permission for application for visas. The Iroquois Nationals are traveling on passports issued by the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy, comprised of the Onondaga, Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Tuscarora and Cayuga nations, who have used their passports to travel internationally for more than 30 years. While the passports have been widely accepted in the past, the British Consulate notified the team two days ago that they would only issue visas with written assurance from the Department of Homeland Security regarding clearance. That same day, the U.S. State Department advised the Iroquois National’s legal adviser that they could expedite U.S. passports for the team to travel to Manchester, but will not provide clearance to travel on Haudenosaunee passports.
“We cannot do that because we are a sovereign nation. We are our own people,” said Waterman. “We are participating in an international tournament, and to play in an international tournament, you have to be a country. We’ve been recognized by this organization as a nation with our own citizens, our own land, and our own sovereignty. We have been sending teams to international competition since 1990 and have never before had a problem traveling to Japan, England and Australia.”
The Confederacy was established as a formal government before the United States and Canada were countries, and is recognized as an independent nation with homelands that straddle the U.S. and Canadian border. The past several years the Confederacy has been in negations with Homeland Security on travel documents, and they are concerned that the current situation may dampen that relationship. Onondaga attorney Tonya Gonnella Frichner, a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, is urgently working to help resolve the issue. “We respect that there are issues with borders and security, and we want to meet all the criteria of any government, but we’re also asking for an accommodation of our own credentials,” she said. “The Iroquois Nationals represent the Iroquois Nation, and they are traveling on Haudenosaunee credentials because that’s who we are representing. It wouldn’t make sense to travel on the on the passports of our competitors. These outstanding athletes – indigenous peoples of North America – should not be blocked from returning to our own territory.”
Oren Lyons, Onondaga Faithkeeper and a former All-American lacrosse goalie, said lacrosse is called the “Creator’s game,” in their culture. “When you talk about lacrosse, you’re talking about the lifeblood of the Six Nations. The game is ingrained into our culture and our lives. This is our game and our gift to the world.” Lyons – an author, former college professor and international advocate for indigenous rights who helped draft the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – has traveled to many countries on a Haudenosaunee passport for three decades, and is hopeful the situation will eventually be resolved in their favor.
The travel delays, however, will likely impact their ability to play at their best due to a lack of rest before the opening game. The compelling story of the Iroquois Nationals will be featured in the next issue of Sports Illustrated. For more information and photos, go to the Iroquios Nationals website.
Other articles can be found at Indian Country Today.
