Members of an Iroquois lacrosse team that are scheduled to compete in a tournament in the U.K. beginning this Thursday found themselves unexpectedly detained in New York City when the Travel Nazis of America and England made an illegal tackle. At issue was the question of whether or not the Iroquois players would be allowed to fly using their Iroquois Confederacy-issued passports, a right that was recognized by the governments of the U.S., U.K. and Canada way back in 1977.
But instead of immediately admitting their goof, U.S. officials instead offered to issue the players temporary U.S. passports, an offer the players rejected as an affront to their sovereign identity – after all, the tournament is an international event, and the Iroquois are not playing under an American banner. This is the same stance taken by the Mohawks of Kahnawake (fellow members of the Iroquois nation) on their recognized right to offer online gaming services to players across the globe. Seriously, when are white folks going to stop fucking these people around?
The latest word out of the Iroquois camp is that U.S. officials have caved, and will let the Iroquois born south of the 49th parallel get on their way, but no official word has come down from the U.S. State Department. And it still remains to be seen what decision awaits the Iroquois players born above the 49th parallel, so c’mon, Canada – get on board and let these proud Iroquois athletes make their mark on the international stage! Read more.
