Despite being the originators of
the lacrosse sport centuries ago, athletes of the Haudenosaunee—the Six Nations
Iroquois Confederacy—are being denied the right to compete in the Federation of
International Lacrosse World Lacrosse Championships, taking place in England.
The competition runs from July 15 to 24, and the team, the Iroquois Nationals,
was due to play on the first day against the English team.
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Iroquois Nationals team in Times Square |
On July 16, the team reluctantly
bowed out of the competition. According to team manager Ansley Jemison, the
team missed the first game and was bumped to a lower division. Despite making
the decision to return home from New York City, the Iroquois Nationals remain
ready to travel if Britain reverses its decision.
The issue is the right of the
Iroquois Nationals players to travel abroad on their own passports. Since 1977,
the Haudenosaunee citizens have traveled abroad numerous times on their own
passports.
But for several weeks before their
team and supporters were due to fly to England for the competitions, the Obama
administration refused to recognize their passports. Britain in turn refused to
grant visas without U.S. permission.
The team is ranked fourth in the
world, out of 109 countries where the sport is played.
After appeals of other indigenous
communities and leaders, the U.S. State Department gave a one-time waiver, just
hours before the team’s flight.
The Haudenosaunee confederacy
encompasses six indigenous nations of the region in Upstate New York and the neighboring
area of Canada, who have proudly defended their sovereign rights since the
arrival of the English and French colonizers. The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga,
Cayuga, and Seneca nations united perhaps as early as the 12th century, and the
Tuscarora joined the confederacy in the 18th century.
According to a press release of
the Iroquois Nationals, “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 lacrosseteam, 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.
“Since the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team’s admittance
to the FIL in 1983, the team has participated in every world competition as a
member nation, flying our own colors, singing our own anthem and traveling on
our own Haudenosaunee passports to England (1985, 1994), Australia and Japan.
As citizens we have traveled internationally on our own passports since 1977.
We do not take this issue of passports lightly. We have traversed our request
with the utmost respect for the sovereignty of the nations involved.”
As of late July 16, the British
government has indicated it will not change its position.
The resiliency of the youth athletes
in their quest and their refusal to compromise inspired the public. While
they awaited permission to travel in New York City, a Long Island lacrosse team
invited them for a barbecue and game, and filmmaker James Cameron donated
$50,000 for their unexpected stay in the city, according to Indian Country
Today.
The Haudenosaunee are determined
to defend their sovereignty, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation
expresses our fullest solidarity with their struggle.
