"A Native American lacrosse team’s principled stand this week on behalf of their tribe’s sovereignty should make government officials in two countries blush and embolden other tribes to stand up for their own sovereignty.

The Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team had sought to travel to the United Kingdom to compete against England in the opening game of the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester on July 15. The U.S. State Department initially refused to allow the team to travel out of the country because the tribal passports they carried didn’t have security features required after Sept. 11.

While the U.S. State Department eventually approved a one-time travel waiver to the team on July 14, the British government refused to accept the team’s Haudenosaunee Confederacy passports just hours after the State Department announced its decision.

The British government told the team it needed U.S passports in order to enter the country, but the team refused to use U.S. passports because they see that as a strike against their sovereignty.

“They’re telling us: ‘Go get U.S. passports or Canadian passports,’” Tonya Gonnella Frichner, the team’s attorney, told the Associated Press on July 14 shortly after getting the news. “It’s pretty devastating.”"

Get the Story:
Editorial: Iroquois Nationals stance rooted in identity and sovereignty (Indian Country Today 7/16)

Doug George-Kanentiio: British ignore Iroquois treaty obligations (7/15)
Iroquois lacrosse team hopeful despite another setback on travel (7/15)
Column: Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team takes on world powers (7/15)
Iroquois lacrosse team plans to board flight to world tournament (7/14)
Sports Illustrated: Lacrosse a centerpiece of Iroquois way of life (7/14)
Turtle Talk: A State Department payback on Iroquois passports? (7/14)
Steven Newcomb: Obama won't recognize Iroquois documents (7/13)
Iroquois lacrosse team can't head overseas due to travel issue (7/13)