Iroquois Nationals passport rule prompts national, international response

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Percey Abrams holds up his passport at the JFK Terminal 3 - The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team is attempting to fly to the United Kingdom/England to play in the World Lacrosse Championships, but is having problems with their native passports.

All the following links were just passed on to me this morning from Valerie Taliman who is helping spread the word about the U.S. State Department’s refusal to honor Iroquois Nation’s passports. The decision has stranded the Iroquois Nationals team and prevented players from participating in the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship games. Read on for some of the links that are available. I received a request from a reader in France yesterday to repost one of the stories I had displayed here on the Buffalo’s Fire. Read on for some of the stories, ranging from the Washington Post and NPR to ABC News and Britain’s Telegraph:

2. “Iroquois lacrosse team hoping for ID resolution – Yahoo! News,” July 13, 2010,

3. Verna Dobnik and Eva Dou, “US rule could keep Iroquois from lacrosse tourney,” Associated Press Newsfeed (New York, NY, July 13, 2010),

5. Tom Whitehead, “Visa row for Native American lacrosse team,” Telegraph (UK, July 13, 2010), Morning edition,

6. Samantha Gross, “Iroquois lacrosse team hoping for ID resolution,” Associated Press Newsfeed, July 13, 2010,

7. Nando Di Fino, “LeBron James Decision Continues to Reverberate – The Daily Fix – WSJ,” The Daily Fix – Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2010,

8. Kristen Hamill, “Identity, federal policy clash for Iroquois lacrosse team – CNN.com” (New York, NY: CNN, July 13, 2010),

9. John Wetenhall, “Passport Snafu Leaves Iroquois Lacrosse Team Stranded– ABC News” (ABC News, July 13, 2010),

10. Jim Kenyon, “Iroquois lax players turned away over passport dispute : News : WSTM NBC3,” TV Broadcast, evening news (Syracuse, NY: WSTM NBC3, July 13, 2010), .

12. Gale Courey Toensing, “Obama administration may thwart Iroquois Nationals’ tournament travel | Indian Country Today | Archive,” Indian Country Today, July 13, 2010,

14. Troy Nunes, “Because If There’s Anything Native Americans Love To Do, It’s Rely On English & American Governments,” Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, July 12, 2010, https://www.nunesmagician.com/2010/7/12/1565724/because-if-theres-anything- native#add-comment.

15. Steven Newcomb, “The Haudenosaunee ‘right of return’,” Indian Country Today, July 12, 2010,

16. staff reports, “Passport Controversy Puts Iroquois on Hold,” Lacrosse Magazine, July 12, 2010,

17. Robert Siegel, “U.S. Rule Could Keep Iroquois From Lacrosse Event,” All Things Considered (NPR, July 12, 2010),

18. Oren Lyons, “‘When we win, you win’,” LTE on Indian Country Today, July 12, 2010,

19. LAX Power, “Iroquois Nationals’ travel to world cup still in jeopardy,” Lacrosse News, July 12, 2010,

20. Thomas Kaplan, “U.S. Rules May Bar Iroquois From Lacrosse Event,” The New York Times, July 12, 2010, sec. U.S.,

22. EVA DOU and VERENA DOBNIK, “US rule could keep Iroquois from lacrosse tourney,” NewsOn6.com – Tulsa, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports – KOTV.com | (Tulsa, OK: KOTV, July 12, 2010),

24. Barry Paddock, “Iroquois lacrosse team banned from flying overseas: U.S. refuses to recognize tribe-issued passports,” New York Daily News (New York, NY, July 12, 2010), https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/12/2010-07-12_iroquois_la crosse_team_banned_from_flying_overseas_us_refuses_to_recognize_tribe.html .

25. 2010 World Lacrosse Championships, “Immigration Cowboys refuse entry to Iroquois nations…,” FIL 2010 World Lacrosse, July 12, 2010

26. Iroquois Nationals, “Media Release 7.11.2010,” July 11, 2010, https://iroquoisnationals.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id= 77:media-release-7112010&catid=35:statistics.

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27. Fernando Alfonso III, “Passport dispute halts Iroquois lacrosse team’s trip to world competition in England | syracuse.com,” Syracuse Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY, July 10, 2010),

Jodi Rave

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