Independent news from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance

Iroquois Nationals passport rule prompts national, international response

Rebecca Clarren’s next stop on her book tour for “The Cost of Free Land” is Bismarck on April 29, where she’ll be having a reading and open discussion about the dispossession of Indigenous land. Photo by Shelby Brakken, photo courtesy of Rebecca Clarren
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.
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:

1. Wil Haygood, “Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team asks White House to
honor sovereign passports,”
The Washington Post, July 14, 2010,

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),

4. “The Associated Press: US rule could keep Iroquois from lacrosse
tourney,”
n.d.,

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), .

11. Garry McKay, “Iroquois lacrosse team caught in political crossfire,”
Hamilton Spectator, 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,

13. “Sudbury Against War and Occupation,” July 12, 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,
http://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.,

21. ICC, “Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team delayed for World Games by
Homeland Security passport fiasco,”
News, News From Indian Country, July
12, 2010,

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),

23. Dave Levy, “UPDATE: England *and U.S.* to Iroquois Nation: Sure, You
Created Lacrosse, But Your Passports Suck,”
SportsGrid: Behind the Grid,
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),
http://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,
http://iroquoisnationals.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=
77:media-release-7112010&catid=35:statistics.

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

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.