The Conundrum Surrounding The Iroquois Nation And Their Issued Passports
The subject of USA Passports seems to be talked about on the news quite often these days and the Lacrosse Championships brought this issue to the forefront once again. The Iroquois lacrosse team was going to England to compete in the World Championship, but was denied entrance to the United Kingdom because they did not hold regular American or Canadian passports.
With members from both Canada and the United States, this team is comprised of Iroquois Native Americans who are part of the Iroquois Nation, which has been issuing their own passports to its members that show their unique Iroquois heritage. However, without an American or Canadian passport, they aren’t being granted entrance into the United Kingdom, which is questioning the validity and legitimacy of such passports. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a one-time exception waiver for the team, so they could regain entrance into the United States after their tournament overseas. The UK did not accept this waiver.
There are a few different views on this matter. More and more, countries are taking the position that they will only accept official passports issued from the United States or Canada because since these native Americans are citizens, they should use the documents used by other citizens. There is also a security problem with the Iroquois passport as they do not have the anti-fraud features that are present on the other passports. This could put other travelers at risk if these passports fall into the hands of the wrong person.
Those closely affect by this ruling feel singled out and prevented from expressing pride in their heritage. For years, the Iroquois passports have been acceptable for international travel and they don’t understand why that should change now. They feel they are being alienated from the rest of the world and do not want to change their traditions or customs related to passports.
And yet another side of the argument claims that this is just another attack on the Native American identity. They feel that the Iroquois, ironically enough the creators of the game of lacrosse, are being taken for granted and subjected to this discrepancy because of their native heritage, and that forcing them to get a passport quick is demeaning to the culture. This is where the coach of the team stands. He feels that they are being trapped in a corner where they either must abandon their Native identity or be forced to forfeit a chance at the National Championship title for a sport they themselves invented a thousand years ago.
The laws surrounding USA Passports are surprisingly vague when it comes to issues like this. For example, a recent story in the news talks about how 4,500 sex criminals were issued passports in order to travel abroad. In these sorts of cases, it seems difficult to create and enforce laws to restrict or allow international travel. Is being forced to get a U.S. passport quick an unfair measure? Has this been turned into an unnecessary political excuse to butt international heads? How do you feel about this issue? Should the once-accepted passports of the Iroquois Nation be turned down in order to further prevent National Security risks?
Filed under travel and leisure by on Jul 31st, 2010. 
Recent Comments