UK government bars Iroquois Lacrosse team
July 16, 2010
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The British government has refused to allow an Iroquois lacrosse team into the country because they are using Iroquois passports.
The Iroquois, a confederacy of six tribes who straddle the US-Canada border, are trying to come to the UK for the world lacrosse championships.
The game was invented by the Iroquois and other tribes of north-east North America hundreds of years ago, and the Iroquois team is currently ranked fourth in the world.
Both the US and Canada allowed the team to travel using their own passports, with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton granting a special waiver.
The Iroquois and some other tribes have used their own passports when travelling for decades, as an assertion of Indigenous sovereignty.
Delby Powless, a member of the team, told Canadian Press that the team was frustrated at the decision. ‘We have travelled on these passports on numerous occasions. The team is very disappointed with what is happening, but we are trying to stay as positive as we possibly can.’
Survival has launched an appeal on Twitter to persuade the British Home Secretary Theresa May to allow the team in to compete. Email [email protected] and urge Mrs May to allow the team in to compete.
