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Title: : Iroquois lacrosse team banned from flying overseas: U.S. refuses to recognize tribe-issued
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Published: Jul 12, 2010
Author: Barry Paddock
Post Date: 2010-07-12 20:42:16 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 4517
Comments: 2
Brett Bucktooth, a member of the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team that cannot fly to England because the U.S. government won't allow them to re-enter the country on Iroquois nation passports. A team of Iroquois lacrosse players was stuck in the city yesterday, barred from flying to a tournament in England because the U.S. does not recognize its special passports. "The boys are ready and we've been trying to reassure them we'll somehow or other make it out," said the team's executive director, Percy Abrams. The Iroquois Nationals - who hail from upstate New York and Canada - have passports issued by the Haudenosaunee, a confederacy of six Iroquois nations. They have been traveling with the documents for 20 years and expected to use them to fly from Kennedy Airport to Manchester, England on Sunday, team officials said. On Thursday, the British Consulate told the team it would not issue visas because the U.S. said it would not let players back into the country on the native passports. The team's 23 members convened in the city anyway, sharing rooms at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown, ready to leave if the snafu is resolved. They are due to play England Thursday night in the opening match of the World Lacrosse Championship, held every four years. "Time is running out," said Abrams. "Unless things happen quickly in the next 24 hours it's going to be very difficult to make the game." The team already missed a scrimmage with Scotland yesterday. The State Department has offered to get U.S. passports for the Nationals. "We are standing by to help the team get its passports on an expedited basis," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington. But the Iroquois say it would be an affront to travel with any other passport but their own. "It's a huge deal because these visas mean so much to our sovereignty," said player Gewas Schindler, 34. "We've always been able to travel and come back." As the team's management continued to search for a last-minute diplomatic solution, the players explored Times Square and practiced at Wagner College on Staten Island. "We're trying to keep as busy as possible," said player Delby Powless, 30, a Rutgers graduate who lives on Six Nations land in Ontario. "We're trying to keep our minds focused on the lacrosse aspect. I just want to play lacrosse." Poster Comment: Shame on the U. S. Government.
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#1. To: A K A Stone (#0)
They'll probably be better off if they don't return to this turd world shithole.
They practiced at Wagner College yesterday...created quite a buzz...
On Thursday, the British Consulate told the team it would not issue visas because the U.S. said it would not let players back into the country on the native passports.
#2. To: Fred Mertz (#1)
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