It seems that passports are in the news a lot lately and recently
there was an incident report involving the Iroquois lacrosse team. They
were going to England to compete in the World Championships.
They were
not permitted to leave because they possessed Iroquois passports.
While
other team members were from Canada and the United States, this team of
Iroquois Native Americans are members of the Iroquois Nation. The
Iroquois Nation has been issuing their own passports to call attention
to the Iroquois culture and heritage. Since they did not have an
American or Canadian passport, they were denied entrance into the United
Kingdom and could not compete.
They were saved at the last minute by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who issued a one-time waiver for the
team so they could reenter the United States but the United Kingdom did
not validate 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.
There
are others who feel that tradition has been for the Iroquois to issue
their own passports for reasons of pride and these have always been
sufficient in the past and their validity should be continued. However,
we all know that times are changing and never before has the threat of
terrorism been so great. While the Iroquois Nation feels they are being
singled out and should not be considered a risk, the lack of anti-fraud
technology on the passports make them a potential problem.
You
many not realize that the game of lacrosse was actually invented by the
Iroquois Indians long ago and the fact that their own passport is not
being accepted and the team members must get a passport quick to abide
by the stricter regulations is demeaning. The coach of the team and
others feel this is an attempt to quench the free expression of their
native heritage and possibly causing them to be unable to compete in the
National Championship of a sport that they, themselves created.
There are certainly two sides to every story and regulations
concerning passports have been put there for a reason. To add insult to
injury, about 4,500 sex offenders were issued American passports
in 2008. It is important to remember, however, that the Iroquois
natives were not denied an American passport. They were required to get a
passport quick
and not permitted to use the one issued by the Iroquois Nation. It is
easy to see points on both sides of this issue but, above all, national
security must be the top consideration.
