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Ear to the Ground

Bureaucrats Rub Salt in Iroquois Wounds

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Posted on Jul 14, 2010
iroquoisnationals.org

The Iroquois nation may have invented lacrosse, but the national team wasn’t allowed into the U.K. to take part in an international tournament because British authorities insisted the Iroquois players use American or Canadian passports. Problem is the Iroquois don’t recognize the U.S. or Canada.

The U.S. normally refuses to acknowledge Iroquois travel documents but in this instance had the good sense to issue a waiver.

The Guardian:

For the last three decades, the Iroquois have travelled using their own documents, as agreed by the US, Britain, Canada and other nations. But the US, under new stringent travel rules, insisted that they now use US passports, which the Iroquois do not recognise.

The US state department, intent on ending the embarrassing standoff, cleared the way for the team to travel yesterday after the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, ordered them to be given a one-off waiver.

[...] But a British diplomat said last night that the tightening of rules on travel that applied in the US post-9/11 also applied in Britain.

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By xox, July 15, 2010 at 6:44 pm Link to this comment

Brits are fearful of the competition. You know, that small Englishman stigma .....

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rico, suave's avatar

By rico, suave, July 15, 2010 at 6:26 pm Link to this comment

I love it.

The headline blames “Bureaucrats” because it was in the UK. If it had been a US thing, it would have been “Bush/Cheney hate Indians!”

BTW: Thanks Carl.

And BTW. US Indians are doing just fine at the blackjack tables.

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kerryrose's avatar

By kerryrose, July 15, 2010 at 2:46 pm Link to this comment

Marc
We are not talking about tribes, we are talking about Nations.  The Iroquois nation already uses its own passports, and for who would it be ‘complicated?’

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By Marc, July 15, 2010 at 10:40 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

With 550 federally recognized tribes out there in the US—most of them numbering a few thousand (thus, with a limited number of technical expertise)—and more waiting for approval. It could be a complicated thing to allow them all to use their own passports.

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kerryrose's avatar

By kerryrose, July 15, 2010 at 3:34 am Link to this comment

The ethnic racism is pretty disgusting on this thread.

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PatrickHenry's avatar

By PatrickHenry, July 15, 2010 at 3:21 am Link to this comment

Whip up a couple of Iroquois passports at Kinkos and your done.

I wonder if the U.S. will send them a couple of billion in aid and an ambassador?

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By Carl, July 14, 2010 at 10:20 pm Link to this comment

Yes, the Iroquois should demonstrate their independence and refuse the free medical treatment provided by US taxpayers. They must reject any Social Security payments and other social payments from the evil white man. Cut the water lines, the sewer lines and electricity and go back to hunting rabbits and grubbing for roots. And yes, no more cable TV!

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By TheHandyman, July 14, 2010 at 7:18 pm Link to this comment

There times when I too wish I could be Iroquois and not recognize the 3 worst killers of indigenous people in the world. They should pass an immigration law like Arizona and deport every American of European descent back to where their ancestors came from. Teach them to treat European savages as if they were civilized people!

The Brits were too afraid that they might get beaten again like they did at the World Cup. The Brits are a bunch of wankers anyway. If I were the Iroquois, next year they should hold an international tournament here and not recognize the Brits!

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kerryrose's avatar

By kerryrose, July 14, 2010 at 7:08 pm Link to this comment

The Iroquois are their own nation.  They are not American, so why should they carry US Passports?

How does this make sense in even the most paranoid world view that Iroquois travel documents pose some risk to security? 

And who else is getting sick of this continual paranoia?  Yes, brown people want to kill us because we have been killing them for generations.  The chickens come home to roost.  Those of us who have had a boot on our neck throughout history get it.

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