The International Lacrosse Federation is comprised of 25 sovereign nations. One of those nations is a small country wedged
in between New York State and Ontario.
It has existed for over 200 years, with its own language, heritage and
constitution. It's the nation of Haudenosaunee.
You might know it better as the Iroquois Confederacy, home to the people who
INVENTED the game of lacrosse. The
Iroquois call lacrosse "the gift of the Creator" and they've played it since
the beginning. And over the past two
centuries, they haven't stopped playing it. The Iroquois "Nationals" are the 4th best team in the world and have
competed in every international competition ever held.
That is, until they were denied their right to compete. For the past 30 years, the team has traveled
the world using hand-written passports issued by their national office near Syracuse. But this year's tournament host nation,
England, has adopted more stringent security protocols and has denied the team
entry unless they travel under more sophisticated passports issued by the U.S.
or Canada.
The Iroquois have refused, on the grounds that their national identity must
be respected. As a result, this week
they were denied entry into England. Secretary
of State Clinton stepped in and provided a waiver that guarantees the team
re-entry into the U.S., but the British were unmoved. So on Thursday, the team remained stuck in
New York City and had to forfeit their first game - against England.
The Iroquois' next game is scheduled for Saturday and a solution appears
unlikely. So the 2010 World Championships may
go on without them.
But the Iroquois have already won the greater prize: they've honored the gift they were given long ago, and shown the world they will only play their game if they can play it as Iroquois.
You can read previous installments of
the quick Sliver in our online archive.
Just go here: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs015/1103023679528/archive/1103033975377.html
|
