The Winners: Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team

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'The insistence by the US, Canada and now the UK that we must declare either US or Canadian citizenship to travel, in some instances within our own community, is not just assimilation but genocide.' --John Kane, Mohawk

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

The sovereignty of the Haudenosaunee will not disappear with the refusal of Britain to recognize the Iroquois Lacrosse Nationals Lacrosse Team passports.

Neither the U.S. nor Britain acted in good faith. The US State Department's last minute, one-time waiver, is no solution.
Britain's last minute, turn-about refusal to honor the US waiver and the Haudenosaunee sovereign passport is inexcusable.
All the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team players wanted to do was to play lacrosse, the game invented by the Iroquois, and honor their identity.
The words "American Indian sovereignty" are often used in the media, but seldom is it manifest with such power and conviction as by these young Haudenosaunee men.
The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team members are truly the winners.
Barbara Low, Mi'kmaq Nation, said she is "so grateful to the Iroquois National Lacrosse team, for choosing principle over expediency."
"They have already won something that is far more valuable then a trophy. They are true role models, worthy of our utmost respect, and humble admiration. By standing ground, they are drawing the world's attention to the very real struggle of Indigenous Sovereignty," Low said, adding that she stands in solidarity with all other Indigenous Nations who seek to remove the mantle of Colonialism.
John Kane, Mohawk, said this issue exposes more than assimilation, it exposes genocide.
"I am glad we have an entity like the Iroquois Nationals to bring this issue out to the public, but international travel and simple border crossing issues are something our people deal with every day. The insistence by the US, Canada and now the UK that we must declare either US or Canadian citizenship to travel, in some instances within our own community, is not just assimilation but genocide."
Kane publishes the Native Pride blog and is an editor and writer for Making A Visible Impact Magazine.