Iroquois Nationals;We are a People we are a Nation
July 15, 2010 by Dirk
Always have been always will be…
After much effort and tens of thousands of dollars spent , hopes were high that the fourth ranked Iroquois Nationals** , representing the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy (the world’s oldest participatory democracy) . Would finally be on their way to the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships being held in England.
This after winning a concession from the U.S state department which would see the Iroquois Nationals traveling to the event using Haudenosaunee passport’s rather than U.S or Canadian Passports…
thanks to a one-time waiver from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton clearing the way for it to travel to the world championships in England using tribal documents instead of United States passports
But alas it was not to be…
Yet again it seems somethings will never change when it comes to relationships between settler government’s & Indigenous Peoples , i.e one side always get’s the short end of the stick !
“We were given a set of demands, and then we met those demands — and then they were switched…
Heard that narrative before, like a few thousand times.
….the British government was said to have refused to grant visas to the team, even with Mrs. Clinton’s waiver…@
The Iroquois were offered expedited U.S passports,of course the offer had to be turned down. To accept, would be to make a mockery of Iroquoian sovereignty,generations of activism and the long held & practiced tradition of refusing to accept settler authority(imposed) over Iroquoian/Confederacy sovereignty (creator/god-given).
The Iroquois refused to accept them, saying that traveling to an international competition on what they consider to be a foreign nation’s passport would be an affront to their sovereignty.
Perhaps one day, hopefully in the not so distant future, settler government’s will finally do right by the Two Row Wampum. A treaty that is not only valid under international law, but one which was negotiated in good faith & signed in good faith nation to nation.
One side is in violation, one side has forsaken not only its honor but the very rule of law that it holds to be sacred. Well supposedly,sometimes, just not when it comes to matters pertaining to Indigenous Peoples their lands, resources , nor even something as basic as ones creator-given identity as a People.
‘O’ arrogance… thy name is a European / settler.
Watch video interview with team members
And definitly watch Newsy for in-depth coverage of the issues surrounding this story.
And of course read the always informative Newspaper Rock … good background info & context.
Want more…
Seriously, these guys are ranked 4th in the WORLD, and they won’t be able to make it to a tournament to play a sport THEIR PEOPLE CREATED. It would be like stopping the Greeks from going to Brazil for the Olympics, or cutting off an American household’s cable right before the start of a football game so nobody can play armchair quarterback. It just makes no sense.Or maybe it does. It’s not as though the United States of America has a track record of screwing over Native Americans
Read more …@ Culture Shock
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**Iroquois Nationals are the only Native American/First Nations team sanctioned to compete in any sport internationally.
Once again, this is a day I am ashamed to be white. The British government is very passive aggressive and really they shame their own team, as this is no longer a legitimate competition, they have tainted their own tournament. The Iroquois Nationals are the true champions, they stand for real values, respect their heritage, and honor their own. There is no tournament without these young men in attendance and whoever wins the the “title”, somewhere they know it is worthless and I mostly feel sorry for the British team, the players know it is wrong, they have to live with those people as their elders.
Well I am not sure you should be ashamed of being white.
I am white I am definitly not ashamed. That said I have no patience for any one ,of what ever color, that refuse to,or spins excuses about why they do not or can not do right by their fellow human beings.
Live your life, treat others with respect ,do onto others as you would want others to do onto you,empathize,help your neighbors etc when you can,network with the like-minded. That’s all one person can really do,but for gods sake don’t feel ashamed of your heritage.
Speak up,live your speak,do what you can ever little bit helps,indeed change starts at the individual level/local/community.
One day we will build that just world,but first we must change our little corner of it .
Peace my friend.
Britain had a long-standing treaty with the Confederacy before there was a Canada and a US…recognizing the shared but separate nationhood, living side by side, as in the Two Row Wampum, as was mentioned briefly. And it IS true, we are the oldest participatory democracy…we have been here since ‘time immemorial…that is to say, before since before records were kept. We had a democracy possibly as long ago as the Greeks had their so-called ‘democracy’…
but surprise, surprise, colonial government mentality…they try, as Canada does here, to not recognize our sovereignty, cuz if they did, then they would have to acknowledge, as the US would (as well as Canada; we have a reserve, and territory, that spans both Canada and the US borders, and our land has been part of both colonial countries)that they continue to live a falsehood, and that the fact of their existence is illegal, not to mention that all three countries would have to honor the traditional agreements, that are still BINDING by international law…someday, these three governments should be taken to court by the Confederacy, in a world court, and have our voices heard, as a Nation, or Nations (the Confederacy is Six Nations – Mohawk, Oneida, Tuscarora, Onandaga, Cayuga, Seneca)…but of course, those aforementioned countries control the world court, so of course it may never happen…
In my mind, as time passes, we live in a complicated web of relationships with colonizing and colonized and many shades of grey in between.
This event could have at least the positive impact of drawing to the attention of the world that we are a separate and different and long-standing people on this continent, and that in many world arenas that is still understood — though imperfectly.