Just after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cleared Iroquois tribe members to travel outside of the U.S. with their tribe-issued passports for an international lacrosse competition, the Iroquois Nationals faced another set back as the United Kingdom announced it still wouldn't accept their passports. Team manager Ashley Jemison told NY1, "It was a little bit of a shock when we thought that we did have an arrangement, an agreement with them, that things were going to be okay once we got the part that we needed to take care of. But you know, we're still staying positive."
The team was supposed to leave for the World Lacrosse Championships on Sunday, but the British authorities said it wouldn't issue visas since the U.S. wouldn't allow the tribe members back into the country with their Haudenosaunee passports. The team also declined the State Department's offer to expedite U.S. passports for them because it would be an insult to their culture. With Clinton's intervention, the team thought the State Department's one-time waiver to travel to the U.K. and back would solve their problems, but now they are stuck trying to figure out another way to the competition. One complicating factor is that nine of the team members are Canadian and would need Canadian waivers.
The team will miss its match against England (also the tournament's opener). The Daily News reports that "organizers have expressed a willingness to reschedule games if the team can figure out a way to get across the Atlantic." Additionally, "The delays have cost the team $25,000 a day in hotels, meals and airline change fees. Director James Cameron donated $50,000 to ease the pain."
