Iroquois passport explained

Document Name:Iroquois passport
Date First Issued:1923
Using Jurisdiction:Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Document Type:Passport
Purpose:Identification
Eligibility:Haudenosaunee nationality

The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee passport is a passport issued by the Iroquois Confederacy (Iroquois: Haudenosaunee).

History

The Haudenosaunee government has issued passports since at least 1923, when Haudenosaunee authorities issued a passport to Cayuga statesman Deskaheh to travel to the League of Nations headquarters in Geneva.[1] The Iroquois passport evolved from negotiations with the U.S. State Department, Canada, Britain and other countries and has been used since 1977.[2]

In 2005 Japan allowed a delegation travelling on the Iroquois passport to visit that country for the World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions.[3]

The Iroquois passport is not accepted for entry into Canada. In early 2010, a delegation from Kahnawake to an environmental conference in Bolivia was unable to return to Canada on the passport, stranding the group in El Salvador for several weeks before they were allowed, under escort, to transit via the United States.[4] On June 18, 2011, another incident occurred at the Cornwall, Ontario port-of-entry into Canada when an Akwesasne Mohawk woman's Haudenosaunee passport was confiscated and a Certificate of Indian Status card had to be used to cross the border. When asked about this incident, a spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed that the Iroquois passport is not on Canada's list of acceptable identification.[5]

In July 2010 the United Kingdom did not accept the tribal passports of the Haudenosaunee Nationals field lacrosse team for travel to the UK for the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship.[6] The United States government offered to immediately issue United States passports to the team-members, and several days after this offer was rejected, issued waivers that would allow the team back into the US; however, the UK continued to refuse to issue visas.[7] In July 2018 Israel accepted the team's passports, subject to assurances from the Canadian government that they would be allowed back into Canada on them.[8] [9] In August 2022, Ireland acknowledged and accepted Haudenosaunee passports for the 2022 Under 21 World Lacrosse Championship.[10]

Validity

The validity of an Iroquois passport for various purposes has been questioned, and the issue is entangled with the larger issue of Iroquois sovereignty.

The Isle of Man has issued public warnings rejecting the document as a valid form of either identification or nationality and regards holders as US or Canadian citizens,[11] and the European Union does not recognise it as a valid travel document and has issued guidelines stating that visas cannot be affixed to the passport, barring holders from the Schengen area.[12] [13] Both list the Iroquois passport as a "fantasy passport", a document issued by a minority, sect, population group or private organization, which according to the Isle of Man has "no authority and to which no official recognition has been given".

The governments in the United States,[14] the United Kingdom[15] and Canada have refused to endorse the document as valid document for international travel. Additionally, the document does not appear on the list of forms of acceptable identification to cross into Canada.[16] The Iroquois passport has, however, been successfully used for international travel.[17]

The passports do not currently meet the 2009 Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements for entry to the United States, although upgrades are in progress.[18]

Other Indigenous nations' passports

In 1977, a Cree man named Fred Plains from Timmins, Ontario, Canada, claimed to have successfully entered Sweden on a home-made Cree passport.[19]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Toensing . Gale Courey . Iroquois Nationals forfeits first game . Indian Country Today . July 16, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101012073536/http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/home/content/Iroquois-Nationals-forfeits-first-game-98603364.html . October 12, 2010.
  2. News: Putting Tradition to the Test . William . Wallace . . June 12, 1990 . January 12, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230423015108/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/12/sports/putting-tradition-to-the-test.html . April 23, 2023.
  3. Web site: Onondaga Communications Reports on 19th World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions . Onondaga Nation . Gonyea . Wendy . June 1, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230829225922/https://www.onondaganation.org/news/2005/onondaga-communications-reports-on-19th-world-congress-of-the-international-association-for-the-history-of-religions/ . August 29, 2023.
  4. News: Canada prevents Mohawks from returning home on Haudenosaunee passports . https://archive.today/20120710044457/http://kahnawakenews.com/clients/kahnawakenews/canada-prevents-mohawks-from-returning-home-on-haudenosaunee-passports-p798.htm . dead . July 10, 2012 . Greg . Horn . June 1, 2010 . Kahnawake News.
  5. News: Ottawa in 'explosive' situation over rejected Iroquois passport . Kathryn . Blaze Carlson . . January 11, 2011 . July 13, 2013 .
  6. News: Marshall . Tabitha . The Iroquois Nationals and the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships . November 23, 2017 . The Canadian Encyclopedia . August 15, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240129190000/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-iroquois-nationals-and-the-2010-world-lacrosse-championships-feature . January 29, 2024.
  7. News: Iroquois Defeated by Passport Dispute . Thomas . Kaplan . July 16, 2010 . July 30, 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20231121084617/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/sports/17lacrosse.html . November 21, 2023.
  8. News: Iroquois Nationals face travel delays to World Lacrosse Championship over passport issues . . July 12, 2018 . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20240205060416/https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/iroquois-nationals-face-travel-delays-to-world-lacrosse-championship-over-passport-issues-1.4740828 . February 5, 2024.
  9. News: Iroquois Lacrosse Team Defies BDS to Reach Israel . B'nai Brith Canada . July 12, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240225163111/https://www.bnaibrith.ca/iroquois_lacrosse_team_defies_bds_to_reach_israel/ . February 25, 2024.
  10. Web site: Kirst . Sean . Between Haudenosaunee and Ireland, lacrosse builds deep bond of respect . September 6, 2022 . Buffalo News . 13 August 2022 . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20230408235856/https://buffalonews.com/news/between-haudenosaunee-and-ireland-lacrosse-builds-deep-bond-of-respect/article_fa24de98-1a56-11ed-baee-63f1b5926f66.html . April 8, 2023.
  11. Web site: Public Warning: False Identity Documents . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090720042243/http://www.gov.im/infocentre/archived_releases/PR_fsc_01/Passport.html . July 20, 2009.
  12. Web site: Crossing borders . .
  13. Web site: Table of travel documents... . https://web.archive.org/web/20230603061316/https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-16225-2008-INIT/en/pdf . June 3, 2023.
  14. Web site: Iroquois Lacrosse Team Prevented From Traveling to Championships . John . Wetenhall . July 13, 2010 . ABC News.
  15. Web site: British decision halts Iroquois lacrosse visit . Samantha . Gross . . July 15, 2010 . July 15, 2010 .
  16. Web site: Iroquois passport seized at border: Mohawk woman to file human rights complaint . Kristy . Nease . July 11, 2011 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110714184119/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Iroquois+passport+seized+border/5081298/story.html . July 14, 2011.
  17. News: Verna . Dobnik . Eva . Dou . US rule could keep Iroquois from lacrosse tourney . Associated Press Newsfeed . New York . July 12, 2010 . July 13, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100716235040/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iI149z8c0uBRphmB54w06NhPQlNwD9GTOHL80 . dead . July 16, 2010.
  18. Web site: WSTM NBC3 . Michael . Benny . Iroquois spend $1.5 million to upgrade passports . Syracuse, NY . July 20, 2010 . July 19, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719062649/http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=484701 . July 19, 2011 . dead.
  19. News: Sweden accepted Cree's 'passport' . . August 25, 1977 . July 17, 2015.

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