It seems that American passports are in the news a lot lately and recently there was an incident report involving the Iroquois lacrosse team.  They were going to England to compete in the World Championships.  They were not permitted to leave because they possessed Iroquois passports.

There were other teams from Canada and the United States and they all had their officially issued documents but the Iroquois Native American team possessed passports that, as in the past, were issued by the Iroquois Nation.  Since there were denied entrance, they could not compete and it took a special order from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to get them back into the United States since passports are also vital for reentry into your home country.  The UK, however, did not abide by Ms. Clinton’s edict.

There are a couple different opinions on the whole situation. One side attests that if they're a citizen of the United States or Canada, as some of them are, they should be required to get their respective country's passports just like everyone else. They feel that this team should not be an exception to the rule. Increasingly more countries are turning down these passports because they don't feature the anti-fraud and anti-identity theft features that American passports feature, and this in itself poses a National Security risk as well as a personal risk for the members of the team. 

Those closely affect by this ruling feel singled out and prevented from expressing pride in their heritage.  For years, the Iroquois passports have been acceptable for international travel and they don’t understand why that should change now. They feel they are being alienated from the rest of the world and do not want to change their traditions or customs related to passports.

And yet another side of the argument claims that this is just another attack on the Native American identity. They feel that the Iroquois, ironically enough the creators of the game of lacrosse, are being taken for granted and subjected to this discrepancy because of their native heritage, and that forcing them to get a passport quick is demeaning to the culture. This is where the coach of the team stands. He feels that they are being trapped in a corner where they either must abandon their Native identity or be forced to forfeit a chance at the National Championship title for a sport they themselves invented a thousand years ago. 

There are certainly two sides to every story and regulations concerning US passports have been put there for a reason.  To add insult to injury, about 4,500 sex offenders were issued American passports in 2008.  It is important to remember, however, that the Iroquois natives were not denied an American passport.  They were required to get a United States passport quick and not permitted to use the one issued by the Iroquois Nation.  It is easy to see points on both sides of this issue but, above all, national security must be the top consideration.