[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12913]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           PASSPORTS FOR THE IROQUOIS NATIONAL LACROSSE TEAM

  (Mr. MAFFEI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MAFFEI. Mr. Speaker, this morning a team of Iroquois Indians 
attempted to board a plane for the United Kingdom to compete in an 
international lacrosse competition, where they would represent the 
Iroquois or Hodneshoni Nation on the world stage. Again they were 
denied entry because they were traveling on their own people's 
passports instead of U.S. or Canadian.
  Though the British invited this team to compete from the Iroquois 
Nation, they refused the Iroquois passports unless the U.S. officially 
said it was okay. But the U.S. refused to do so, even though dozens of 
Iroquois have traveled internationally, including overseas with these 
documents.
  Mr. Speaker, the Iroquois nationals team is not a security risk and 
willingly subjected themselves to fingerprinting and background checks. 
In fact, the U.S. State Department offered to rapidly expedite U.S. 
passports for much of the team. But to this team, accepting U.S. 
passports would be akin to renouncing their own national and ethnic 
identity. It's a matter of principle to them.
  The State Department and Homeland Security Department have lost the 
forest through the trees in refusing to allow the team to travel as 
citizens of an indigenous nation.
  Mr. Speaker, in the Academy Award winning film, ``Chariots of Fire,'' 
a Scottish running hero, Eric Liddell, is praised for sticking to his 
religious beliefs even when they threatened to keep him out of the 1924 
Olympics. He's a true man of principle.
  Mr. Speaker, this team is a true team of principle.

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