Despite efforts made by the U.S. government, Britain refused to allow a Native American lacrosse team, the Iroquois Nationals, to enter the country with passports that were issued by their tribal federation.
The team came upon problems when they were trying to exit the country using passports that were issued by their tribal federation. They were en-route to the sports betting online favorite, World Lacrosse Championship.
When the team initially faced problems with their passports, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stepped in to help. She agreed to waive U.S. passport regulations in order to allow the team to travel using their Iroquois Confederacy passports. Later, when the team faced problems with the British government, the U.S. promised to expedite their passports as quickly as possible; however, Britain did not budge. The team was not allowed into the country and had to forfeit yesterday’s opening tournament match.
Sadly, not only were the players not able to attend the first match, it is not looking too hopeful for future matches either as they do not want to be forced to use an American passport because they say it does not speak of their true identity.
Due to the issues with travel plans, many of the players have been stranded in New York. They have reported to have incurred thousands of dollars of expenses due to the fiasco. When director James Cameron heard of the ordeal, he donated $50,000 in order to make up for the expenses.
Ironically, the game of Lacrosse originated with the North American Indian tribes and was later adopted by European colonial cultures.