Iroquois Nationals find victory and disappointment in missing lacrosse worlds
By John Wawrow

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The world field lacrosse championships seemed a world away to Percy Abrams as he stood outside a field in midtown Buffalo attempting to put into perspective what the Iroquois Nationals won and lost by refusing to travel to England on non-native passports.

The Nationals executive director couldn't hide the lingering disappointment of knowing his team - ranked fourth in the world - had an opportunity to challenge perennial powers Canada and the United States, who will compete for the title in Manchester on Saturday.

"It's like an open wound right now because the games aren't over," Abrams said. "We know that those teams didn't have to come through us in order to get to that cup."

Abrams would allow a smile when informed that the Empire State Games' Central New York lacrosse team, playing on the field before him, was honouring the Nationals' decision by placing the Six Nations' emblem on the back of their helmets.

As moral victories go, Abrams was willing to embrace it.

"I don't know if we won anything. We had what we had before, which is our identity and our dignity," he said. "If anything, we maintained our dignity by sticking to our guns."

The Nationals made international headlines last week, bringing to the forefront long-standing concerns North American native Indians have over their sovereign rights. They did so by refusing to board a plane to England with anything but their Iroquois Confederacy-issued passports, which lack the technology and requirements in a post-Sept. 11 world.

Though the U.S. State Department, at the behest of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, intervened to allow the team a one-time travel waiver, the British government refused it entry.

For the Nationals, their decision to stay home was an easy one, even though it meant the world championships would be played without the sport's originators, who refer to lacrosse as "The Creator's Game," having played it for as many as 1,000 years.

The team's players might hail from Ontario, Quebec and the U.S., but in this instance they were travelling as a nation under the Iroquois flag to represent their people in the same way they've done since their passports were first issued in 1977.

"Originally, it was just a lacrosse tournament we wanted to go and play in," Nationals general manager Ansley Jemison said. "But all of a sudden, it became bigger. All of a sudden, we became a bigger hope for all native peoples."

Jemison was referring to the support - both moral and monetary - the Nationals received when the passport issue first became known as the team spent days stuck in New York City going through diplomatic channels and seeking permission to travel.

Film director James Cameron donated US$50,000 to help pay for travel and meal expenses the Nationals incurred by staying in New York. Another $10,000 came from the Seneca Nation of Indians.

"We felt it was very important that they stuck by their guns," Seneca president Barry Snyder Sr. said. "Maybe there were alternatives. But the alternative was not to cave in to the pressure to use another passport. ...

"They make us very proud. For us, they won the trophy already."

On paper, the Nationals officially posted an 0-3 record at the 30-team championship, forfeiting games 1-0 each against Spain, Hong Kong and Norway.

That's a disappointment for a team that had a solid mix of veteran and young talent and was regarded as one of the strongest the Iroquois have fielded in years.

"That's the biggest disappointment, not being able to showcase our best team," midfielder Brett Bucktooth said. "We feel we could've been very competitive and competed in any of the medal games."

The 27-year-old, however, has no trouble with the decision to not play.

"No one wants to give up their identity. And we as a native people have been fighting for our rights for hundreds of years," Bucktooth said. "Life's resumed back to normal for me. I really didn't get down about not playing, because there's not much I can do about it now."

All might not be lost for the Nationals this year.

As a result of the publicity and sympathy they attracted, Jemison said the team has been invited to play in several tournaments, including one in Bermuda, where organizers have indicated that their passports should not be an issue.

Also on the table is a proposal to hold what would amount to a quasi-North American championship to be played at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse this fall, Jemison said. The tournament would feature the Nationals, the U.S., Canada and potentially three of the top college teams in the U.S.

After the trouble they had with British officials, Jemison said the Nationals would propose adding one more team.

With a laugh, Jemison said: "When I posed the tournament to our players, they said, 'Let's fly England in and let's play them."'-CP-