It certainly is peculiar that Lacrosse, invented by Native
Americans, is one of the three winter sports at British girls’ schools. My
daughter, brought up in the UK, hated it; never very athletic—she has many
other talents—she went out into freezing cold with her cleats and her Lacrosse
stick, and was rarely chosen for a team. I have no idea how lacrosse reached
inclusion in the girls school syllabus, but I suppose after five hundred years
it had got around.
Coctaw Ball Player by George Catlin |
Lacrosse was part of the native culture as a
sacred contest. To the French Canadian trappers who mixed with the Iroquois, apparent
inventors of the game, the lacrosse stick looked like a bishops’ crozier-la
crosse. The game eventually became a way of preparing young warriors for battle,
and subsequently a way of deciding inter-tribal conflicts. The netted sticks
were about three feet long and the balls were stuffed deer hide. Believe it or not, hundreds could be playing
at once and the goals could be miles apart—a sort of hockey-style free-for-all.
Although the Iroquois were originally from upstate NY and Ontario, some did
eventually relocate in the early 1800s to Indian Territory/Oklahoma, and to
Kansas.
The Iroquois Nationals, the native lacrosse
team, are still going strong, and back in 2010 they were headed to the UK to
compete. In May, 2010, I was also headed to the UK: I wanted to see my friends;
whether or not they wanted to see me was another matter. Maybe all those tears shed at my departure
were tears of joy; I have no idea. But I had another reason for this
return. Unless I go back into the UK
every two years, I lose my right to residency or, as the Immigration officials
put it, “leave to enter and remain in the United Kingdom.” So there I was in
the queue for Immigration, two passports at the ready: one passport was my
current one, the other--outdated--had the magic stamp in it which gives me the “right to
abode.” I approached the officer when I was called, and explained that I wished
to maintain my rights and have the usual stamp of ‘right to abode.’ He looked over the two passports and said,
“But Madam, you’re only here for fourteen days. And even if you want that
stamp, you were last in the UK in September ’08 so you have gone past the two
years.”
There was a moment’s silence while I stood staring at him trying to
figure out which one of us had Alzheimer’s.
Since there is no song for the months the way there is for the alphabet,
to help you get those months in order, I had to spend a bit of time figuring
this one out. However, years of experience told me that May came before
September so in the end I gently but firmly pointed out to him that I still had
more than three months to go. He gave me the stamp.
Ball Players by George Catlin |
The lacrosse team of the Nation of the
Iroquois were not so lucky. Headed to the UK for a competition in Manchester,
the UK did not recognize their hand-written documents, and also sought
assurance from the USA that the Nationals will be re-admitted into the US
airports without US passports…since the Reservations obviously do not have
airports of their own. It raised an interesting question. The map of the USA
would look something akin to Swiss cheese if the Indian reservations were
pulled out of it, as separate nations.
Tellingly, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who was all in favor
of the Iroquois traveling on their handwritten tribal passports, said, “It’s a matter of tribal
sovereignty and respecting the rights of the Native American population of this
country.”
‘Of this country?’ What country is that
exactly? The Iroquois Nation or the USA???
Photos
of George Catlin’s paintings courtesy of the Smithsonian via Wikipedia, in public domain.
http://andreadowning.com
7 comments:
Andi, you're so funny! First you had me laughing out loud with your years of experience telling you May came before September. so funny! Then you had me dropping my jaw: handwritten passports!?! How did they ever...The whole concept of the reservations being nations within a nation and how that works is very interesting. But I never thought about the passports.
BTW when my son played soccer, which he did for years, a bunch of the boys began switching to Lacrosse during that season. Soccer had always been a bit rough but after playing lacrosse the boys returned to soccer with a whole new aggressive attitude. Us parents stood on the sidelines dumbfounded watching our boys pommel each other like fight club players.
Well, Patti, all I can say is I'm glad to have made you laugh--but those few moments had me wondering about my sanity--or the immigration guy's. And it is pretty amazing about the passport situation and those nations within ours. I'd like to find out more about the legalities of it all.
Great ending question - what a hook! It's got me thinking. :-)
Ashantay, I'm glad you picked up on that because if they can travel on their own passports, and are, indeed, a sovereign nation, just think of the numerous ways in which this might affect the make-up of America. We cross into Canada with passports and border controls, so why not . . . You see where I'm leading?
Interesting post, Andrea. LaCrosse is very big back east. When my younger son was at boarding school, it was his favorite sport. There was a great movie a few years back called BROKEN ARROW about a team on an Indian reservation.
Kristy, I'll have to track down that film! Thanks for mentioning it.
Enjoyed the post and comments and will share with others.
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