Analysis Of Iroquois Defeated By Passport Dispute, By Thomas Kaplan

Tribal Sovereignty The article by Thomas Kaplan for the New York Times, titled “Iroquois Defeated by Passport Dispute”, is about the Iroquois national lacrosse team being denied entry into Britain for an international competition using their tribal passports. The reason for this, given in the article, is that Iroquois passports are not made with current technology that protect against fraud. Kaplan describes how the team officials are stuck in a last minute back-and-forth with the British government to acquire visas for the players. The author relates the incident to the ongoing issues in the United States regarding recognition of sovereignty of Native American nations. At the same time, the author presents the idea that not only does the issue address disregard for Indian sovereignty in the US, but internationally as well. The dispute does not end

Kaplan makes a point of mentioning the fact that the Iroquois refused to accept the offer of traveling with United States passports, preserving their dignity in this unfavorable situation. The article, overall, can be considered a useful source. The language used is appropriate for its audience of everyday people who are not experts in the topic of Native American sovereignty. When mentioning one of the key points of the article which is the pride that the players maintained, Kaplan simply stated that “[w]hat they said they all shared. . . was a certain pride in the issue at hand” (Kaplan). It is important to note that he managed to get a key point across without using words that were too technical. The quality of the information presented is ensured by the fact that the author included quotes from the lacrosse players themselves, Oren Lyons, an Iroquois chief and the State Department Spokesman, P.J. Crowley. These people are all important figures in the incident and