Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
This bundle documents the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's assertion of pre-existing sovereignty distinct from that of the United States and Canada, expressed through self-issued passports since at least 1923. It documents the recurring travel disputes this has produced for the Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse teams, and later acceptances of the passports by several jurisdictions. This is documented as a sovereignty and self-government claim rooted in continuous nationhood rather than a campaign to secede from an existing state.
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy — comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and, from the early 1700s, Tuscarora nations — asserts sovereignty distinct from that of the United States and Canada. In 1923, Cayuga statesman Deskaheh used a Haudenosaunee-issued passport to travel to the League of Nations in Geneva to present the Six Nations' case for recognition as a sovereign nation.[1] This sovereignty claim has produced recurring international travel disputes for the Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse teams: in July 2010, the United Kingdom refused to accept Haudenosaunee passports, and the team withdrew from the World Lacrosse Championship rather than travel on other nations' passports.[2] Other jurisdictions later accepted the passports, including Israel in 2018 and Ireland in 2022, and in 2024 a Haudenosaunee women's team travelled to Asia on Haudenosaunee passports for the first time.[3]
Status verified as of
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy continues to assert and exercise sovereignty through self-issued passports, with mixed international acceptance: some jurisdictions (Israel, Ireland, and others reached for 2024 Asia travel) have accepted the documents, while the 2010 UK denial illustrates that recognition remains inconsistent and contested.[3]
History
From Deskaheh's 1923 mission to the 2024 acceptance of Haudenosaunee passports for travel to Asia.
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· Other
A Cayuga statesman travelled internationally on a Haudenosaunee-issued passport to assert sovereignty before an international body.
Significance here: The earliest documented international assertion of Haudenosaunee sovereignty through a self-issued travel document.
· Other
The UK refused to accept Haudenosaunee passports, leading the lacrosse team to withdraw from the World Championship rather than use other travel documents.
Significance here: A high-profile modern instance of the international travel disputes produced by the Haudenosaunee sovereignty claim.
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
Claim: In 1923, Cayuga statesman Deskaheh used a Haudenosaunee-issued passport to travel to the League of Nations headquarters in Geneva to present the Six Nations' case for recognition as a sovereign nation, an act considered among the earliest examples of an Indigenous-issued travel document asserting sovereignty distinct from a colonial state.
Claim: In July 2010, the United Kingdom refused to accept Haudenosaunee passports for the men's national lacrosse team's travel to the World Lacrosse Championship; the United States offered to issue US passports to team members, which the team declined, and the team ultimately withdrew from the tournament rather than travel on documents other than their own.
Claim: Following the 2010 UK denial, other jurisdictions later accepted Haudenosaunee passports for lacrosse team travel, including Israel in 2018 and Ireland in 2022 for the Under-21 World Lacrosse Championship; in 2024, a Haudenosaunee women's team travelled to Asia on Haudenosaunee passports for the first time in the organisation's history.