History of the Haudenosaunee passport and sovereignty claim

History of Haudenosaunee sovereignty assertions

From Deskaheh's 1923 mission to the 2024 acceptance of Haudenosaunee passports for travel to Asia.

1 min read

Published

24 September 2026

Status verified as of

22 September 2026

1923: Deskaheh's mission to Geneva

Deskaheh travelled to the League of Nations on a Haudenosaunee passport to assert Six Nations sovereignty.[1]

1923 · Other

Deskaheh's mission to the League of Nations, 1923

A Cayuga statesman travelled internationally on a Haudenosaunee-issued passport to assert sovereignty before an international body.

2010: the UK passport denial

The UK refused to accept Haudenosaunee passports in July 2010, and the lacrosse team withdrew from the World Championship.[2]

2010 · Other

United Kingdom passport denial, 2010

The UK refused to accept Haudenosaunee passports, leading the lacrosse team to withdraw from the World Championship rather than use other travel documents.

Sources for this page

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.

Deskaheh (Wikipedia) link, 1923 Geneva mission section. Source record
Haudenosaunee passport (Wikipedia) link, Early history section. Source record

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.

Iroquois lacrosse team denied visas by U.K. (CBC News) link, Denial and withdrawal section. Source record

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.

Haudenosaunee Nationals (Haudenosaunee Nationals) link, 2022-2024 acceptances section. Movement organisation perspective Source record