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LACROSSE
Will IOC recognise Haudenosaunee Confederacy to play Lacrosse at Los Angeles 2028 Olympics?
By Jaap de Groot
AIPS Sport Media Awards Juror
Now that the International Olym- pic Committee (IOC) has agreed to include lacrosse in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los
Angeles, this question arises: will a Native American nation, for the first time in history, be allowed to attend the Games with its own flag and na- tional anthem?
Lacrosse is primarily dominated by the national team of the Haudeno- saunee, also known as the Iroquois, a confederation of the Six Nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayu- ga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. They reside in a treaty-defined area straddling the borders of Canada and the United States.
IDENTITY The Iroquois are known for creating the game approximately 500 years ago, and five centuries later, this new Olympic sport remains under the influence of the people who originally referred to it as “Little War”. Not only do the Iroquois perform at the highest level but the game still carries cultur- al and spiritual importance for them. For the Iroquois, lacrosse is a vital part of their identity.
RECOGNITION In 1983, the Iroquois decided to use their dominance in the sport to further their fight for sover- eignty and independence from Cana- da and the United States. As a result, the International Lacrosse Federation
recognised the Iroquois as a national team.
But as the Iroquois insisted on trav- elling solely on their Haudenosaunee passport, it resulted in a serious clash at the World Championships in 2010 in Manchester because the Unit- ed Kingdom wouldn’t accept their passport. Then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton secured single-use waivers to allow the team to travel, but the UK still insisted on a US or Canadian passport accompanying the waivers.
WORLD GAMES PARTICIPATION When the 2022 World Games took place in Birmingham, in the USA, the Ir- oquois' inclusion didn’t seem like a problem this time. The Iroquois were among the eight best teams of the 2018 World Championships to have qualified for the Games. However, since the World Games have close ties with the IOC, and the Iroquois are not among the 206 IOC-recognized National Olympic Committees, they were omitted. In 2018, the Interna- tional Olympic Committee provision- ally recognised lacrosse, taking the initial step towards its potential return to the Olympics. The Iroquois realised that if they were not allowed to com- pete in the World Games, their Olym- pic dreams would be dead. This aspect had an impact on Ireland, which was added to the eight-team field because of the Iroquois’ exclusion. Meanwhile, more than 50,000 people signed a pe- tition to include the Iroquois in the
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL STEELE/GETTY IMAGES