Each Monday, Buffalo Post – along with numerous other websites and newspapers – features former Seattle Post-Intelligencer Editorial Page editor Mark Trahant’s columns on Indian Country and health care.

As if that isn’t enough to keep Trahant busy, he’s also been writing a book: “The Last Great Battle of the Indian Wars: Henry M. Jackson, Forrest J. Gerard and the campaign for the self-determination of America’s Indian tribes.”

Amazon describes it thusly, here:

It’s a preposterous title: “The Last Great Battle of the Indian Wars.” How can that be? Well, there were two great battles in our era: The defeat of termination and the campaign for self-determination. First, a terrible, disastrous policy had to be rejected – and then it had to be replaced by a new progressive policy course for American Indians and Alaska Natives. This is the context for this story about Henry “Scoop” Jackson and Forrest Gerard. Team Jackson and Gerard so changed the landscape of Indian Affairs that virtually every member of the body politic today agrees with the premise that American Indians and Alaska Natives have the right to govern themselves.

Self-determination is a topic that’s been much in the news the past week, what with the Iroquois Nationals’ ultimately unsuccessful fight to travel overseas to the World Lacrosse Tournaments on their Haudenosaunee Confederacy passports.

The incident captured the attention of a lot of people, some of whom will no doubt want to learn more on the subject. Trahant’s book is wonderfully timed.

The book has its own Facebook page, where you’ll find this review by Pete Jackson that includes the following:

[Trahant] leavens analysis of his hero and friend, Forrest Gerard, with enough anecdotes of political horse trading to avoid hagiography. This is a story about failure, hubris, political creativity, and trying, whether sincerely or not, to make things right.

The final, broader takeaway to Trahant’s book: Politics (but no one tell academe this) is not a science. It’s what makes Trahant’s story as rich as human nature is inscrutable.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Forrest Gerard, Gwen Florio, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Henry Jackson, Iroquois Nationals, Lacrosse, Mark Trahant, Native American news, Scoop Jackson, self-determination, The Last Great Battle of the Indian Wars, tribal sovereignty, World Lacrosse Tournament

“Frustrated and tired” Iroquois Nationals head home
This Montreal Gazette story describes the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team as “very frustrated and tired” as they head home after losing a high-profile battle to travel to the World Lacrosse Championships in England on their Haudenosaunee Confederacy passports. Jessica Shenandoah, Iroquois Confederacy secretary, says that “it hasn’t killed our effort. We’re still going to continue it. This is not the end.” Watch a video, here.

More to Whiteclay than beer
The Nebraska town of Whiteclay is notorious for the 4 million cans of beer it sells every year, mostly to residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, just across the border in South Dakota. But as Mary Garrigan of the Rapid City, S.D., Journal writes here, a lot of people also depend upon the hamlet for groceries.

Upgrade for Seattle shelter for homeless Native American youth

Labateyah House in Seattle, a refuge and a place of healing for homeless Native American youth, is about to get an upgrade. It was founded in 1992 by Native American activist Bernie Whitebear and today is an open house where homeless youth ages 18 to 22 can find a place to stay, schooling and life skills, according to Tonya Mosely of KING 5 News, here.

Alaska village youth attempt boating rescue; also involved in fending off 2007 griz attack
These two young men appear to be the ones you want around if you’re in trouble, according to The Village, here, the rural blog of the Anchorage Daily News. Michael Rock and A.J. Nakarak of Shaktoolik came to the aid of brothers clinging to a buoy after their fishing boat was swamped. And, about three years ago, they also intervened in a grizzly attack.

Vote on federal recognition for Native Hawaiians expected soon
Native Hawaiians could finally be treated the same as the nation’s other indigenous groups – but only if a U.S. Senate vote on federal recognition is taken before fall elections, according to the AP, here. That’s because the majority in the Senate might change after November, meaning that it could be years – if ever – before the matter comes up again.

Gulf tribes seek advice on BP oil disaster
Native American tribes who live along the Gulf of Mexico coast in Louisiana are seeking advice from other indigenous groups who’ve dealt with environmental disasters, according to this Voice of American story. They’ve talked to Alaskan Natives about the Exxon Valdez disaster, and also indigenous people in Ecuador about the largest environmental lawsuit in history, against Texaco over toxic waste.

Gwen Florio

Tags: Alaska Natives, Alcohol abuse, BP, British Petroleum, Exxon Valdez, Federal recognition, Gulf oil spill, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, homelessness, Iroquois, Iroquois Confederacy, Iroquois Nationals, Labateyah House, Lacrosse, Native Hawaiians, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Texaco, U.S. Senate, Whiteclay, World Lacrosse Championships

This just reported by David B. Caruso of the Associated Press:

NEW YORK (AP) — Iroquois lacrosse players who refused to travel on passports issued by the U.S. and Canada have exhausted their last option for going to the sport’s world championship in England.

Leaders of the Iroquois Nationals squad announced Saturday that a last ditch attempt to persuade British officials to recognize their passports had failed.

The players’ passports were issued by the Iroquois Confederacy of six indigenous nations.

The team had to forfeit its games in the tournament, taking place in Manchester, England.

Team lawyer Tonya Frichner says the fight will continue.

The team is already making plans for the World Indoor Box Lacrosse Championships in the Czech Republic in 2011.

She says they hope to gain international recognition by then.

The Iroquois mostly live in New York, Ontario and Quebec.

Tags: buffalo post, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Iroquois, Iroquois Nationals, Native American news, tribal sovereignty, World Indoor Box Lacrosse Championships, World Lacrosse Championships

The World Lacrosse Championships began last night with Germany substituting against England for the Iroquois Nationals team that’s still stuck in the United States because of wrangling over the legitimacy of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy passports on which they’ve traveled for more than 20 years.

Click here to see the BBC report and video from the tournament. England won the first game 12-3.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Gwen Florio, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Iroquois, Iroquois Confederacy, Lacrosse, Native American news, tribal sovereignty, U.S. State Department, World Lacrosse Championships

Things don’t seem promising for the fourth-ranked Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team, Frank Eltman of the Associated Press writes here:

NEW YORK (AP) — Time is running out for a team of Iroquois lacrosse players who have been blocked from traveling to a tournament in England because they refuse to use U.S. or Canadian passports.

For the fourth straight day, the 23 men of the Iroquois Nationals team lingered in New York City on Friday, hoping to be given permission to board a plane for Manchester carrying travel documents issued by the Iroquois confederacy.

“We haven’t given up and we’re standing by,” said the team’s chairman, Oren Lyons.

Yet as the day drew on, there was little positive news for the squad.

The team received a letter from British officials, reaffirming that they would not be issued travel visas based on their Iroquois documents.

Team representatives said they would continue to appeal their case and repeated a request for a face-to-face meeting with British consular officials. The National Congress of American Indians, a large tribal advocacy organization, wrote to British Prime Minister David Cameron, asking him to intervene.

But the answer late in the day was still, “no,” and the odds increased that the team would miss its second game of the World Lacrosse Championships, scheduled for Saturday. It had to forfeit its first game Thursday, against England, when it didn’t arrive in time.

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Tags: buffalo post, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Hillary Clinton, Iroquois, Iroquois Confederacy, Iroquois Nationals, Lacrosse, National Congress of American Indians, Prime Minister David Cameron, tribal sovereignty, U.S. State Department, World Lacrosse Championships

Here’s the latest, in full, from Frank Eltman of the Associated Press about the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team’s struggle to play at the World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester, England:

NEW YORK (AP) — Iroquois lacrosse players blocked from traveling to a tournament in England because they refuse to use U.S. or Canadian passports are spending another day in limbo while hoping for a diplomatic breakthrough.

The 23 members of the Iroquois Nationals team have already missed their first scheduled game of the World Lacrosse Championships. The United Kingdom has refused to recognize passports issued by the Iroquois confederacy.

Team manager Ansley Jemison said Friday that negotiations were continuing with British authorities. Jemison said squad still hoped to be able to leave on a flight early Friday evening.

And, some commentary on the whole mess, here, by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Bob Ford, who leads off with this jab:

As usual, it is about the papers again.

The men, mostly those white men — also again, also as usual — have official papers upon which they have written their rules and their laws and their treaties. They are very sorry, but it is all there on the papers.

The Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy have papers, too, but those are no good. It is a shame and everyone is very sorry, but those papers are meaningless. Please stop showing us your quaint, useless papers.

And, he winds up with this one:

There is hope that the Iroquois will still get to the tournament in time to play the rest of their games. If the United States promises, cross-its-heart, to let the team come back, and if England can remove its bureaucratic head from its stuffy posterior, there is a chance the Nationals will be able to once again proudly represent their people.

Many pieces of paper are in the way, however, and will have to be moved. Those pieces of paper are good ones. They have meaning and are worth something. The Iroquois are sad about all this, but they aren’t surprised to learn that their own papers don’t count for very much. They have heard that a time or two before.

The part in between is pretty good, too! Check it out. And, as always, we’ll keep updating on the situation.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Gwen Florio, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Iroquois Confedercy, Iroquois Nationals, Lacrosse, tribal sovereignty, U.S. State Department, World Lacrosse Championships

This afternoon’s update from Samantha Gross of the Associated Press:

NEW YORK (AP) — A negotiator for an American Indian lacrosse team whose Iroquois-issued passports have been at the heart of an international dispute says the squad made progress in its talks with the United Kingdom.

The Iroquois Nationals defaulted on the first game of the sport’s world championship on Thursday after the U.K. said they couldn’t enter without American or Canadian passports. The team hopes to make it to a second game scheduled for Saturday.

But a British spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy said late Thursday in London that the government’s stance hasn’t changed.

The U.S. State Department said earlier that it failed to persuade the British government to let the team travel.

The team members are eligible for U.S. or Canadian passports but say accepting them would be a strike against their identity.

Associated Press writers Robert Burns in Washington and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

Tags: buffalo post, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Iroquois, Iroquois Confederacy, Iroquois Nationals, Native American news, Onondaga Nation, tribal sovereignty, U.S. State Department, World Lacrosse Championships

The latest from the Associated Press:

NEW YORK (AP) — An American Indian lacrosse team whose Iroquois-issued passports have been at the heart of an international dispute will default on the first game of the sport’s world championship.

Still, organizers said Thursday the Iroquois Nationals are holding out hope they’ll be allowed into England to compete in a second game.

The team remains at a New York City hotel hours before the start of what was to be their first game of the tournament. Executive Director Percy Abrams says they “have a lot of high-level calls out for help.”

The British government said Wednesday the team wouldn’t be allowed in to play the sport the Iroquois helped invent unless members accept U.S. or Canadian passports.

The 23 members are all eligible for those passports but say accepting them would be a strike against their identity. The U.S. State Department gave the team a one-time waiver to help them get to the tourney.

Tags: buffalo post, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Iroquois Confederacy, Iroquois Nationals, Lacrosse, Native American news, tribal sovereignty, U.S. State Department, World Lacrosse Championships

We’re going to keep updating here as Samantha Gross of the Associated Press follows this developing story:

NEW YORK (AP) — An American Indian lacrosse team that refuses to accept U.S. passports will not be allowed entry into England for the world championship of the sport the Iroquois helped invent, the British government said Wednesday.

The Iroquois Nationals team won’t be attending the world championship in Manchester unless the British government reverses its decision, said Tonya Gonnella Frichner, a lawyer for the team.

“They’re telling us: ‘Go get U.S. passports or Canadian passports,’” Frichner said Wednesday shortly after getting the news. “It’s pretty devastating.”

The team’s 23 players — who are all eligible for passports issued by those nations — say that accepting them would be a strike against their identity.

In a statement, the U.K. Borders Agency said: “Like all those seeking entry into the U.K., they must present a document that we recognise as valid to enable us to complete our immigration and other checks.”

The British government’s decision was announced hours after the U.S. cleared the team for travel on a one-time waiver at the behest of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

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Tags: buffalo post, Department of Homeland Securit, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Hillary Clinton, Iroquois Confederacy, Iroquois Nationals, Kootenai, Lacrosse, Pasqua Yaqui, Seneca Nation, Tohono O'odham, U.K. Borders Agency, U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, U.S. State Department, World Lacrosse Championships