"So we should all be familiar with the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) passports dispute (news articles here and here and here).

Here’s a possible reason (I say possible with the faintest of certainty) that the State Department has suddenly become interested in Haudenosaunee passports (another reason might be the alleged immigrant and drug smuggling across the border problem):

The State Department has been litigating a massive NAFTA arbitration claim against Six Nations Grand River Enterprises, a large Haudenosaunee tobacco wholesaler located in Ontario and doing hundreds of millions of dollars of business in the States. The issue is whether the United States illegally destroyed Six Nations GRE’s investment in the U.S. by enforcing the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement against them. Docs are here. The case is pending.

The opening argument in the actual hearing before the arbitration tribunal was made by the counsel for the State Department Harold Koh, who noted the importance of the tobacco MSA to the Obama Administration."

Get the Story:
A Twist on the Haudenosaunee Passports Controversy? (Turtle Talk 7/14)

Related Stories:
Steven Newcomb: Obama won't recognize Iroquois documents (7/13)
Iroquois lacrosse team can't head overseas due to travel issue (7/13)