Iroquois Lacrosse Team Playing for Redemption

The only indigenous team competing internationally as a sovereign nation is in Colorado for the World Lacrosse Championships.

The Denver Post reports the 27-man Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team is preparing to compete in the top tier of the nine-day competition played every four years. The championship, which began Thursday night, is expected to draw 100,000 spectators to Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City through July 19, with 38 nations competing in 142 games.

In 2010, England refused to acknowledge Iroquois passports, and the team couldn't compete at the World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester. The team fell in international rankings and wasn't allowed to compete in the top-flight blue division against powerhouses like Canada and the U.S.

The team successfully appealed the ruling to regain blue division access in the 2014 championships.