The Foreign Service Journal, October 2007

permits Indians to cross the border freely if they can prove that they are at least 50-percent Native American by blood. CPB officials are concerned that such deter- minations are being given just for the asking. One does not have to be aboriginal by tradition to receive a tribal card, which is also available to spouses and other cate- gories of individual. Concerned that some people may take advantage of the Jay Treaty exemption to engage in illegal cross-border activities, CBP officials are interest- ed in how Canadian First Nations peoples will be treat- ed under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. When the WHTI rules come into effect, a passport or other specialized document will replace the previous birth certificate and photo identification needed for entry to the United States. Under the new system, it seems certain that U.S. Native Americans will be treat- ed like any other American citizen, so they will be required to use a passport. What documentation will be required for native peoples resident within Canadian territory must still be determined. Ten miles north of Roseau (population 2,000) and three miles south of South Junction, Manitoba (popula- tion 50) is the Roseau port of entry. This enormous building, with at least 40 workstations in one of two areas, was built as a pilot project with the expectation that U.S. and Canadian Customs could share the same building. Objections to the carrying of firearms or some other hurdle has kept the Canadians from occupying “their” half of the building, so for the time being, it stands virtually empty. Still, this building, one of the last stops on our trip, symbolized for us the ongoing U.S.-Canadian conver- sation on how best to operate a secure border between our two countries. Its large glass windows, looking both north and south across the pine forest, conveyed an open and airy feeling. The intent expressed in the port’s architecture mirrors that of those of us repre- senting the United States on the northern side of the border: to work side-by-side with our Canadian coun- terparts. F O C U S O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 43