Update November 8 2007

Update from Grand River Nov., 8, 2007 By Hazel Hill

Well, things have sure heated up at the negotiating table! It started a few weeks ago when Ontario representative tried to get tough with the Haudenosaunee, telling our representatives that we were using the media to negotiate, even going so far as to try and tell us that we couldn’t do what we’re doing with the HDI, and that Ontario was standing by its lands registry system. Funny that they forgot to mention that they started the media campaign by coming out and telling developers that they were on their own and to deal with the Haudenosaunee!!! But then it got really HOT at Kanonhstaton this past Monday night because of all a sudden, our front gate house mysteriously went up in flames!!! Well, if I were what one calls a ‘normal’ person, I’d look at that and say, ‘what a co-incidence’. But then I’m not anywhere’s near ‘normal’ (thankfully) and I have a lot of skepticism when it comes to co-incidences. Especially when that co-incidence happens throughout the night when, thankfully our security was at a different area and no one got hurt, but more importantly, it happened only a few short hours before another ‘co-incidence’. And that was when one of the on-going non- native instigators, (we’ll call him idiot/instigator #2 because our #1 idiot/instigator is our friend who likes to come into town from Richmond Hill, which he has done continually for the last few weeks with his money pail in hand) anyway, Idiot #2 decided to set up a smoke shop down the road in Six Nations territory, deliberately trying to incite violence with our people that would cause police action. And he did this with the full support of the opp. It wasn’t just that he decided to do this, he phoned the OPP, told them what he was about to do, and asked them to be there to protect him while he Turtle Island News photo did it cause he was sure there would be ‘trouble with them Indians’. They stood by, allowed him to proceed under the carefully planned and watchful eye of the OPP, and CH-TV. Coincidence? Not likely. This is what I’d call the Crown stepping up its pressure on the Haudenosaunee in hopes they’ll get a reaction from our people and in hopes that they’ll be able to push us far enough where all hell will break loose and the ‘you know what’ will hit the fan, and then they can gleefully send in the troops under the justification that the “Indians are out of control and have broken the peace”. Seems like we’re going backwards instead of forward. Helloooo, does no-one remember what happened in Ipperwash? Seems like some people aren’t going to be happy until there is blood shed again!. Well, this time at least, their attempt to break the peace failed and they got fooled again. As hard as it was, our people maintained the PEACE. We aren’t taking this lying down as some would believe. We’re re-building our gate house this weekend. We’ve put a call out to our supporters for donations of lumber and finances, we’re having a good old fashion building bee and pot luck, and we’re going to re-build what those instigators thought/hoped would send us packing, into a bigger and better facility that will show Canada exactly who we are are. And that is a people of pride and resolve. A people who will take what was a deliberate attempt to incite war, and turn it into a peaceful and determined resolution. It wasn’t just a gatehouse that they burned down, but it was an important part of the current history of our people and our struggle against oppression and assimilation. And of course the idiotic statements and reaction from our neighbouring politicians continues. You have Caledonia’s mayor making statements such as, “you gotta realize that a lot of people are glad that it burned down”. Sounds like she might know something, I wonder if the OPP talked to her and got names. Yup, something smells in Denmark, or I guess it’s the polluted Grand that stinks. I don’t know. But I do know that we’re long past Bread and Cheese Day and the rats are certainly out in full force sniffing around looking for something to bite on. And speaking of which, all this comes on the heels of statements made by another of the good old politicians whose upset because of what I would say was finally some action on the part of the Crown to working toward what we’ve all been working toward, and that is a peaceful resolution to the Haudenosaunee land rights. At the same lands side table meeting a few weeks ago when Ontario was trying to flex its muscles and told our Confederacy representatives that ‘we weren’t playing right and they didn’t say we could be a ‘government’’, they also informed us that they had set aside around 7,000 acres

and put a freeze on development in that area, acknowledging that in FACT the Haudenosaunee have legitimate land rights and that they (Ontario), on behalf of the Crown, were looking at lands that could be returned to the Six Nations for our own places to grow. In fact, the lands that they have set aside are almost identical to what the HDI had suggested on a map shown in our “green plan”. So to me, this is progress, on some level, and it’s a very loud statement to the rest of the world that indeed the Haudenosaunee have been right all along and that the Crown had in fact, allowed the theft of our lands and resources and that they have a responsibility to correct those wrongs. Oh, and that good old politician I was talking about, he’s mad because all of the ‘red zone’ is in Haldimand township and his point was ‘theres a lot of crown land all up and down the grand river, not just in Haldimand. Again, cudo’s to you Mr. B, the light bulb finally went on over-head, cause that’s exactly what the Haudenosaunee have been saying all along too, and that’s exactly what we intend on continuing to work toward resolving. Our land rights aren’t just in the surrounding two townships of Brantford and Caledonia, but they extend all along the Grand River from its mouth to its source. So good, I’m glad you finally recognized that and perhaps you can help by insisting that our places to grow plan as set out by the Haudenosaunee, recognized by the Crown, will extend well beyond the 7,000 acres that are currently on the negotiating table. Nya weh! In the meantime, boy are the developers continuing at a fast pace. Why that is, is because the Federal and Provincial reps have continually said that they “will not displace third parties from lands”. So, what do they do? They hurry up and try and develop as much land as possible so they can say they can’t return it to the Six Nations. Well, our representatives told them in no uncertain terms, that history has shown that the Crown has no problem re-locating complete nations of people from their homelands when required, and that it is not unreasonable to expect the same courtesy with respect to our interests. Some of the developers however, I will say, are trying to work with the Haudenosaunee, trying to respect the process that was put in place by our government, known as the HDI, and working toward peaceful resolutions to our land rights, that would honour and respect the ancient agreements set out by our ancestors. But you also have the idiotic ones who think that they are untouchable, and who not only want to ignore our land rights, but they continue to ignore their own Canadian Law which requires them to consult. They want to be able to say, well, ‘we went to Confederacy’, or ‘we talked to the HDI’……what they don’t get is that attending one confederacy council meeting, or having one meeting with the HDI isn’t construed as consultation and doesn’t mean a hill of beans as far as accommodation. What it does mean is that they knowingly and deliberately failed to fully respect honour or uphold their own laws, and are commencing development UNLAWFULLY. And that is the bottom line. All of these municipalities towns and townships are telling the Crown that they don’t care what their laws say, as a matter of fact, they are somehow blessed with their actions because Ontario is saying they’re standing by their lands registry system when in fact, their lands registry system doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to lands that are under what they call “Indian land claims”. So who’s trying to protect the developers and Canadian people when they make large financial investments into what they believe to be their dream home or business venture. Well, it isn’t Ontario or Canada that’s for sure. Their lands registry system, more specifically their title insurance, says that they ARE NOT COVERED if its on an ‘Indian land claim area’. And so how then, can Ontario stand behind its land registry system knowing full well that they are selling lands and developing lands on exactly that…….a ‘land claim area’. What they’re really saying to those developers and Canadian citizens is “keep spending your money, we’ll keep collecting your tax dollars, we’ll keep taking your millions of dollars for your business plans etc., but oh, by the way, if the natives come and re-claim your land that you just invested your life savings on, well, sorry, we’ll work that out at the negotiating table over the next fifty to a hundred years and in the meantime, you’ll just have to wait”. They’ve already said they’re not going to do another “Henco buy out” where they spent 16 million dollars to prove that the Six Nations didn’t have a claim…………..??????? gee, if that was the case, wonder why they spent all that money…. Dah!!!!!!! I hate to say it Canadians, but your government’s been taking you on a ride, and its gonna continue to cost you until you realize that the Haudenosaunee have legitimate land rights. Then maybe you’ll work with us to ensure that your government is being honourable and truly working toward a peaceful resolution that will be toward your benefit, as well as ours. That is exactly what the Haudenosaunne are trying to do with the HDI. We’re not only looking out for our own people’s interests, but we recognized quite easily that someone had to protect the developers, and the people who live up and down the grand. Doesn’t mean we’re going to give a rubber stamp to all development. No, sorry, it doesn’t work that way. But it does mean that if that development is consistent and in accordance with who we are, and what our law requires us to do, and that in simple terms is consistent with protecting the environment and the future, it might mean some development can continue. But it will also mean that the finances that are being unlawfully paid to municipalities, will be paid directly to the Haudenosaunee, for our perpetual care and maintenance, exactly like was intended in those 999 year lease agreements that specifically said “leased” and not “sold”. So if you’re a developer who is building on unceded territory of the Haudenosaunee without full and proper consultation and accommodation of the Haudenosaunee, know that you are proceeding in an UNLAWFUL manner, not only according to Haudenosaunee law, but according to your own Crown laws. And note to MQ, when in my last update I spoke of transparency in our government, I meant exactly that. Transparency within our own government. That means it’s internal to the Haudenosaunee. It has nothing to do with any outside government or any one else. Confidentiality in any agreements that we (HDI on behalf of Haudenosaunee) set up with a potential developer or third party land ‘owner’, has the right to confidentiality as to the terms of that potential agreement. It's not rocket science. It’s done between us and that developer without any interference of any other government. Just like Canada doesn’t need permission from the United States (at least not yet) to make development agreements, the

Haudenosaunee doesn’t need permission from Canada to make any development agreements. Simple! Hope that helps clear up your understanding of the difference between transparency within a government, and confidentiality in an agreement. So where exactly are we in negotiations? Well, like I said, we’ve made some progress with Ontario freezing development on some land, and we are also waiting on the federal government to provide a full and detailed mapping of their current land holdings as promised over a year ago at the consultation side table. We’ll hopefully be getting that information soon. Mean time, we’re still doing the ‘well, our interpretation of that historic document says it was a surrender’, and its countered with, ‘our interpretation clearly say’s it was intended for leasing purposes only’. We have gotten the commitment for a full environmental clean up of the Burtch lands prior to our taking it back, and the only thing the Crown has to figure out, is how to register the lands according to the original agreement, which was agreed to at the negotiations table, and that is in accordance with the Haldimand Proclamation. A good point to mention here is the same point that the OPP made the other day when they allowed idiot/instigator # 2 to attempt HIS ILLEGAL cigarette sales in our territory. The land that he set up on, are lands that the elected band council purchased ‘back’ over 15 years ago, applied to have returned to ‘reserve status’ and those lands, according to the OPP, are currently still part of Haldimand Township. So you can see why our people are insistent that the lands don’t come ‘back’ under the Indian Act. We continue to look at all of our lands and our land rights under original title, and its up to the Crown how it figures out how to register it on their side of the wampum. All I know is that the Crown doesn’t have authority on any of our land, and it certainly isn’t going to start now. Which might explain to you Canadians what we mean when we say, jurisdiction is jurisdiction, and that the crown laws do not apply within Haudenosaunee territory. This isn’t two tiered JUSTICE, It JUST IS! And so, the negotiations are continuing next week, and hopefully the public awareness and education side table will begin to put out an update on a continual basis so that the rest of the world out there watching won’t have to wait a month or longer for my updates. I do apologize to everyone. I know its hard, especially all of you in Haudenosaunee Territories, waiting and wondering what’s happening. Just know that we continue to do what we were designated to do at the very beginning. And that is to uphold and protect the Kaierenerekowa, protect the interests of our land and our future generations, and to continue re-polishing the Silver Covenant Chain with the Crown as we move forward in these negotiations in accordance with our relationship with the Crown through the Two Row Wampum Treaty. And that’s all any of us can do. We all carry the same responsibilities, and we are all doing the best that we can. We appreciate the continued support of everyone, including all of the other Onkwehonweh Nations out there who are doing exactly the same thing, and that is holding the Crown accountable for the injustices of the past, as we work toward a peaceful future for all people, no matter what colour skin they carry. In love, light and peace, Hazel.