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February 28, 2007 - No. 31
Justice for the Six Nations
Congratulations on a Year of Unity, Strength and Asserting Sovereignty!
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February 28
Appeal for Solidarity and Action
Hamilton
Education/Demonstration -- 11:00 am-2:00 pm
Gore Park
Toronto
Rally -- February 28, 2007, 12:00 noon
Queen's Park
For information: ocap@tao.ca
Montreal
Speak Out & Rally -- Wednesday, February 28, 12:00 noon
Complex Guy-Favreau
200 Réné-Lévèsque W (métro Place des Arts)
For information: 6nationssolidarite@gmail.com | ..>
Justice for the Six Nations
• Congratulations on a Year of Unity, Strength and Asserting Sovereignty!
• Photos from One Year of Struggle
• The Government Must Stop Criminalizing the People of Six Nations and Recognize Their Just Claims - Janice Murray
• February 28, 2007: Appeal for Solidarity and Action
• Update from Grand River - Hazel Hill
• Haudenosaunee Confederacy Land Rights Statement
• Six Nations Haudenosaunee Reclaim Confederacy Council House
• Six Nations Makes History - Kahentinetha Horn, Mohawk Nation News
Justice for the Six Nations
Congratulations on a Year of Unity, Strength and Asserting Sovereignty!
TML expresses its warmest greetings and congratulations to the Six Nations people who one year ago asserted their claim to Kanenhstaton, "The Protected Place," and initiated a year of vigorous struggle for their lands and sovereignty. The justness of their stand and the broad mobilization of their nations to step up their long standing struggle for sovereignty in their own lands has won the profound support of the First Nations across Canada, the Canadian working class and people and justice loving peoples around the world.
One year ago a small group of women from Six Nations on the Grand River walked onto a stolen piece of their lands to stop a housing development. This one stand and the mobilization of everyone to defend it initiated what Hazel Hill, a spokeswoman for Kanenhstaton, described in a January 20 update as a "year of unity and strength and assertion of our sovereignty." "We furthered our position by forcing the crown to recognize and deal with the only true government of the Haudenosaunee, the People, represented by the Confederacy Council," Hazel said. The advances made over the year, and those to come this year, were symbolized by the Confederacy Council moving back into its historic council house on January 1, 2007.
On this occasion TML stands with the people of Six Nations and all those who have fought shoulder-to-shoulder over this year in demanding an end to colonial injustice. The Canadian state must recognize the legitimate title of the Six Nations to their lands, end its stalling and negotiate a just settlement, nation-to-nation. It must end the criminalization of the people defending Kanenhstaton and its interference in the legitimate government of the Six Nations -- the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council.
TML calls on the working class and people to continue to go all out to support the Six Nations in their struggle including participating in the rallies and fax and e-mail campaign (see below) initiated to mark this one year anniversary and to forcibly put these demands to the Canadian state.
Uphold the Hereditary Rights of the Six Nations!
Justice for the Six Nations!
Photos from One Year of Struggle
 March 2006: Women title-holders defend reclamation site against expected OPP attack.
  April 20, 2006: Reclamation site successfully defended after pre-dawn OPP attack.
 
<SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">April 2006, left. Neskonlith, BC. One of many actions of First Nations people
and supporters across the country in solidarity with the Six Nations.
Right: April 21, 2006. View of the reclamation site.
  
Flags at the reclamation site showing some of the broad support for the Six Nations.
 May 23, 2006: Argyle Street blocked by Six Nations after racist provocations against reclamation site.
  June 16, 2006: Concert for Kanenhstaton   Opposition to Ontario Superior Court Justice David Marshall and his demand
that the Six Nations be removed from the land reclamation site.  Labour Day, 2006: Six Nations march with USW Local 1005 through the streets of Hamilton.
 September 30, 2006: Community Friends of Six Nations holds successful public forum in Caledonia.
October 15, 2006: Over one thousand people participate in the Potluck for Peace at the reclamation site.
"The 'terrorists' I have come to know -- and love -- at Six Nations...." (Photo: Alison Miculan)
The Government Must Stop Criminalizing the People of Six Nations and Recognize Their Just Claims
- Janice Murray* -
  February 9, 2006: Picket for political prisoner Trevor Miller at Attorney General's office. Right: Release of Trevor Miller
One full year after the people of Six Nations reclaimed the Douglas Creek Estates lands as their own the federal and provincial governments still refuse to recognize their legitimate title to the lands. Furthermore they are continuing to attack those who have taken this just stand by charging them with "criminal offences" for defending their lands.
The legitimacy of these political stands has won broad support from the people. These charges, some brought only many months after the events, are an attempt to overturn the people's verdict, sow doubt, disinform and turn just political acts into petty crimes or even offences under the criminal code. These actions are particularly despicable because the aim in laying charges goes beyond the immediate one of embroiling and exhausting people financially and spiritually in the legal tangle of court appearances, onerous bail conditions and legal costs and arguments. It is also an assault on the sovereignty of the Six Nations and their historical nation-to-nation arrangements with the British Crown, codified in the Two Row Wampum. Every act of forcing people from Six Nations into a Canadian court is a demand that they submit to the dictate of the colonial state in violation of their sovereignty.
Since the first arrests on April 20, 2006 the Six Nations youth have refused to submit. They have demanded recognition as political prisoners and challenged in various ways the legitimacy and jurisdiction of the courts. Many have faced long periods of incarceration for their stands.
Tackling directly the issue of the jurisdiction of the Canadian courts, on January 31 one lawyer working with the Six Nations defendants filed a constitutional challenge with the Ontario Superior Court. In it he asserts that the Mohawk are a sovereign people not falling under the jurisdiction of the Canadian legal system. The challenge is to be heard in the Cayuga court on March 6.
To date 32 people have been arrested on 69 charges. Sixteen of these arrests were made when the OPP invaded the reclamation site on April 20, 2006. On January 3, a young man was arrested for charges related to the same OPP attack, charges that were not laid until 6 months after the event. He remains in prison. Most recently, on January 16, an arrest warrant was issued in relation to events that took place in May -- in this case the arrest was for digging up a portion of Plank Road which the Six Nations have fully documented to be their land ( i.e., no offence took place). Others arrested April 20 face remand after remand. Onerous bail conditions in many cases bar them from returning to Kanenhstaton. Every indication is that the state plans to lay further charges. Trevor Miller was held as a political prisoner for 7 months until February 9, during which even habeas corpus was denied.
The Federal and Ontario governments are conducting themselves in the same hooligan manner at the negotiating table. The province, which paid off Henco, the developer of the Douglas Creek Estates for lands they had no rightful title to, is still holding them "in trust" and refusing to recognize Six Nations' title to the land. The provincial negotiator cynically describes their purchase as a move to start up negotiations.
For its part the Federal Department of Justice in late January issued an "opinion" in which it says that if the question of whether the Plank Road lands were surrendered by the Six Nations went to court the surrender of the lands would be upheld. This 13 page "opinion" is the sum total of the government's response after over two months to the detailed and well-documented 80 page case presented at the negotiations by the Six Nations Confederacy on November 14, 2006. This case documents the history of the lands and proves they were never ceded to the Crown. In a press release responding to the government's announcement Confederacy Chief Allen MacNaughton pointed out "Canada is trying to rely on a Department of Justice 'legal' opinion, which in reality is a political position on Six Nations land rights," and that "The department of Justice has taken the position, wherever possible, to limit the assertion of rights and claims by indigenous peoples..."
The actions of the Federal and provincial governments do not reflect the will of the people of Ontario or Canada. The government must end its criminalization of the Six Nations people for their legitimate defence of their lands and sovereignty. All charges must be dropped. Kanenhstaton must be returned to its rightful owners. The government must end its stalling and lies at the negotiations table and work nation-to-nation with the Six Nations and other First Nations across Canada to settle their historic claims. Nothing less is acceptable!
February 28, 2007
Appeal for Solidarity and Action
One Year Is Too Long!
Recognize the Rights of the Six Nations!
Invitation to Organize Local Activities and/or Actions!
The people of Kanonhstaton have asked for support demos and rallies for the one year anniversary. Local actions that can exert political pressure on the government are needed and encouraged. If you can organize locally, please let the people at the Six Nations Land Reclamation know. You can organize a delegation to a governmental body to deliver a letter, hold rallies and demonstrations, or simply participate in the week-long pressure campaign.
Write to Federal And Provincial Authorities Today!
February 26th to March 2nd week-long fax, email and phone campaign to negotiators and government representatives:
Demand:
1) That the government stop its stalling tactics and recognize Six Nations title to the land once and for all.
2) That the government stop criminalizing the people of Kanohnstaton.
3) That the government fully recognize the traditional Haudenosaunee Iroquois) Confederacy, the traditional government, and stop undermining the Confederacy they have been trying to squash since 1924.
To voice your concerns and demand that the government recognize Six Nations Land Rights, send an email, phone and/or fax:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
Email: pm@pm.gc.ca
Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians
Parliament Hill: House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 992-4275
Fax: (613) 947-9475
Email: Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca
Barbara McDougall, Federal Negotiator, Former Cabinet Minister
c/o Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians
address as above
Ron Doering, Federal Negotiator
c/o Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians
address as above
Jane Stewart, Provincial Negotiator, Province of Ontario, Former Brantford MP and former Federal Indian Affairs Minister
c/o Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building, Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1
Phone Number: (416) 325-1941
Fax Number: (416) 325-3745
Email: Dalton.McGuinty@premier.gov.on.ca
Find and contact your own MP:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp?Language=E&source=sm
Update from Grand River
- Hazel Hill, February 23, 2007 -
Good morning from Grand River. Well, I know everyone has been waiting patiently to see what's happening. It's like watching a movie and then having the next episode postponed indefinitely, no idea how the ending is going to be. Well, its the same for those of us here. We never know from one day to the next how things are going to be. With all of the instigating that still goes on, from the stealing of flags to try and get a rise out of us, to the hate mail and death threats that go out through the internet targeted at individuals involved. Its physically and spiritually exhausting. However, it is also a definite and clear message to the people at Kanonhstaton. It helps to keep us strengthened to continue, so, in that respect, we turn it around and say Nya Weh for the support.
It's been a difficult task for me to update when there haven't been a lot of things to report. But on Thursday, we had an excellent day at the lands side table and main table meetings, with our Chiefs taking a strong position again with the Crown. Sub-Chief Leroy Hill made a direct hit in the morning by tabling evidence that supports the position that the Six Nations has taken all along........ that in fact, the Crown's intention all along was to swindle the lands from the Six Nations as well as encouraging squatters to settle on our lands. The area we concentrated on providing the evidence for is the Plank Road, but there is plenty of evidence to prove the point all up and down the Grand River.
The evidence included a map which shows the lots that were being sold PRIOR to the so-called surrender that the Crown is claiming to have recieved from the Six Nations and it clearly shows some of the lands along Plank Road, including Kanonhstaton, the former Douglas Creek Lands, as being sold in November when they claim to have received their surrender in December. Further to that evidence we also tabled documentation that supports the fact that other lands along the Plank Road were being sold in July, 5 months prior to when they claim our people surrendered it. We also were able to provide documentation that shows the squatters were being given "pre-emptive rights to the land" for their efforts in clearing the lands for the purpose of building Plank Road. Everything we have been stating all along, everything our elders and ancestors have told us through our oral history, everything our elder Chiefs and historians presented to the Crown at the main table a few months ago, and everything the people have stated from the beginning when we took back the land was evidenced in the documentation we tabled yesterday. The response of the Crown of course was the same as it has always been. The information we provided is nothing new to them, they are aware of the documents, but they still believe the Six Nations has no legal claim to the land, however they will take the information as it was provided today, back to their Department of Justice for their consideration.
At this point Chief MacNaughton reminded the Crown's Agents that the most important point in this negotiation process is that the legal interpretation of Canada is irrelevant and that the table itself is a direct result of the precedent set by Canada in its attempt to extinguish 'aboriginal' title and that they continually change their laws to justify the theft of our lands and the extinguishment of our rights. He further reminded them that this table has an opportunity to step outside of the box and that it is time for the Crown to recognize the moral wrongs of the past and begin to rectify them. Canada did acknowledge that they are trying to figure out how to deal with the Six Nations as we have clearly stated that we are not interested in monetary compensation and quite honestly they have never even had to consider the option of returning the land.
Our position is clear, we are taking back our lands, lands that were stolen and swindled away, and lands that currently are being swindled away. To support our position, we recently had one of the major developers in Southern Ontario present to the Crown their findings on the research that we asked them to do. They were asked to research the title to the land which they now have in their possession and that they are currently considering for development. These lands are within the Haldimand Tract, currently part of Brantford, and the result of their research is similar to that of the lands in Haldimand. The Crown unilaterally issued patents in this case in 1853 and there is a huge gap as to how it went from Six Nations to the Crown. The gap is there because there is nothing that exists to show that we relinquished it. There was no surrender, there was no sale. These lands were intended for the purpose of leasing only and throughout the Grand River tract, you will find this practice of the crown over and over again. In fact, at a recent speaking engagement, I encouraged everyone living within the Haldimand Tract to do their own title searches on their property, and find out exactly how these lands came into their possession. I am confident that they will come back with the same results, the Crown unilaterally issued patents without authority and without sanctioning, and those individuals have been defrauded by the Crown just as much as the Six Nations has, and today they continue to be defrauded because they are paying the taxes on those lands, taxes that Canada has no authority to levy.
So, all in all, we've had a long year. It will be the first anniversary of the land reclamation of Kanonhstaton on February 28th. At this point, I don't believe the Crown is taking seriously the position of the Onkwehonweh. I don't believe they have any intention to turn back the lands of Kanonhstaton according to original title, anymore than they intend to turn back any of the other lands that they openly admit to stealing like Burtch, South Cayuga, Port Maitland, Townsend etc. Their only intent is to keep it as Crown lands with the intended use for Six Nations. They want to be able to dictate how this land will be used, and they want to continue to benefit from the lands. All I know is that from the beginning the people have said, the lands are to be returned to original title, and not according to the Indian Act, because quite frankly, the land is ours. It has always been ours. We've offered enough evidence to prove it, we don't need their paperwork to prove it. Whatever the Crown has to do to adjust its records to rectify its wrongs is entirely their business and has nothing to do with us. We will use the lands for our use and benefit as was intended, for as long as the grass grows, the rivers flow........etc. That IS being a Nation.
The only other thing I want to touch on in this update is the Unity of the people that has been building throughout this year. We have alot of people who have been working very hard to bring the Onkwehonweh together. Alot of people within the confederacy council and alot of people within the band council. Alot of people from Grand River, and alot of people from the other Onkwehonweh Territories. Alot of people from other parts of the world who are supporting us. Those who have organized rallies and fundraisers, we send our thanks because it truly has been amazing to have all of your support and prayers. The people who envision a Six Nations that is united on all issues, just as we stand united on the land at Kanonhstaton. It will not be easy and it will not be quick. But we cannot let those who choose to look for divisions to detract us from that goal. It is no secret there are factions within our territory. It is no secret there are factions within all Onkwehonweh Territories. It is not uncommon that there are factions within any Nation or Country out there, including Canada. In their system their factions are called "opposition parties." So just because we are human like the rest of the world, does not take away from the fact that the Crown has obligations to the Treaties to uphold, regardless of which people sit at the table to deal with them. It does negate the fact that the Confederacy Council, that the Peacemaker helped us to establish, is a working body of Five Nations, working together, in Unity, Peace, Friendship and Respect, and it has a job to do. The same job that was given to us several hundreds of years before the coming of the Europeans. To oversee all the lands of Turtle Island and to uphold the Peace. That responsibility has never been taken from us and those of us who understand and accept our obligation to that, will continue on the path that has been set before us. All of the Onkwehonweh working TOGETHER. This is the message I would like to send to all of our supporters, both native and non-native who are standing in Unity with us. Do not allow the white serpent to worm its way into your circle to try and disrupt and undermine. It has reared its head once again in Grand River, but once again, we will stand in the light and in defence of what was given to us all, the Onkwehonweh throughout the world, and will continue to work toward upholding and protecting that Peace for All.
On February 28th it will be one year since the land reclamation began. Everyone in Onkwehonweh Territories needs to make the Crown understand that we ARE standing together in UNITY. That Canada, in right of the Crown MUST uphold its obligations to the Treaties. Regardless of the fact that the Crown had no authority or sanctioning to hand those responsibilties to Canada, it is a responsibility it has taken and accepted with its constitution act. Our actions here at Kanonhstaton have apparently not been enough to convince them of this fact. We need all of our supporters to make a STRONG statement on February 28th and send a clear and concise message of the Unity of all the Onkwehonweh in this world. According to a message that was delivered to me, apparently we have not shaken the earth enough for them to understand what they are doing, not only to the Onkwehonweh with their continued development, but what they are doing to their own future by destroying our mother earth. It is up to the Onkwehonweh to send that message that we have had enough. Enough of the encroachment of our homelands, enough of the intrusion of their laws within our circle and enough of their paternalistic attitude toward our people. We must stand united. Nya Weh Kowah!
In Love, Light and Peace,
Hazel
Haudenosaunee Confederacy Land Rights Statement
- Adopted in Council, November 4, 2006 -
The Council of Chiefs of the Haudenosaunee, Grand River Territory, wish to affirm and clarify our land rights in the tract confirmed by Governor Frederick Haldimand on October 25, 1784. In making this statement, the Council of Chiefs wants to make it clear that we hold certain land ethics and principles that must be respected in any agreements on land use or occupation. The Haudenosaunee, and its governing authority, have inherited the rights to land from time immemorial. Land is a birthright, essential to the expression of our culture.
With these land rights come specific responsibilities that have been defined by our law, from our Creation Story, the Original Instructions, the Kaianeren:kowa (Great Law of Peace) and Kariwiio (Good Message). Land is envisioned as Sewatokwa'tshera't, (the Dish with One Spoon); this means that we can all take from the land what we need to feed, house and care for our families, but we also must assure that the land remains healthy enough to provide for the coming generations. Land is meant to be shared among and by the people and with the other parts of the web of life. It is not for personal empire building.
First and foremost is the concept that we are connected to the land in a spiritual way. The earth is our mother and she provides for our long-term well-being, provided that we continue to honour her and give thanks for what she has provided. We Haudenosaunee have upheld our tradition of giving thanks through ceremony, and in the cultural practices that manifest our beliefs, values, traditions and laws. Planting, cultivating, harvesting, gathering, hunting, and fishing also have spiritual aspects that must be respected and perpetuated if the land is to provide for our future generations, and the future generations of our neighbours. We are stewards. Our spiritual obligation is part of that stewardship.
Second, according to our law, the land is not private property that can be owned by any individual. In our worldview, land is a collective right. It is held in common, for the benefit of all. The land is actually a sacred trust, placed in our care, for the sake of the coming generations. We must protect the land. We must draw strength and healing from the land. If an individual, family or clan has the exclusive right to use and occupy land, they also have a stewardship responsibility to respect and join in the community's right to protect the land from abuse.
We have a duty to utilize the land in certain ways that advance our Original Instructions. All must take responsibility for the health of our Mother.
Our ancestors faced overwhelming odds and relentless pressure to give up our lands. We all know that unscrupulous measures were employed to seduce our ancestors into "selling" the land. At other times, outright fraud took place, as was acknowledged in the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The agreements we recognize reflect an intention to share land, and to lease land, within the context of the Covenant Chain relationship that our nations maintain with the Crown.
Our wampum belts, treaty council documents and oral history inform us that we always retained the right to hunt, fish, and gather upon all of our lands. This reflects the spirit of sharing that we expect to continue, and is another example of the Dish with One Spoon.
We seek justice in our long-standing land rights issues. We seek an accurate accounting of the use and investment of the funds held by the Crown on our behalf, and land transactions conducted by the Crown involving our lands. For nearly two hundred years our Chiefs have been asking for such accounting and justice. Generations of our elders have passed away with these matters unresolved. It is time to end the injustice.
Our faith in the Canadian people is strong, as we feel that the majority of Canadians also want to see justice on these matters. However, their elected representatives and public servants have failed to act effectively to address and resolve these matters. It is time to lift the cloud of denial and to wipe away the politics that darken the vision of the future. It is time we are heard clearly, and our cases should be addressed with utmost good faith and respect. We firmly believe that if we have respect and trust, we will find mutually agreeable solutions that will reflect our long-standing friendship
We want the land that is ours. We are not interested in approving fraudulent dispossessions of the past. We are not interested in selling land. We want the Crown to keep its obligations to treaties, and ensure all Crown governments -- federal, provincial and municipal -- are partners in those obligations. We want an honourable relationship with Canada.
That relationship, however, must be based on the principles that were set in place when our original relationship with the Crown was created. That is the rule of law that we seek. It involves the first law of Canada -- the law that Canada inherited from both France and Britain. It is the law of nations to respect the treaties, to not steal land, or take advantage of indigenous peoples by legal trickery. As the Supreme Court of Canada has frequently stated, where treaties are involved, the honour of the Crown is always at stake.
We seek to renew the existing relationship that we had with Crown prior to 1924. That relationship is symbolized by the Tehontatenentsonterontahkwa ("The thing by which they link arms") also known as the Silver Covenant Chain of Peace and Friendship. Our ancestors met repeatedly to repolish that chain, to renew its commitments, to reaffirm our friendship and to make sure that the future generations could live in peace, and allow the land to provide its bounty for the well-being of all of the people. The Covenant Chain symbolizes our treaty relationship, also symbolized by Tekani Teyothata'tye Kaswénta (Two Row Wampum) which affirms the inherent sovereignty and distinctness of our governments. An essential part of the relationship is our commitment to resolve matters through good-faith negotiation between our governments, including consultation on any plans which might affect the other government or its people.
In any land issues, we want it understood that the following principles will govern any actions taken by the Haudenosaunee Council of Chiefs of the Grand River Territory:
1) The land is sacred to us. It defines our identities, belief system, languages and way of life.
2) We hold the aboriginal and treaty title to our lands collectively.
3) Our treaty relationship with the Crown is still alive and in force and directs our conduct in our relationship to Canada. Within this relationship, the terms of the treaties continue to bind both our government and the Crown.
4) We require a careful accounting for the Crown's dealing with our lands, and the return of any lands that were improperly or illegally taken from our ancestors.
5) We require an accounting for the funds administered or held by the Crown for the Six Nations people, and restitution of any funds unaccounted for.
6) It is not only within the context of our treaty relationship with the Crown that we see justification for such accounting and restitution. Canadian and international law is clear on the right of the Haudenosaunee to seek justice on these matters.
7) In any agreements with the Crown concerning land our goal is to promote and protect a viable economy for our people on our land -- an economy that will be culturally appropriate, environmentally sustainable, and not injurious to our people and our neighbours.
Our fundamental approach is that Six Nations lands will come under the jurisdiction, management and control of Six Nations people. The federal and provincial governments must not impose jurisdictional, policing, taxation, and/or economic activities as part of the land rights settlement.
Our people, our laws, and our government have survived by being thoughtful, respectful, diligent and practical. In our relations with the Crown, and in any negotiations concerning land and the resolution of land-related issues, we will continue to apply those principles.
Six Nations Haudenosaunee Reclaim
Confederacy Council House
On January 1, 2007 the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council reclaimed their Council House in Ohsweken. The Council House is to be renovated and to become the offices of the Confederacy. As a gesture of support for the restoration of the traditional government, members of the elected band council were on hand to turn over the keys to the Confederacy chiefs.
The Council House was built in 1864, pre-dating Confederation, and was the seat of government for the Six Nations Confederacy Council until 1924. In October 1924 the RCMP stormed the Council House and forcibly removed the Confederacy Council. In place of the thirty plus member traditional Council they installed the government imposed band Council whose "election" was boycotted by all but 26 eligible voters. The RCMP also carried out other raids at Six Nations seizing papers and wampum belts documenting the sovereignty of the Confederacy and detailing their land agreements with the British crown. The Confederacy Council continued to meet, but was not able to take back the Council House.
In 1959 the Six Nations attempted to reclaim the council house but were again barred by the Canadian state and assaulted by the RCMP to prevent them from doing so. Those who participated in this 1959 struggle were the first to set foot inside the Council house on January 1, followed by the Confederacy chiefs and clan mothers then the Six Nations people and their supporters.
Posted below is a detailed report on the event by Mohawk Nation News.
Six Nations Makes History
- Kahentinetha Horn, Mohawk Nation News, January 1, 2007 -
It was a beautiful sight. Over two miles of cars bearing Iroquois Confederacy and Unity flags. When everyone arrived at the Old Confederacy Council House in Ohsweken, the padlocks were already off. The Indian Act cops were nowhere in sight. (Maybe they were having donuts with the OPP.) This was followed by speeches and a celebration.
Today the Iroquois Confederacy took back its Council House that was stolen in October 1924. We proved once again that Canada's 1924 Order-in-Council PC 1629 signed by Prime Minister McKenzie King and approved by Governor General Lord Byng of Vimy was illegal from the get-go.
Duncan Campbell Scott, Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, had plotted for years to get rid of the Six Nations Confederacy Council. He even got Parliament to introduce an amendment to the Indian Act which would allow Indian Affairs to take away Indian rights from any "pesky" Indian, like his arch rival, Fred Loft, a well-qualified Indian accountant of Six Nations. He was always asking too many questions. By the 1920's Scott had illegally gotten rid of traditional governments of most of the Indigenous people throughout Canada. Six Nations was the toughest and the last to go.
The Six Nations tried to prove that the Indian Act was ultra vires (illegal) to the British North America Act 1867 and that it did not apply to us. On Scott's advice, we could not present our case in the Supreme Court of Canada. He was afraid that his horrific extermination policies would be exposed to the light of day.
The people chose Levi General, the Deskahe, to go overseas to bring our problems before the newly formed League of Nations. They were supposed to stop large nations from dominating small nations. The Netherlands, Persia (Iran), Estonia, Panama and Ireland supported him. The British, the dominant world power at the time, pressured them to drop their support. The Six Nations could then never present our case to a neutral tribunal after that.
Once Scott knew the coast was clear, he got the Prime Minister and Governor General to sign the secret illegal Order-in-Council. It violated Six Nations and international law.
The Council House had been closed for repairs. After the illegal Order in Council, it was opened up again. The first illegal Indian Act election was held there on October 21, 1924. This fake council made it possible for Canada to claim that Deskahe no longer represented the people.
Deskahe left Europe in January 1925. He always wanted to return to Canada. Tough Border controls were put in place. They would not even allow his family members and his doctors to visit him in Tuscarora near Buffalo New York. On March 10 he made his famous last radio broadcast which is available on the internet. He died on June 27, 1925. Canada refused to let him be buried in Six Nations.
This is not the only time the Confederacy attempted to take back the Council House. In March 1959 the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration said it was up to the Six Nations to decide which council was their proper representative. We took him at his word. The people decided to take over control and remove the band council.
On March 5, 1,300 people marched on the Council House while the Indian Act band council was in session. This was more than double the number of people that voted in the government's band council elections. The Indian Act band council locked the front door. The marchers removed it from its hinges and took possession. John Maracle (now deceased) said, "We went in the front door and they ran out the back." He was helped by such activists as Mad Bear Anderson, Clinton Rickard, Richard Maracle, Melvin Squires, Art Anderson, Mark Maracle, Dick Hill and people from other Indigenous communities. (Some are still around and took part in today's takeover.)
They issued a proclamation nullifying the Indian Act and declaring Iroquoia a nation and that they were reestablishing its traditional government. 133 police were appointed to replace the RCMP. They announced an economic program designed to make the territory self-sufficient by pooling farming equipment.
Canada did not respect these plans. On March 12th 1959 at 3 a.m. over 300 well armed RCMP invaded. There was a scuffle, attack and the women were beaten up. This roused the people. To this day it has distanced the band council system from the traditionals. Meanwhile Prime Minister John Diefenbaker had cut off all services to the people, which is a violation of human rights. Today that cannot happen. The Indian Act council was then forced back in, just like they did in 1924.
It wouldn't take much to install the Confederacy Council today. All illegal corporate entities have to be removed. Six Nations jurisdiction can now be respected. The legitimate nation-to-nation relationship can resume as it was at the beginning of the colonial period, through the formative years of British North America and the formation of Canada.
No state has a right to make orders to dissolve anyone else's government. Canada must acknowledge its error and make reparations. We can now assert our right to self-government that existed before they came here and is now acknowledged under international law. As President Wilson said in 1914, "The day of conquest and aggrandizement is gone." Almost a century later, it's time for Canada to wake up and get on board. Even the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People acknowledges that we have a right to self-determination.
Canada can never use padlocks again to exclude us from our sovereign governments and our public buildings. Now that international law supports Indigenous self-determination, there is nothing to stop all of us from asserting our jurisdiction to our lands and resources through our traditional governments.
Canada, you have to keep the peace and butt out of our business. It's time for you to learn how to obey the laws. It's important to make sure there is an orderly and smooth transition back to the way things were and always should have been. The Confederacy Council shall be fully reinstated.
You undermined us before by holding our vast trust funds. You can't keep this from us anymore by deposing us.
Canada, you have to deal with us as equals. If you don't, just remember what your own Supreme Court says in the Quebec Secession Reference, "Just because you can do something doesn't make it legal."
If you believe in the rule of law, let's see it. Admit you're wrong. Give us our finances. Give us the accounting we've been asking for since 1920 and before. In other words, face up to the ugly truth and leave corruption behind. We want to do business on a decent and honest nation-to-nation basis.
Canada is a foreign colony. Colonialism is just so yesterday! Everywhere else in the world, if you don't want to decolonize, you leave. Indigenous people everywhere have the same rights as we do at Six Nations. Our monies and resources have been and continue to be used to build all of corporate Canada. It's all ours.
Canada, get used to the new relationship with your landlords. Have a Happy New Year and a great big bowl of "hangover" soup!
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