Sovereignty and Hypocrisy

Well, the previous blog posting discussing "inconsistency" in relation to the use of the sovereignty concept at Six Nations, and alluded to some hypocrisy in the way it all plays out.  No more alluding - we can now use the word hypocrisy full bore.  In what has to be at the very least a completely embarrassing (to some) and classic example of the "do as we say, not as we do" philosophy, we find that the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) at the center of yet another controversy.  Here from the git go they have been preaching (without evidence) that "we are a sovereign people and need not consult with either the Federal Government nor the Ontario Provincial Government".  They have consistently maintained that they are the true representatives of the Six Nations community, and that they are not Canadians, but Haudenosaunee people.  Of course this does not stop them from taking all the goodies (e.g., grants, transfer payments) that can be got from both the Canadian and Ontario governments legally available only on the basis of being citizens of Canada.  They claim that Ontario has no jurisdiction over lands that they decide (with no evidence) belong to Haudenosaunee people (e.g., the Douglas Creek Estates which their thugs have "reclaimed"), and no longer belong in the Ontario Land Registry system, but one of their own creation - the "Haudeosaunee Land Registry").  They maintain that if they deem it in their best interests to speak to Ottawa or Toronto, then it is on a nation to nation basis as they refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the Government of Ontario as having any role in Six Nations affairs.

Therefore, while it comes as absolutely no surprise to myself and other HDI "watchers", some, including the people they are supposed to represent, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) have been taken off guard with regard to certain recent HDI actions which were apparently done without consultation with the HCCC Chiefs and Clan Mothers.  Furthermore, these actions appear to be clearly hypocritical.

Reporters with the "Two Row Times" paper have unconvered some apparently "shady dealings" which call into question whether the HDI simply operates on principals of convenience, and seemingly those that will maximize the primary goal - the obtaining of as much money from as many sources as possible for the HDI, without any accountability.  In the interests of clarity, the present author will use large quotes from this TRT article of 22 July 2015 and allow the reader to draw their own conclusions.  I suspect that those who have been following this blog over the years will just be shaking their heads in another, "you have got to be kidding" moment.  This time they may have seriously overstepped their bounds, and will be in for a lot of "explaining" (again) to their parent body, the HCCC.  There are already significant "rumblings of discontent", and these may ultimately coalesce into a storm - although the HDI have been very "slippery" and been able to find their way back into the good graces of the people of Six Nations as they have on and off since 2006. Something of a Teflon group to deal with, but to date they have always managed to land on their feet.  Here follow some relevant quotes, all with grey background and directly from TRT.

SIX NATIONS – A recent Corporate Profile Report confirms that the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) is operating as a numbered corporation, registered under the jurisdiction of Ontario as ‘2438543 Ontario Inc.’.

Two Row Times obtained documents showing land was purchased on Pauline Johnson Road, just outside the borders of the Six Nations Reserve. The April 2015 purchase occurred between a Brant County resident and a corporation named only as ‘2438543 Ontario Inc.’.

Local residents near the Pauline Johnson Road property informed the TRT that the land had been “sold to HDI”.

Copies of the land transfer given to TRT did not name HDI, but instead listed a corporation with the same mailing address as HDI.

An online search through the Ministry of Government Services listed ‘2438543 Ontario Inc.’ as a “Corporation under the jurisdiction of Ontario”. Hazel Hill is noted as the Director of the Corporation, which was launched in October of 2014, and identifies Hill as a Canadian resident.

Additional research confirmed that on May 27, 2015 a change was submitted to the corporate structure: adding Aaron Detlor as Secretary and Brian Doolittle as President. Both men are also at the core of HDI and are listed on the document as Canadian residents.

HDI has publicly stated numerous times they have been “legislated” by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) as the “administrative arm” of the community’s traditional governing body.

However, since the formation of the Confederacy the Haudenosaunee people have stood on the grounds of sovereignty – not being under the jurisdiction of Ontario and that the Haudenosaunee people are not Canadians.

HDI has also publicly condemned the Elected Council as a merely an extension of the federal government, further declaring the Confederacy is the legitimate self-governing body of Haudenosaunee people of the Grand River Territory.

Employees of HDI have insisted they are only operating under the leadership of the HCCC. HDI lawyer Aaron Detlor recently addressed the question of why he is on Six Nations, saying, “…because the Confederacy has asked me to do that work. The Chief’s Council asked me to do the work, so I do the work. I do negotiations. I draft agreements.”

HDI has also very publicly stated that registering land under the HDI, would protect and preserve Six Nations sovereignty by not requiring registration under the Ontario Realty Corp.

TRT emailed HDI to seek clarification regarding the formation of this corporation operating out of the HDI office at the GREAT building in Ohsweken.

HDI media director and publisher of the Turtle Island News, Lynda Powless, responded to those questions, saying that at the November 2014 meeting of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, the formation of this corporation “was publicly discussed and a full description given and HCCC approval received (Dec. 24th).”

Profile reports for the numbered corporation however, state that the corporation was formed on October 20, 2014; before Powless said the approval was given.

Six Nations residents, clan mothers and chiefs the TRT has spoken to seem to know nothing about the corporation and were upset when shown the corporate profile.

TRT has also obtained copies of a letter written by HDI Director Hazel Hill, showing that despite several Canada-wide protests over the controversial Enbridge Pipeline, HDI has engaged with Enbridge to seek some form of financial restitution in exchange for their support. 

This information points to the possibility that much of what HDI does is for its own enhancement in the jockeying for power that is the undercurrent playing out there.  It suggests that it is all about the MONEY, and the disposition of the money (who gets what) is unknown since HDI will not open their books.

The hypocrisy part enters the picture when you look at the "ideals" of the HDI (sovereignty being non - negotiable), versus their "actions" (backing off the sovereignty dogma is fine when convenient).  So they are not Canadians unless their are funds and perks that can accrue by claiming Canadian status; and they are anti - pipeline unless the pipeline corporation is willing to cough up some cash then the whole matter quietly is shuffled to the side.  I am sure that many people believe that this cannot possibly be true, there must be an explanation that keeps the HDI shining as a beacon for Haudenosaunee sovereignty and for being in the forefront of environmental awareness.  If so, where is the evidence?  They say they will open the books, but then put so many stipulations about say clan membership and so on such that no one is going to be able to meet the criteria and have access to the full range of books.  "Trust me" they say.  It reminds me of an old Al Greene song, "The Snake" - about a kindly person who took in a cold and hungry snake and it ended up biting her with its venomous fangs, and as the woman was dying the snake said , "what did you expect, I am a snake".  Alas the woman did not see that early enough and was far too trusting - and paid the ultimate price.

DeYo.