The Problem: In what is one of the most egregious and downright bizarre actions of the Provincial Government, they, via the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), has to date left the Caledonia and the Haldimand County Council "out of the loop" in discussions about moving forward with the Caledonia Argyle Street Bridge replacement project due to begin in 2020. Just a reminder that Caledonia is a municipality within the County of Haldimand, and it has only one bridge - the above noted Argyle Street Bridge connecting the north and south sides of Caledonia across the Grand River. Therefore why is the MTO is in closed discussions with the Six Nations Elected Council and the Mississaugas of New Credit is a mystery. The latter bodies have absolutely no business, either legal or moral, to be sticking their nose in a matter that is entirely within the jurisdiction of the County of Haldimand - the relevant facts will be detailed below.
The response of the Mayor of Haldimand County to being left out of the communications relative to the Argyle Street Bridge work is detailed in The Haldimand Press, Vol. 45, No. 37, Thursday 19 September 2019 in an article entitled, "Mayor questions MTO's communication of Argyle Bridge work in Caledonia" by Lindsey Stuckless. Here we note that Mayor Hewitt, "was confused as to why the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is having communication with Mississaugas of the New Credit and Six Nations without including Haldimand County". Recall that all the land on both sides of the Grand River was purchased by Governor Haldimand from the Mississaugas in 1784 (they have never contested this fact), donated as Crown land to the Six Nations as compensation for lands lost during the American Revolution in Upstate New York. These lands were subsequently surrendered in 1844 by all the Chiefs in Council - so in effect no "aboriginal" group has any legitimate right to a legal say in the matter of the new bridge. The records are absolutely clear on this point. ONLY the Haldimand County Council has jurisdiction here, in terms of negotiating with the MTO.
Mayor Hewitt further states that, "I am perplexed that you said regular communication is taking place with our neighbours and we have not been kept in the loop". A major concern (very real based on events since 2006), as stated by Ward 3 (Caledonia) Councillor Lawrence is that, "a plan must be in place in case construction is halted", and further that, "We cannot take this issue lightly. A stoppage of work on the bridge can halt all of Caledonia". Hereabouts we have all seen the fall out of "actions" by Six Nations militants who have stopped work on land developments, green energy projects, and of course the Cayuga Bridge extorting bribes to allow the work to continue. Considering that most at the lower end of the Six Nations Reserve use Argyle Street and the present Argyle Street Bridge, and many Six Nations businesses depend on this axis, it is possible that there would be some discontent within the Reserve on this matter - but that has never stopped the Men's Fire and other agents of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) from advancing their agenda to return the Hereditary Council to power by any means available (and siphon as much money as possible in the process).
The Facts as to Land Rights: Clearly a history lesson is needed to help get a grasp of the realities (versus the perceptions and beliefs). The lands that are now Caledonia were sold by the Crawford family, Barefoot Onondagas, in a deed dating to the 1840s. The present author has seen the deed and recalls seeing the signatures of all of the Crawford family, including William and Abraham, who sold their rights to this property under their claimed ownership (a fact never questioned by the Six Nations at the time - anymore than the ownership of the Johnson or Martin family properties up River was questioned). This was Crawford land and they disposed of it legally, and without being contested by the then Six Nations Council. The land was then surveyed and parceled into town lots and patents issued after the land surrender of Seneca (north side of River) and Oneida Townships (south side of River) in the 1840s. William Crawford purchased one of these lots along the Plank Road (what is today Argyle Street) and established an inn on the site. He never at any subsequent time claimed any ownership rights beyond this.
At this point it would be helpful if the present author could post a copy of the above noted deed, but alas it has gone missing (was stolen?) from the Haldimand County Museum and Archives at some point before 2010. It was last seen among other records in the hands of "two women from Ohsweken" - according to a previous curator of the Museum. If ever needed, the original deed could be produced as it is safe within the walls of Library and Archives Canada (LAC). In addition, the records for Seneca Township, due to be transferred (legally) from the Indian Office in Brantford to the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, were "removed" (stolen) by Six Nations members, taken to the Library in the Museum of the Woodland Indian (now affectionately referred to as the "Mushole") for microfilming (seen there by reliable sources), and transferred to the Land Management Office for Six Nations in Ohsweken.
As noted in earlier postings, the records for Oneida Township were sent to the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) prior to the theft of the comparable records for Seneca Township, and are available for consultation. The present author requested a microfilm copy of these items from LAC and has made copies of the relevant documents (LAC, RG10, Vol. 729, Land Inspection Returns for Oneida Township, Issued 11March 1844, microfilm reel C-13415). A record of which lots here were owned by which members of the Crawford family is documented here - but again only for the south side of the River.
The Future: In Caledonia we are facing the inevitable prospect of two full years of a nightmare of closures and detours which aggravates the already overwhelmed infrastructure (try getting out of a side street on to Argyle Street at any time of day). Our recall of multiple Argyle Street blockades at the site of the former Douglas Creek Estates (now Kanonstaton in the hands of Six Nations due to capitulation by the Provincial Government) from 2006 onwards is very fresh in our minds - having only stopped a year ago.
Undoubtedly there will be much much more on this matter that will emerge between now and the slated completion date in 2022. If this becomes anything like the Hydro One Niagara Reinforcement Line completion, that date (year) is laughable.
Do facts matter?
DY.
Nice to be back and so what else is new? Well here in Niagara, for the seventh year in a row, we have the so-called "deer hunt" by by that same group of Haudenosaunee from Six Nations; they have continued what can only be called a slaughter of tame deer and does, leaving many wounded and suffering slow deaths; again this is within Shorthills Provincial Park which is supposed to be protected but has now become almost inhabitable due to the devastation of the habitat caused by this wanton "hunting"; most recently the anti-hunters are experiencing a backlash for rather vocal and emotional protests and are being called racist and even receiving death threats; the entire media in Niagara continue to support the "hunt" on the basis of "treaty rights" and you can probably guess that it is the same old argument using "Nanfan"; neither the complicit media or a single politician will make any effort to look at the truth and the facts and any mention of historical records by me or anyone else is immediately removed and the writer "blacklisted";so the usual propaganda machine goes on, aided and abetted by professors and "social justice" students from the local university(Brock) who seem to not have the slightest notion of what intellectual integrity means; be assured that there is no necessary "cull" going on here but rather a government-sponsored appeasement of a radical faction which we were all too familiar with in Caledonia; and, as was inevitable in Caledonia, I expect that violence can be expected in the very near future.
ReplyDeleteHello MyOrenda,
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Yes, the "Beat Goes On" in Niagara, Caledonia, and at the moment of me penning this reply - all across Canada. We are being held hostage by government and law enforcement who, at all levels, have abrogated their responsibility to appease the same elements within aboriginal communities and universities once again, proving that their anarchy can bring a local community or even the country to its knees and the public just twiddles their thumbs as millions upon millions of dollars are lost to the economy. What a power rush these lawless elements must receive as impotence reigns supreme.
Thanks for your reply and it's very encouraging to know that you are still there and one of the few sane voices out there; you are quite right to focus on "responsibility" or the lack of, as I believe that is a root cause of so much political and cultural failure that we are seeing on a global scale; observers of history and philosophy can see the issues for what they really are and feel the same helplessness when they realize facts and the truth are no longer valued in a world of political correctness and intellectual cowardice; there may be some faint hope that justice can prevail through legal systems and faith in the "rule of law" in overcoming the mindless ideologies we are confronted with on a daily basis;sadly there are now far too many cases where government has actively intervened to influence the courts on behalf of political expediency and false claims of "victimhood"; we are in deep crisis on so many levels and locally nationally and world-wide and have learned little from past historical realities; from "Judgment at Nuremberg": " A country is what it stands for, when standing for something is most difficult; this is what we stand for: truth, justice and the value of a single human being!"
DeleteSplendidly articulated MyOrenda!
ReplyDelete