First Nations Education Act: What Exactly Does Six Nations Want?

In an article entitled, Chief-elect setting up Education Action plan to fight Federal bill (Turtle Island News, November 27, 2013, p.5), it is asserted that a major problem with all the fuss about the pending implementation of the First Nations Education Act is that Six Nations has not come up with an action plan.  The only thing that is agreed upon is that the Federal legislation is rejected.  But as Councillor Miller has astutely said, this is not enough, you can’t just say you disagree with something then not come up with a viable plan – things don’t work that way.  There appears to be no agreement as to whether a joint plan with the Assembly of First Nations would be the best way to proceed – some disagree, some agree.  Chief-Elect Hill has proposed a media campaign to let people know that they are opposed to the First Nations Education Act (due to be implemented in January 2014) – but one might again ask the question – then what is the proposal – what is the solution?  The focus seems to be once again on the past.  The school supplies for 2013 were late in arriving - for reasons that to this author are unclear.

 

An old adage applies here, “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions”.  If Six Nations does not like what the Federal Government are proposing, they will need to have a specific plan in place and apparently there is nothing remotely of this nature anywhere in the works.  Councillor Miller stated that neither the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) or the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) have an action plan.  Time is running out.  The fall back plan will have to be acceptance of the Federal plan unless the Chiefs get their act in gear.  This does not seem likely.  What does seem likely is that once the Federal Government enacts its legislation, it will be roundly criticised, but is there a single party out there with a viable plan (other than pouring more money into the system) which will address the wishes of the Six Nations (and other FN) Community?  Since there is absolutely nothing on the horizon, just complaints, then we may as well just prepare for lots of belly aching from those who did not have any fresh ideas to offer the Federal Government – who is somehow supposed to work miracles and please 600 plus First Nations communities.  That is completely unrealistic.

This is highlighted by the further article in the same source as above (p. 5), First Nations oppose “unacceptable” federal education reform plan.  The Assembly of First Nations Chief, Shawn Atleo, complains, almost to the point of obsession, about the old residential school system (not wanting to go back to those days), and that there was a lack of consultation, and little recognition of the importance of language and culture.  On and on with what he believes are problems, so the griping is unremitting, but never specific solutions.  There is a crying need to lay all the facts out on the table, and assess the merits or downside of each.  Trying to see both sides, if I were a Federal official, it would seem to be the prudent thing to simply stick with the status quo until such time as the various First Nations representatives can come up with some explicit details as to what needs to be done – not just blanket statements about past wrongs etc. etc.  The plan is “unacceptable” – is that the best you’ve got?  No wonder so many people are frustrated.

 

DeYo.

Bilingual Education at Six Nations

If someone in say Rexdale Ontario was to hear the words, "bilingual education", the meaning here would be English - French.  French immersion would be a school where English speaking children would be "immersed" and taught in the "other language" for much of the curriculum.  This option seems attractive to many Middle Class parents, who believe that bilingual education is superior, although the present author is not familiar with any scientific studies (facts) comparing outcome for students enrolled in these schools versus the more tradition kind where French is introduced as a second language either in Grade 3 or 7 (for example).  In Santa Ana California, the meaning would be English - Spanish.  At Six Nations, generally the term would refer to English plus one of the Six Nations languages which would be taught as a second language (for those who were not exposed to say Seneca extensively in the home), or there would be an immersion, whereby English would take a back seat while the children were taught in one of the two most "healthy" languages (e.g., in terms of numbers of competent native speakers) on the Reserve - Mohawk or Cayuga.

If the Six Nations can agree to accept the offer of the McKenzie Meadows Development corporation, then they would have the opportunity to establish another of the Kawenni : io, K to 12 private schools, as seen in the link here.

 

The school offers private Cayuga and Mohawk immersion programmes.  So in 2013, with a curriculum in Ontario that is already being gutted of art and music and everything pared to the bone – how could a school such as this produce an individual who is prepared to compete in the world of 2013 and beyond?  I would like to see some hard evidence as to the efficacy of the French immersion programmes that are popular in the Greater Toronto area.  Perhaps they produce children much better prepared to shoulder roles in the broader Canadian world (e.g., armed forces, civil service) – at the moment if someone was to ask my opinion, it would be to ensure that a child is given the chance to learn Mandarin or Arabic.  However, it is fluency in the English language that is the key which will open the most doors across the world – like it or not, that is the reality which will not change in the foreseeable future.  Travel to Italy and see how many people you can find there to speak in English or French (very very few who are fluent).  However travel north a few miles into Switzerland, Germany, Holland, and especially the Scandinavian countries, one finds that often everyone speaks some English, and many speak it fluently.  The Scandinavians know that the English language is the lingua franca of the world business community and the facility of the average person in English is amazing.

I don’t know the answer to the following questions, but do know that they are critically important.  How many fluent speakers of Cayuga and Mohawk are there who are also certified as teachers in subjects such as maths and sciences?  Can these subjects be taught in Cayuga and Mohawk?  I know a number of excellent speakers of Mohawk and Cayuga who do not reside on the Reserve at present (some reside in the U.S.A.), and are employed in other occupations.  I am not sure how realistic it would be to offer these individuals incentives to obtain their teaching credentials and take the chance on a new avocation when perhaps they are quite content doing what it is they are doing.  Also, there are significant differences between the Mohawk spoken at Six Nations and Tyendinaga, and the dialect used at Akwesasne and Kanawaki.  This could be a problem in recruiting suitable applicants.  Cayuga is more problematic in that the largest number of Cayuga came up to Six Nations with a lesser number scattered about Reservations in New York State.  Hence recruitment would generally tap into only those who are connected with Six Nations - thereby restricting the eligible pool of candidates.

 

The answers to these questions must be addressed before any attempt to supplant the Ontario curriculum with “alternate” educational strategies.  People can speak Cayuga or Mohawk in the home, and there can be weekend classes – but Six Nations people must ask, will their children thrive under such a programme?  How much support is there out there for an unproven school curriculum which could torpedo a child’s chances at success in for example getting into McMaster University Medical School?  Is there not an urgent need for medical personnel with ties to the Community?  This brings up the conflict over the First Nations Educational Act that the Federal Government wants to put in place.  In an editorial (TIN, 27 November, 2013, p. 4), Lynda Powless calls for more local input, and greater cultural and language recognition (to help erase the “stain” of the Residential School system), and for the Federal Government to address the perceived chronic underfunding of the system.  I am not at all versed sufficiently, so will only offer up the obvious – one cannot have everything.  By sticking to a curriculum that is offered to all Canadians, it means that someone from Six Nations should have the skills to compete for jobs and positions in post – secondary education where professional training will yield better jobs and a better standard of living.  I am not at all convinced that immersing children in the full cultural – linguistic environment envisioned by those who want to rid the educational system on the Reserves of conformity is doing justice to those who will be most directly impacted.  Be very very careful in what you ask for – you may one day have occasion to regret “demanding” something that is counter productive to producing future community leaders who can walk comfortably in two worlds – something that to me is a laudable goal.  The same demands were made in some American schools for a more “Black centred” educational system.  Alas, I have not seen any examples where the implementation of this sort of amendment to what other students will be exposed to will in any way shape or form allow African – American students to acquire the skills needed to enter the work force with the necessary tools to allow them to become stock brokers, or CEOs or CFOs or really to be in a position to obtain any high profile high powered job in Government or industry where they are on a level playing field with other competitors (e.g., Hispanic).  In many cases this will simply be a formula for failure that could be foreseen long in advance, but because it was not politically expedient no one stopped the freight train and as a consequence, Black kids fall further behind and disillusionment is even more pervasive. 

Perhaps there is something to be learned by studying the experience of in the Celtic fringe of the British Isles.  Although the apparent last Cornish speaker, John Davey died in 1891, see here, the culture has never been so vibrant - see here.  While there are attempts to try to revive the language, it is not essential to the feeling of being Cornish, which is more about knowing that one’s roots lie not in the Anglo-Saxon invaders, but in the native Celtic – speaking Britons who were pushed to the far west margins of the country.  I wonder sometimes if there is something to be learned in finding out exactly how the attempts to weave language and culture into the curriculum in schools in Wales, Ireland and Scotland (as well as Cornwall England) has impacted the children’s ability to compete.  My sense is that they have found a formula which works for them.  I am not saying that by applying this approach directly here, we would see the same success, but it would be worth investigating before committing to something that may simply drag Six Nations students further toward to poverty line and send the message that they can only “make it” locally.  Should we not be sending the message that you can be whatever you want to be with the proper background, parental encouragement, community involvement, and a knowledge of the standard curriculum expected of all Canadian students?  A diploma from a respected school at Six Nations and a High School leaving certificate from say Caledonia or Hagersville High Schools should open the doors to higher education or business success.  Anything which impedes this progress will inevitably slow the progress of Six Nations children in transitioning to take advantage of the many opportunities “out there”.

In a speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto at the end of November, Manley said it raised serious questions about Canada’s preparedness for an increasingly knowledge-based economy.
“[A]s a Canadian, what really troubles me is the growing body of evidence that shows Canada is falling behind when it comes to equipping its citizens with the broad knowledge and cross-cutting skills that are required to succeed in life, and in an increasingly competitive global economy,” Manley said, according to a copy of his speech, see here. 

So if Canada is falliing behind, we must be very aware of making changes that will negatively affect the children of Six Nations - ensuring that they are not being set up for falling behind students in schools across Canada.  It is all very tricky, but it is necessary to be very honest about what various choices will likely mean to the students of Six Nations.  Clearly, intuitive opinions are not what is needed.  It would be terribly unfair to the youth of Six Nations not to "do right" by them and ensure that they will be put on a footing which will prepare them for the world at large.  Perhaps the Kawenni : io Schools are clearing the best path for Six Nations students, but that is far from evident at this point in time.

DeYo.

Why Another "Caledonia 2006" is Unlikely: An Update on the McKenzie Meadows Development

The most recent update as to what is happening re the "controversy" over the McKenzie Meadows Development is found in an article in Turtle Island News, November 27, 2013, p. 3, entitled,  Community voiceless in McKenzie Meadows across from former DCE. 

 

As noted in an earlier blog posting, there were to be three "community" sessions to discuss the proposed plan negotiated between the representatives of the Elected Band Council, and a developer whose company plans to create a residential development that would begin at McKenzie Road, and the extreme southern part of Caledonia, and over time would reach the part of the land directly opposite the infamous Douglas Creek Estates (Kanonhstaton) site on Argyll Street South.  At the third of three information sessions, according to the above article, Six Nations community members voiced loud opposition to the elected council’s involvement in a new development deal across the street from the former Douglas Creek Estate lands.  But those voices might not matter.

Lonny Bomberry, council’s land and development resources co-ordinator, admitted to the nearly 50 people gathered at the community hall last Thursday night that developers can use the Canadian courts to get an injunction on Six Nations protestors and proceed with their housing subdivision - with or without Six Nations’ approval.

 

The article continues, with Aaron Detlor, lawyer for the HDI wing of the Hereditary Council, saying that, The band council is always setting themselves up for failure. However the band council did attempt to consult with the hereditary council, but that fell off the rails – because of three deaths that left the confederacy council without meetings for three months.   In the modern world this simply won’t work – if decisions have to be made they need to happen “on schedule”, or some sort of substitute process be put in place. The hereditary council will never change, that is in a sense part of their role, but with the interface against the rest of the world it can create a great deal of frustration in a situation where delays for other reasons have been legion.  It is 2013 not 1813. Silence [from the community] cannot be taken as a yes according to the traditionalists. Well, if people don’t speak up until the last minute what do they expect?  Furthermore, Bomberry insisted that what the community decides is what will happen. He said that the Six Nations ‘holds a hammer” over the development. That may have been true in 2006, but 7 years later, much has changed such that when push comes to shove, we will see how much of a “hammer” Six Nations wields. 

Reading between the lines, it appears that Bomberry may be aware of the “Holmes Report” and of course is cognizant of the Court injunctions in Brantford that have resulted in fines levied against protestors including the HDI in the amount of $325,000 – with the likelihood that the HDI, and / or, its leaders Hazel Hill and Aaron Detlor, will be on the hook for the entire amount (it was elsewhere noted that the others named in the Court action likely do not have to funds to pay their share of the fine).  In addition, the Ontario Superior Court has recently been willing to "show its teeth", and drop the hammer on those who would disrupt legal development.  Perhaps Bomberry is somewhat in denial, or felt compelled to "play to the audience".

 

Judging by the response of some in the audience, many to most at Six Nations have not grasped the “new reality” as clearly attested to in the "Holmes Report".  The land is not theirs, it was surrendered before 1850, and the new circumstances were accepted by all parties, the land put on title in the Ontario Land Registry system, and it is only recently (long after the Statute of Limitations has expired) that some decided to assert that the documents are wrong, that their ancestors did not really intend to sell the land, and so on – absolutely nothing which could ever be proved in a Court of law or in even any forum which looks at the history versus these new entrenched but erroneous beliefs that much of the Haldimand Tract still comes under Six Nations authority.  As has been noted elsewhere in this blog, on many occasions, this belief cannot be sustained when coming up against the facts of the matter.  In 2006, this perspective of land ownership had not been addressed to the point where the Canadian Government, the Ontario Government, and the Ontario Provincial Police could coordinate their response to the illegal and criminal acts being perpetrated brazenly at DCE.  The OPP was still stinging from the effects of the Ipperwash investigation and their new role as "peacekeepers".  Since that time the OPP has been the butt of anger and frustration and accusations of double standards in policing (racial profiling).  Clearly, with the efforts of Gary McHale (e.g., his 2013 book on the OPP failures), and many others, the OPP will eventually be prodded to "serve and protect" and to blazes with the "peacekeeper" nonsense.  One law for all, no exceptions, this is the only approach that will work.  It may take a different Party in Toronto (it was the Liberals and McGinty who have to bear the burden of responsibility of failing the citizens of Caledonia and surrounds).

I maintain that any attempt by Six Nations to use any “strong arm” tactics as occurred in 2006 will be doomed to failure and will see a totally different response from all parties.  Not only has the Ontario Government validated its Land Registry system, and will stand by it, but any mass movement of people from the Rez will be nipped in the bud at varying locations since the development is “off the beaten path”.  No Highway 6 here, no Argyll Street.  The McKenzie Meadows property does not lend itself to the same terror tactics that were used at the DCE in 2006 where there was an “open door” to the Reserve via 5^th and 6^th Lines (and Stirling Street before the bridge was torched).

So if the present author is saying that Caledonia 2006 is not going to happen again (or is much less likely anyway), then what is it that is different "this time"? For one thing, the speeding ATVs and other “methods” used to intimidate and terrorize the local people simply would not work in this new setting – and of course Caledonia is fed up with the whole business and it can be virtually guaranteed that any attempt to create another 2006 in that location would result in a much more structured resistance on the part of locals, and with the Canadian Courts willing to step in and order compliance, and levy enforceable fines against the leaders of any insurrection. The times, they have changed.  Any attempt to re-create 2006 will see angry local residents, no longer cowed by labels of racism, and wise to the tactics of the anarchist – Marxist supporters, sure to ensure that only a comedy will play out this time and Six Nations will have egg all over their face.  No back up this time.  If a group of Six Nations agitators is on McKenzie Street they may find an angry Haldimand community hell bent for revenge to contend with.  What if this time the passports issued will not be for Haldimand residents to return to their home, but for the Six Nations members to be permitted to return home via public roads.  Although not possessing a crystal ball, I can see a complete role reversal this time around and could it be possible that the OPP will no longer wish to allow itself to be a door mat for Six Nations agitators, and instead institute an immediate arrest for any offence and to blazes with the Ipperwash Report which only ended up embarrassing the officers who signed an oath to serve and protect – no more being "peacemakers" catering to the whims of the vocal and violent element at Six Nations that seemed to rule the roost last go around.  In taking the pulse of many of the locals, they are itching for an opportunity to ensure that the shoe is on the other foot this time around.  Mark my words, the next time, if there is a next time, we will see a sea of Canadian flags swamping the Mohawk Warrior and supporter (e.g., CAW, CUPE) flags.

DeYo.

A Roll Call of the Con Artists, Rabble Rousing Activists, Extortionists, etc. Working at Six Nations

This will be the shortest post of the over 40 hammered out in the last three weeks (obviously I must think I have a lot to say).

The reason for being so parsimonious here is that someone has completely upstaged me, and has given an amazingly insightful look into the cast of characters that plague Six Nations - including one, Kevin Annett, who has somehow convinced people that he found a virtual ossuary of human bones at a residential school (apparently the author is referring to the Mohawk Institute).  I had not heard his name mentioned before, although I have blogged about the search for skeletal remains at the Mohawk Institute, said "investigation" being based only on hearsay and stories.  Anyway, this was a way out there con - and people fell for it.  The article is a very sad tale of people ripping off members of Six Nations; and members of Six Nations ripping off others.  All very sordid, but very compelling since everything that the author says rings true.  A lot of now familiar names, and / or groups factor into the "big picture".  And all this at home, or in our back yard.  The author titles his article, "The Mess at the Six Nations:  Unions, Anarchists, Marxists & Con Artists .......... "

The cast:

1)  Kevin Annett (apparently non-Native) - alleged con artist who conned Six Nations out of funds

2)  Occupy Toronto

3)  Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)

4)  Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

5)  Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI)

6)  Aaron Detlor (unknown whether Native or not) - Lawyer, and legal adviser for HDI

7)  Jason Bowman (non-Native) - alleged to be either a con artist or insane, provides legal advice to the Mohawk Workers

8)  Toronto Media Co-op (TMC) - a "radical anarchist publication" with alleged links to CAW and HDI

9)  Alex Hundert (non-Native as are all those noted below) - Jailed Anarchist involved in the G20 riots

10)  Judy Rebick - Ryerson University, Political Sciences - alleged involvement with Kevin Annett

11)  Winnie Ng - Ryerson University, Political Sciences - alleged involvement with Kevin Annett

12)  Steve Watson - CAW, alleged association with Black Bloc and other anarchists

13)  Tom Keefer - CUPE, alleged radical anarchist

14)  Others - the connections involved a nexus of elements tied through their Marxist philosophy, and willing to use violence and other anti-social tactics to attempt to get their point across

Please read the following to see the interconnected parts - please click here.

DeYo.

A Historical Review of the Role of Clans at Six Nations to 2013

I will kick off a discussion of this subject by some historical details, and end with a quote from something Hazel Hill said within a couple of days prior to this posting.  In effect she said that the proper channel for anyone at Six Nations to obtain information about the deals being made by the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) and its overseer the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), is to request it of their Hereditary Chief and Clan Mother.  To say that this is unrealistic, would be a significant understatement.  Here follows the reasons why.

First it is important to note that the Six Nations Community is divided in their support for the Elected Council (SNEC) and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC).  The latter has no legal standing with the Federal Government of Canada, but its presence is part of the history (and resilience) of the Six Nations people.  The Hereditary Chiefs, due to a flood of petitions from dissatisfied Six Nations members as well as the local Indian Department representatives, lost their role as the official representatives of the Six Nations in 1924.  In this year the Government sent the RCMP to lock the Longhouse and instead install an elected council.  The move has remained a bitter pill and a thorn to this day.  1924 can be a rallying cry for some, who attribute many of their woes to the "arbitrary" and "colonialist" decision by the Canadian Government.  However, although the Elected Council has remained to this day the official governing body at Six Nations, there is a very determined group that believes that the Hereditary Council, structured on the basis of clan membership, is the only legitimate body.  The reason for this belief, extending to today, is that the Great Law (Kayenashagowa), with roots tracing as far back as perhaps the 12th Century, has ordained that this is the legitimate form of governance for Haudenosaunee people.

In traditional Six Nations society, you were a member of your mother's clan.  So if she was Wolf, her mother was a Wolf, and you were Wolf as were all your siblings and kin in the female line.  This lineage is precisely what is seen in genetics with the inheritance of mitochondrial DNA - which comes from the mother's mother's mother etc. back in time.  However, you were also a member of a particular Ohwashira or family lineage, each with a hereditary chief and clan mother.  In the early days, all would live in one longhouse with the males residing with the wife's kin. 

In for example the Oneidas, there were three families for each clan so a total of 9 chiefs that would attend Council at Onondaga (the "firekeepers").  Since, due to for example wars and disease, some families went extinct, their role would be adopted by another supposedly within the same clan - although that "rule" went out the door a long time ago.  The system, with the comings and goings between families in Canada and the U.S.A., or even within Canada (for example the large number of Bay of Quinte Mohawks who emigrated to Six Nations in the 1830s), ensured that eventually it all broke down and only small parts remained intact.

Realistically the whole system changed with the American Revolution when the "Council fire at Onondaga was extinguished".  Although represented at Six Nations in Canada today, in fact most of the Oneida and Tuscarora supported the Rebel (Patriot) side and remained in the U.S.A. until recent times.  In 1785, there was a very diverse group of people who settled on the Haldimand Tract, and this included many Annishenabe people including a large contingent of Delaware.  They did not fit easily into the system with the supposed 50 Chiefs who represented the Six Nations (however many of these chiefships remained and remain to this day in the U.S.A.) - so there were never 50 chiefs at Six Nations - the numbers varied significantly over time.  Both Marion Chadwick and Seth Newhouse (noted elsewhere) attempted to collect the names of all the chiefs at Six Nations.  The former found many to be vacant, "extinct", or held by a family in the U.S.A.  The latter did attempt to locate all the names associated with each clan and family at Six Nations, and was quite successful - but acknowledged that the system had broken down and what he was writing was basically a history of times gone by (see Fenton, 1949, p. 150).  By then, people (especially the Christian element) had largely lost a knowledge of their clan, and might affiliate with one clan but on the basis of pragmatic reasons.  During the 19th Century there was a lot of turmoil at Six Nations and the family structures became quite chaotic (as seen in the various census records of for example Tuscarora Township from 1851 to 1901).  Broken homes, informal adoptions, illegitimacy and so on were common (see Shimony noted elsewhere) but the matrilineal aspect of Six Nations society tended to keep the society functioning, but the clan system among a large part of the Reserve was defunct by 1890 or so.  The Canadian Government exacerbated the problem in 1869 by changing the definition of who was and who was not a status Indian such that the focus became a definition of tribe or band based on paternal inheritance (following the surname).  Hence by the time of Goldenweiser's important work on kinship at Six Nations in 1914, knowledge of the traditional kinship units was blurry at best (Weaver, 1978, p. 527).

According to Shimony, as a result of all of the above changes and factors, it became impossible to retain the old organisation under present pressure.  Thus what we see today is not a direct link to the revered and idealised past.  At the time when Shimony made her well respected study of conservatism at Six Nations (in the 1950s), it was not uncommon for families to claim the right to appoint a chief, and would, often make false claims of lineage affiliation, with the result that controversies have been in progress on this matter as long as can be remembered.  Shimony further said that, even Longhouse participants often do not know their lineage and clan affiliation, and when asked will simply name the leading clan on their moiety side, assuming that to be their own clan.  Furthermore, as a result of the confusion and breakdown of information, children are not told accurately what their clan affiliation is.  Hence, the supposedly consanguineal kin groups sometimes define themselves through ceremonial or political affiliation rather than through known or putative matrilineal descent (p. 27). 

The rules and functions of the clan had yielded to various pressures at different times in the past, long before the Canadian Government could be used as a lightening rod for blame.  Clan exogamy was the rule.  A Turtle does not marry a Turtle - even if of a different tribe.  Numerous examples can be found of this practise being ignored before the Six Nations set foot on the Haldimand Tract.  Thomas Davis (after whom Davisville on Hardy Road in Brantford was named) was a Wolf, as was his wife Hester (as seen in various deeds they signed in the early days of settlement).  They married about 1760, and this violation of the "do not marry within the same clan" taboo was being ignored for a long time.  So the importance of clans has slowly been sliding downhill relative to the early Confederacy ideals - and so the statement below, this week, has to be seen from the view of beliefs (or ideal or long time ago ways) versus what is truly the case in 2013.

According to Turtle Island News, November 20, 2013, p. 7, Money is flowing into Confederacy Council coffers as the first annual payments for a green environment deal with energy giant NextEra come in. Legal Adviser for the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI, Aaron Detlor, stated that the monies received are going into an account that the HDI "has no access to". Hazel Hill, Director of HDI, said that the chiefs don't know what they will do with the money, adding that, HDI will follow through on post construction monitoring of all the sites.  When asked about how people at Six Nations could obtain more information, Hill replied that, "the Confederacy process flows through the clan system, 'The people have the opportunity to participate through their chief and clanmother'".  Considering that the majority of people at Six Nations have no knowledge of the identity of their clan mother, or chief that is supposed to represent them, this is a rather evasive answer.  I am guessing that if people really did this, and asked around, they would find the quest impossible - and even if they did find the name someone, and they were savy about the problems, they would rightly ask by what right did so and so obtain the title - is the assigned chief truly a member of a lineage whose maternal line can be traced back to the ohwachira, or even the clan, or tribe for that matter.  Reading pages 26 to 34 of Shimony's book would add a note of reality to the question - she shows how many of the supposed clan functions have gone by the wayside over the years.  Many wish it were not so, but there are good reasons why the system that was could not be maintained intact over such a long period of time, and over a time of great change.

The facts are that as far as clans go, things were derailed in the 19th Century.  There is a renewed interest in learning one's true clan among some Six Nations members.  The study even has a name, "Clanology", and at least one book has been written on the subject.  This would involve interviewing elders, and searching for any scraps of material that might be available on the subject from, for example, totem signatures on old deeds.  In fact the only, or most reliable, way whereby at this point in time one could be sure of a common maternal line inheritance would be a simple genetic test that will spell out with a reasonable degree of certainty (the match could be coincidence) the facts.  Either  the chief who is supposed to be your representative shares precisely the same set of harmless mutations on the mitochondrial DNA molecule, or they do not.  If there is a sharing of this pattern, it would suggest descent from the same female maternal line ancestor back hundreds if not thousands of years.  I have the distinct impression that this route to clarity will never be introduced among the conservative minded Confederacy Chiefs and Clan Mothers - although who knows unless the subject is broached, and the benefits explained.  However, if one only wants to maintain a fiction of kinship, then the scientific facts will never supplant the deeply ingrained beliefs that they already "have it right" and no test of any sort is needed - just the memory of someone loyal to the Confederacy system as it now stands.

DeYo.

Six Nations Response to the "McClung Community" of 3,500 Residential Units on the Eastern Outskirts of Caledonia?

I was aware that there would be some housing built at the corner of Highway 6 (Caithness Street) and McClung Road immediately east of the old community of Seneca (now part of Caledonia).  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that the "McClung Community" would include 3,500 residential units - which would translate to about 14,000 or so new people living in the area - eclipsing Caledonia itself.

To be perfectly frank, whether I lived in Caledonia or Six Nations I would be angry about this new development.  The road system alone (let alone the rest of the infrastructure) will buckle under the weight of all the new traffic.  Caledonia at almost any time of the day is a driver's nightmare, especially Argyll and Caithness Streets.

Assuming that it is true what some Six Nations elders have told me, that the "reclamation" of Douglas Creek Estates was due in part to the feeling of being choked by new developments that would soon surround Six Nations - how will this new "enterprise" be perceived?  This is a perfectly valid concern.  Whether Six Nations has any rights to the land, or a legal claim, is beside the point.  All residents will be impacted by this pro - development decision.

The specifics of the plan are included in The Sachem, November 21, 2013, p. 2.  Here Councillor Craig Grice states that, This is simply not a new subdivision, this is a new community being built.  A total of 532 acres along McClung Road, from Caithness Street (along the Grand River) to Regional Road 66 will be taken out of agricultural use, and zoned residential.  As Councillor Grice describes it, the new development will be, Caledonia beside Caledonia.  That's how big it is.  It's a community.  Furthermore, I think that its going to change the face of Caledonia for years to come.  Also, It will change the way Caledonia sees itself today.

Councillor Grice continues to heap praise on the project saying, This is certainly a very positive thing, and upon completion, it will certainly be good for the economy.  Perhaps it will be a boon to the local economy, but that remains to be seen.  I expect that, and understandably so, local business owners will be wringing their hands in glee.  I fully understand that.  However if I was a Caledonia resident, I would not hold my breath for any sort of tax relief or anything of that nature.

As to just when we are likely to see the landscape change, the newspaper stated, Council had earmarked the construction for 2022 as a placeholder, and it would be contingent on development occurring at McClung as well as annual capital budget approvals leading up to the construction.  I don't know what this means, will development start now in the early stages, to be ramped up to 2022?  It is unclear to this writer.

The environment of the area and surrounds would be irrevocably altered - more suburban sprawl, perhaps like the boxy and characterless area recently developed north of Caledonia at Whitechurch Road.  The beautiful Seneca Park at the foot of McClung Road (by the River), which has the largest parking lot for any of the areas with good hiking, would be gone as a bridge will be built here scarring the landscape and arguably doing nothing to alleviate the gridlock in Caledonia along Argyll Street.

Personally I would not be averse to some development along McClung Road, I already had a heads up for this and expected to see a construction site there at any time.  A sensible expansion to Caledonia is one thing, but the creation of another town that will become a city is simply over the top.

Is it possible that this placement of what amounts to a new city on our doorstep will trigger the action of not only Six Nations activists, but also concerned local residents of Caledonia and Haldimand County who value the rural setting of their community?  By presenting a common front, the Six Nations and White neighbours could present a very effective voice against this mega development.

DeYo.

New Elected Band Council Chief and Some Other Potentially Important Recent Developments at Six Nations - 20 November 2013

Both of the Reserve newspapers this week were humming with very newsworthy items that directly pertain to the theme of this blog.  In this instance, I have decided to include the current material here, and as well add the new information to the relevant previous post (of the 38 below). 

1)  Ava Hill was elected as the Six Nations Chief Councillor, winning by two votes against the incumbent Bill Montour. According to Turtle Island News, November 20, 2013, p.3, of the 20,520 eligible voters, 1,057 cast ballots making the "voter turnout of just over five per cent". So the obvious question is, what will this mean for Six Nations and the surrounding communities over the next 3 years. Perhaps a flavour of this can be found in Chief Hill's statements during the candidate debate as recorded in Turtle Island News, November 6, 2013, pp. 2-3). Here she expressed a wish to work with the Confederacy Council (HCCC), "in an attempt to mend the division between the two". Alas, virtually everyone who has tried this over the years since 1924 has failed.  Chief Hill wishes to "hold regular meetings with leaders from all factions and government on Six Nations". This also includes Mohawk Workers and Men's Fire. Perhaps oddly, the former Councillor said, "I'd love nothing better than to see our traditional government in place" (author's bold printing) - meaning the Hereditary Confederacy.  This statement is unusual, considering that Ave Hill is Chief of the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC).

Other recent quotes are also of come concern. Apparently she has got "connections", "in the national political scene". When it gets a bit puzzling is when she says, the federal government doesn't tell me what to do. The people in the federal government shudder when they hear my name. I challenge them. According to Two Row Times, November 6th, 2013, p.4, by "connections" she appears to mean the Assembly of First Nations. Also, according to the last source, The federal government is using the excuse that they will not deal with us because we are a divided community. Imagine how powerful we would be if we joined forces and went to parliament hill and said settle our land claims right now". While this may be just some off the cuff self - aggrandisement, it is also what one would expect from a person self absorbed with their own importance (facts or no facts). It is only my opinion, but there will likely come the day when we will long for the "good old days" under the leadership of Bill Montour. It all remains to be seen. Time will tell - she may be the best leader the community has ever seen. Her actions will speak much louder than her words. Of course, my question, as per the theme of this blog, is, "will the new Chief be willing to allow the facts to over ride beliefs in a number of contentious issues?"

2)  In Two Row Times, November 20th, 2013, p. 3 there appears an article, What about SN litigations against Brantford and the Crown?.  The reporter questions the status of these negotiations, and asks whether they are likely to be settled within his lifetime.

The current Director of Lands and Resources (an Elected Council mandated division) is Lonny Bomberry, a lawyer.  He updated the reporter as to the current situation.  Bomberry said that concerning land, most of these land patents, which put in third party hands, were given illegally, he concedes, 'The problem with Canadian law is that after a while if you don't exercise your legal rights to get it back, your rights disappear''.  This refers to what the present author has spoken about before under "Statute of Limitations".  The reporter then states that, Bomberry seems intent to be patient and wait as long as it takes, meanwhile, if deals can be worked out with developers to at least accommodate Six Nations something, he is all for that.  Bomberry told the reporter that in a way municipalities such as Brantford are off the hook, based on a decision by the British Columbia Court of Appeal in the Salmon Arm case which puts the responsibility of negotiating on the shoulders of the Crown, not the municipalities.  In what seems to be a revealing statement, Bomberry says that continuing to push forward in the Courts may not be "cost efficient".  Specifically, Litigation is expensive and it can drag out for years, ....... And especially something like this when you need historical experts.  It could take years.  I suppose we could push that issue if we wanted to, but we have chosen to try and get this worked out through negotiation, that's always the easier way to do it.

In looking at the wording of Bomberry's replies, the present author is led to wonder whether he has been shown a copy of the "Holmes Report" which basically makes it abundantly clear that the Province of Ontario has an intact and valid land registration system, and that all of the land claims cannot be supported - hence the Federal Government not agreeing to stamp any of them (except a couple of minor ones such as those relating to the land the railways obtained relatively recently).  Just reading between the lines, I wonder whether because Bomberry is well versed in the law, he has read the Holmes Report and knows that Six Nations are up against a brick wall, and so he would rather focus on the claims where Six Nations alleges that the Federal Government is responsible for the supposed fiduciary issues relating to monies placed in trust for the Six Nations, involving "wrongful management".

If Bomberry has not been given a copy of the "Holmes Report" of 2009 (which I have discussed in detail in earlier posts), then it seems only fair and responsible to do so - even though commissioned by The Corporation of the City of Brantford in 2009 and submitted to Justice Harrison Arrell of the Superior Court of Ontario.  Thus, in my opinion, Lonny Bomberry, the Director of Lands and Resources for the Elected Band Council should be privy to a copy of the "Holmes Report" in order to understand how it will be impacting the decisions of the Superior Court of Ontario.  Also, the representatives of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) should also have access to this document since, although not officially sanctioned or recognised by for example the Federal Government of Canada, they have legitimacy in the eyes of a significant number of Six Nations members.  In my view, unless anyone wants to play Don Quixote, and in a futile way tilt at windmills, the facts have to eventually be acknowledged so that everyone can move on knowing what is valid and true.

3)  Since the newspaper, Two Row Times, is the new kid on the block, it is expected that there will be some shuffling around until a strong working group of employees can be assembled.  What I noticed this week, was that the newspaper, instead of reflecting the Community at Six Nations, is also reflecting of the White leftist anarcho-communist "supporters" of Six Nations.  One would presume that there is a difference.  So now, in addition to Senior Writer Jim Windle (a non-Native activist from Brantford), we now find two very significant additions to the staff - well actually one in two roles.  The General Manager is Tom Keefer, who is also, along with Six Nations member Jonathan Garlow, the second member of the Editorial Team.  As has been noted in a number of blog posts, Mr. Keefer, a non-Native, has a long and sordid history with Caledonia.  His unabashed Communist Party and Ontario Anarchist Party ties apparently do not concern his employers.  See here for example.  A google search will turn up a great deal on his "work" with CUPE 9303, and his radical past.  Perhaps he has given up after his many years at Concordia University and later at York University, on working to obtain a Ph.D. in Political Science.  In 2010, according to his curriculum vitae seen here, he was in year 6 of his doctoral programme - so now year 8, well beyond the allotted maximum in most such settings.  I am sure that there is a story as to the departure, or leave of absence, and I will add a link if this can be located.  I am predicting "creative differences" with this assembly of publishing staff, but only time will tell.

4)  The HDI (Haudenosaunee Development Institute), a wing of the HCCC, are in the news again - and they are in serious trouble according to Two Row Times, November 20th, 2013, p. 3.  It appears that they just can't get a break in the Court system.  This all stemmed from the City of Brantford's injunction against protests at construction sites there, where the HDI tried to enforce its own development regulations on the city's disputed lands.  The original ruling by Judge Harrison Arrell levied fines of $350,000 plus $68,000 in Court costs (these later reduced to $25,000).  The Appellate Court upheld the ruling, and so a second appeal was launched which also upheld Justice Arrell's original decision.  Those against whom the fine was levied include Aaron Detlor and Hazel Hill of HDI, as well as Ruby and Floyd Montour, Charlie and Mary Green, Clive Garlow, and "persons unknown".  So who will pay?  Apparently due to the financial situations of the various parties, it is likely that only Detlor (who is a lawyer) and Hill will likely be, "holding the bag" and "slapped with the heavy fine".  The reporter could not obtain information as to whether, since the HDI was acting on behalf of the HCCC, they will have some responsibility in the payment of the fine.  The reporter states, What this will mean to the HDI is yet to be seen as the judgement legally clips the HDI's wings in such matters, at least as far as Canadian law is concerned.  The Brantford Mayor believes that this decision will have Canada - wide effects on other groups who chose to engage in disruptive land disputes, and on the Canadian communities who are impacted.

Turtle Island News, p. 5, reported that the Men's Fire assembled to put a stop to construction on the Erie Ave. development project (Guswhenta), which although headed by a non-Native Steve Charest, the latter's two partners are both Six Nations members who had made a deal with the Mohawk Workers, including Brian Porter.  Men's Fire want the HDI involved (which means the application fee paid in full).  One wonders if the project will seek a Court injunction, the problem with that is that it would further pit Six Nations group 1 against Six Nations group 2 supporters.  More factionalism at its worst.

The HDI has been busy on other fronts.  According to Turtle Island News, November 20, 2013, p. 7, Money is flowing into Confederacy Council coffers as the first annual payments for a green environment deal with energy giant NextEra come in.  Legal Adviser for the HDI, Aaron Detlor, stated that the monies received are going into an account that the HDI "has no access to".  Hazel Hill, Director of HDI, said that the chiefs don't know what they will do with the money, adding that, HDI will follow through on post construction monitoring of all the sites.  Recall, that this group has no legal authority, only what the non - elected chiefs (HCCC) gives them.  Hill stated that, "the Confederacy process flows through the clan system, 'The people have the opportunity to participate through their chief and clanmother'". 

I can see one problem right away, which I bold printed above.  The majority of people at Six Nations have no idea as to what their true clan is.  "Clanology" has developed recently to help people to get in touch with their Clan (inherited through the mother's mother's side).  So HDI is saying that the majority who cannot "fit" with the Longhouse system for whatever reason can expect no sympathy or hearing from HDI.  Hill full well knows the situation at Six Nations, and the barrier that poses.  She does admit that, Six Nations people don't necessarily understand the traditional process.  Nor are Six Nations people, necessarily understanding of, or willing to adhere to, the Confederacy process.  I don't ever recall hearing that the traditional process involves extracting money from naive or gullible Whites who think that by ponying up, their problems will go away.

DeYo.