Six Nations Ethnic Admixture - Indian, White and Black

There is a belief, probably more entrenched in the White community, that most Six Nations members are "full blooded".  Most or all at Six Nations know that is not true, and many of my circle have spoken with pride of their British or other White ancestors.  A Canadian anthropologist, studying the Six Nations, was given the information that the last person there to claim "full blood status" was one Andrew Spragge, a Cayuga who died in 1869 (David Boyle, The Pagan Iroquois: Archaeological Report of the Minister of Education 1898, Toronto, Ministry of Education, 1898). 

Admixture with Whites goes back as far as the earliest appearance of the Dutch to the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys.  As early as 1844, a Dutchman Johannes Megapolensis Jr., a Dutch Reformed minister who preached to the Mohawks and made careful observations commented thus, The women are exceedingly addicted to whoring; they will lie with a man for the value of one, two, or three schillings, and our Dutchmen run after them very much (Snow, Gehring and Starna, 1996, p. 43).  One can only guess at how many half - Dutch children were born in this fashion, but since lineage was traced through the maternal side, absorbing these children into Mohawk society would pose no problems.  There are numerous reports of half - Dutch Mohawks living in Mohawk Country in the 1600s, some of whom such as "Smit's Jan" became famous in their own right.  Furthermore, Gideon Hawley, who went to Oquaga as a missionary in 1753, noted that nearly every family of the Oneida and Tuscarora inhabitants of that village had 'more or less' white blood in their veins; while James Dean who taught and interpreted at Oneida missions for many years thought that by the end of the Revolution there was not a pure Oneida in existence, many of that nation being mixed with white blood as well as other strains (Kelsay, 1984, p. 24).

What is lesser known, or simply less spoken about, is the Black ancestry in many families - perhaps even all to some degree.  The latter subject is one that when I was younger, you could gently rib someone about - although sometimes it would not turn out well (especially if at a party and alcohol was involved).  The truth being that having a Black ancestor did not give someone "bragging rights", but rather was seen as a source of embarrassment.  Times have changed, and frankly I don't know whether perceptions have changed to keep up or not.  It would be exceedingly rare for a Six Nations member to marry a Black person (I am not aware of any such marriages), although some women may have had children out of wedlock with Black males - although that too is a rarity due to taboos.  There is no such taboo in relation to White males.  All this has caused havoc in determining who is a Six Nations member and entitled to all the pertinent rights, including the right to live on the Reserve.

When I was young, just as an example, the family across the road were all descended from one female.  She had a "relationship" with a White male or males, and all of her children took her last name.  All of the children were registered Band members.  Some married White people who then came to live on the Rez, some left the Rez to reside in the wider community.  One adopted a child (White father, Indian mother) from another Reserve.  This type of situation was very common and can be traced back as a pattern through many generations.  An inspection of the census records between 1851 and 1921 shows clearly how a "modified" nuclear family was typical at Six Nations.  There were often family constellations that defied easy description as some children were living at home with the mother and father (often it is unclear which children are those of the mother and which are those of the father and which are those of both of them), and others scattered around various homes in the vicinity. 

The government for many years defined who was Six Nations and who was ineligible.  The Indian Act of 1876 gave primary inspiration but rules have come and gone over the years (e.g., the "two grandmother rule").  The biggest change was in 1876 where a matrilineal system was replaced by a Canadian - modelled patrilineal system of descent.  If your father was Lower Cayuga you were Lower Cayuga - replacing the previous matrilineal definition of tribal membership.  This is a very complicated matter that is peripheral to the subject matter for the present posting.  Much of the responsiblity of deciding who is in and who is out now rests with the Membership Office, an arm of the Elected Council.

Going back a bit in history, some of the families were headed by a White male.  Among the most noteworthy are the families of Scots Archibald Russell (Mohawk wife) and Daniel MacNaughton (Cayuga wife).  They and their children resided in intact nuclear families.  Similar examples, where Indian men married White women, including Mohawks George Martin (wife Catherine Roelston) and George H. M. Johnson (wife Emily Howells).  All of these families resided on the consolidated Reserve.

Before the time the Reserve was consolidated there were White males who obtained land grants (usually 1200 acres) in the Haldimand Tract after marrying Six Nations women.  Among these include White men who married Mohawk women, William Kennedy Smith (married Mary Hill) and Solomon Phelps (married Esther Hill).  The children of these men married members of the White community and did not move to the consolidated Reserve, but lived in nearby Brantford or Mt. Pleasant.  Further downriver were White men who had served during the War of the American Revolution with Chief Joseph Brant and were given "Brant Leases".  These include Lt. John Young (married Catherine Hill, Mohawk), Capt. John Dochstader (married first Mohawk woman, second Cayuga woman, third Onondaga woman), his nephew Sgt. John Dochstader (married Catherine Thom a Delaware woman), and Pvt. John Huff (married an unnamed Delaware woman).  Most of their descendants simply integrated into the local White community, although a few did end up residing on the consolidated Reserve.

Then there were some who were more "shadowy", it not being entirely clear as to their ancestral composition.  One good example is John Garlow of German descent who in 1822 moved to the area near the Mohawk Village from Upstate New York.  His wife was enumerated as Mohawk, although there seems to be some confusion about her specific ancestry (in my opinion, more likely Oneida).  Their descendants remained on the consolidated Reserve, settling in large numbers along the "Garlow Line".

In looking through the Anglican Church registers for the Mohawk Chapel and St. John's (situated on the consolidated Reserve), one can see a rather large number of marriages between Six Nations and Whites.  There would of course be unofficial liaisons, and also marriages recorded by travelling Methodist ministers so it is unclear as to the absolute numbers of Indian - White marriages in the Haldimand Tract.

In looking at the typical Six Nations surnames one would find in the telephone book today, some reflect the White ancestry of the progenitor, and some are clearly from a male whose name may or may not be White - and the truth can only be settled by research.  Some surnames reflecting a White male progenitor include MacNaughton, Dochstader, Maracle, Garlow; while those whose origin is Six Nations (although the biological progenitor at some link in the chain may have been White) include Silversmith, Johnson, Hill, Powless and Claus (a Dutch contraction from Nicholas).  Each name would need to be traced to its roots, easier said than done in many to most cases.

Then there are the Black males who started families with Six Nations women.  The phenomenon is typically traced in some way to the institution of slavery.  Some of the 30 slaves of Joseph Brant, and lesser numbers "belonging" to other high ranking Six Nations (e.g., Aaron Hill) did merge with the Six Nations community.  The earliest example I have found is one John Smart, who escaped to the Canajoharie Village in New York in the middle of the 18th Century and was given sanctuary.  I am assuming that Peter Smart of Canajoharie was his son, and that the family of Smarts who arrived at Tyendinaga during the Loyalist migration were of this lineage.  More clear, thanks to the documentary evidence, is the relationship between Black males with the surnames Settles, Hill, Jackson, Schyler, Mike, and Morey.  Of this group, the Mike and Schyler families ended up on the consolidated Reserve, and the Morey family eventually moved to Burford, and the destination of the others is unknown to me.

Being of Black ancestry could create problems, despite the apparent welcoming some received.  For example, Michael Anthony, despite being the son of a Delaware chief George Anthony, and being a minister and a primary informant for anthropologists such as Frank Speck due to their knowledge of this history of their people, was "dehorned" by Six Nations Council.  An informant to someone studying the records (John A. Noon), stated that Anthony had Black ancestry at some point in his lineage and so was ineligible to be a chief.  He was replaced as a Delaware Chief by John Cayuga who did not suffer from the same stigma.  It is known that due to their early history in the Southern USA, many Tuscarora were of partial Black ancestry - which in some cases left them under a cloud of suspicion.  Members of the Mike family, acknowledged as part Black, were not impacted to any apparent large extent because they did not aspire to a chiefship or any office where their "credentials" would include the amount of Black ancestry.  So the Six Nations were pretty much the same as the surrounding White people in their views on Blacks - generally tolerated, but not exactly made to feel that they were on an equal footing.

So when I drive the roads of Six Nations and attend events there does it surprise me to see blonde hair and blue eyes in the children of Six Nations members - no, not in the least.  One only need look at the very light eyed Chief MacNaughton, Tekarihogea, Chief of the Hereditary Confederacy Council of Chiefs (HCCC) to get a sense of his biological ancestry.  What is important at Six Nations is not biology (although it is a consideration) but ones lineage, and the knowledge of how one "fits in" at Six Nations.

So basically you have Six Nations members living on or off the Reserve who are Indian, White and Black.  Some are physically indistinguishable from those in the surrounding community, and may have little knowledge of the history and culture of their own people.  You have White people who are White, Indian and Black whose ancestors were part of the Six Nations community, but they have no Reserve or Status Indian rights, but who are well versed in the history and culture of Six Nations.  There are other mix and match scenarios out there, but it all boils down to whether you are accepted as a Six Nations member by the Membership Office.  However when push comes to shove, such as in the Caledonia crisis of 2006, there are only two groups - Six Nations and other.  One aligns oneself with one side or the other since there is no middle ground.  Admixture means little "on the ground", what counts is if you have a Status Card or not - which will pretty well drive you to one camp or the other.  The exception is the White solidarity supporters who, despite their ignorance of the situation at Six Nations, stand tall with Six Nations in common cause.  All very strange, but not so much if you live here.

DeYo.

Success and Failure: Jews and First Nations

There are a lot of preconceptions or rationales (excuses) as to why First Nations people have not "succeeded" in the conventional sense of the term.  If one were to be brutally honest, they consistently end up at the bottom of the heap on most indicators, such as numbers attending post - secondary eduction.  Generally apologists come up with a formulaic set of reasons including discrimination, racism, colonialism and other "reasons" that "explain" the low performance relative to other Canadians. 

Due to the perceptions of why First Nations individuals have not made much progress in entering the higher rungs of eduction and the professions, I thought that it would be instructive to turn to another group in Canada who has suffered infinitely worst circumstances of prejudice, and even true genocide (not platitudes such as "cultural genocide") - Canada's Jewish population.

At just over 300,000, Jews make up about half the numbers of Status Indians in Canada.  Their history is one of almost consistent persecution, and often when they were no longer of use, or the elite owed them too much money (as was the case in England in the Middle Ages) they were either expelled or murdered en mass.  Pogroms were instituted to keep them confined to ghettos (rural or urban), and laws were enacted to prevent Jews from owning land or participating in the economy except in areas where they could prove useful to the Christian elite (e.g., as jewellers and money lenders).  They were often a people without a country, and merely tolerated throughout much of Europe throughout much of history.  Of course the most enduring and recent of these atrocities against a people is the Holocaust, Hitler's "final solution", where Jews were rounded up and shipped in cattle cars to "factories" such as Buchenwald where they were either placed in work camps (until they died of starvation and exhaustion), or directly to the death camps where the gas chambers were awaiting.  A minimum of 6 million Jews were murdered in this manner alone.  Yet they not only survived as a distinct people, they thrived.

So my concern is, while Canada's Native people believe that colonialism and racism and the like are root causes of their social problems, there are very few examples of this - just perceptions.  If looked for carefully, the facts do exist, and they do not tally with the perceptions.

The Residential Schools did happen, but far from being "genocidal", they were often the one hope to take Native people away from the dysfunctional situation of their homes in the North, or from family dysfunction, and provide food and education, both of which were in short supply where they came from.  The goal indeed was to assist the Native people in assimilation to the ways of the broader society because quite frankly it offered the only escape from being dragged back into a Stone Age existence and guaranteed poverty and despair.  This of course is not reflected in the "party line" where we are supposed to believe (despite the evidence) that these schools were cold institutions of forced cultural change where daily beatings ensured that the native language would be forgotten, and the ways of the oppressor ingrained.  Not all Native people who attended these schools see it this way, as I have stated with examples in previous posts.

So Native people and their apologists, to extract more money from Canadian taxpayers, put forward the "fact" that they have been victims, and that the colonialist and racist mentality exists to this day acting as a force to keep them from reaching their aspirations.  Of course the aspirations consist of a set of mutually exclusive categories of returning to the ways of their ancestors (but I guess snowmobiles and pickup trucks don't count), or being dragged kicking and screaming into the mainstream of society so that they can compete on an equal footing and thus set the stage for success away from the car theft industry, oxycodone abuse, illegal cigarette sales, and the seduction of welfare.  In the Northern Reserves the list would include kinship based tribal societies where the chief and family decide who gets what, and where family violence, rape, murder, gasoline huffing by youth are endemic (this is the short list).

Who are the Jews in Canada?  William Shatner, Seth Rogan, Drake, and Howie Mandel are well known celebrities who are Jewish - Canadian.  Jews have been in Canada, in small numbers, since the British took control of Canada from the French in 1760.  A good review of the subject is found here.  Despite the fact that their numbers are small, it is interesting that my best freind during and after my university years was Jewish, and that the majority of my mentors in university were Jewish.  I never met one single Arab, African or Native American instructor in any of the universities I attended in Canada.  During the Jewish High Holidays in October, classes pretty much ground to a halt since most professors were Jewish.  So despite my heritage, I have Jews to thank for the opportunities presented to me, and who I am today - and I will always be grateful.

So why are Jews such an immense success when they have had such an uphill battle, and everything set against them?  Some information touching on this subject follows.  It may be worth noting that after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem the Jews became a mobile people.  Their precise movements into Central Europe likely arose via a movement over the Alps from Italy post 79 A.D. - but somehow they never lost a sense of who they were, their culture, their traditions, their language (Hebrew and later Yiddish).  There was a "glue" that keep Jews linked together throughout the diaspora which saw them in three primary groups:  Ashkenazi (Central and Eastern European Jews); Sephardic (Iberian Jews), and Mizrahi (Oriental / Middle Eastern Jews).  Ashkenazi Jews came to outnumber all the rest, and went though a severe population "bottleneck" such that today all share a myriad of segments of DNA making them in effect close cousins many times over even if their ancestors lived in Poland and Lithuania.

Land Base and Relationship to Host Country:  Jews generally were forbidden from owning land, so they were either mobile or settled where they were told (in urban ghettos such as Warsaw; or rural ghettos - stadtles).  It was not their land though, and so could be dispossessed at any time.  Jews because they have been at best barely tolerated, and at the whim of a Prince, could be expelled or exterminated.  Contrast this to Canadian Natives who have been present since day one, and if a sale or surrender of land was to occur, the British ensured that a Reserve was guaranteed to them by the Crown.  Experience had taught the Crown authorities that if given the land in fee simple it would be sold to strangers and the community would disperse.  So Native Canadians have always had a homeland, and were not forced to move thousands of miles away after for example a forced land surrender as happened in the United States throughout the 1830s (e.g., the "Trail of Tears").  The Indian Act of 1876 provides ample rights and protections.

It is only since 1949 that Jews has been given a "homeland" in Israel - with the help of the British.  This has now become an important feature in Jewish life, for example buying Israeli War Bonds is the patriotic thing to do even if you live in New York or London Ontario.  However the point is that even without a homeland, Jews managed to survive 2000 years on the move and dispersed, but never forgot who they were and never capitulated to the pressures to give up their culture and all features that made them a distinctive people. 

A fair question is what would happen if the Reserve system was abandoned, would Native Canadians have the cultural strength to survive as a distinct people as the Jews have done - or do they need the land base to survive and avoid complete assimilation into the Canadian mainstream?  One problem is that in general the 665 Bands see themselves as unique, and any sort of "pan - Indian" concept rests on shaky ground - unless there is an advantage to be gained - which is usually short term.  However that remains to be seen as there are umbrella groups (funded by the Federal Government) representing the Status Indians of Canada (e.g., Assembly of First Nations).

Cultural Stagnation:  As it happens Jews have traditions and cultural practises (e.g., lighting the menorah; the Seder) that go back thousands of years - and they are still practised faithfully to this day.  However their holy book, the Torah is brought out (usually as a scroll) to be examined on Saturdays (the sabbath) and read out at regular intervals instead of accepting what is written as etched in stone and to be applied without change to this day (as fundamentalist Christians and Muslims would say about the Bible and Koran respectively).  Jews use the Torah as a device to provide guidance in a world that they acknowledge is changing - although of course there are fundamental / orthodox sects who view things differently.  Thus many embrace change, but look for Devine guidance as to how best to cope with it.  It is up for discussion with the rabbis (teachers / religious ministers). 

The Native Canadian fundamentalist view as espoused in any Longhouse is that change is bad and that the rituals and the teachings should reflect the views of the ancestors hundreds or thousands of years ago.  This can only be maladaptive if ones goal is to compete successfully in a very competitive world.  The Great Law was established because the Five Nations were killing each other off and warfare was almost constant.  So laws were established to avert this self - destructive behaviour - although it merely facilitated the complete genocidal erasure of the Erie and Attiwandaronk (Neutral) peoples among many others.  Not to say we should not respect the Great Law, but 1000 or so years later things have changed, and history teaches us that those who move with the times, keeping the best from the early traditions, and discarding what is superfluous, is a successful formulae.  The same can be said about Handsome Lake and the Gaiwiio (Good Message) which is the foundation of the teaching at most Longhouses today.  A problem is that there are serious anachronisms embedded in this "message".  It was a child of its time.  There was a lot of focus on witches and the right to kill a witch.  Clearly no one would wish to acknowledge this element today.  The constant and futile search for the romanticised "golden age" is just going to lead to a blind alley - it doesn't exist anymore - if it ever did exist - which is unlikely.  One can respect traditions without having to experience an existential crisis if something needs to be changed to work better.  

There are many who look longingly and idealistically at for example what they see as the Native respect for the land and how it should be a guide to take us into the future.  In fact the environmental impact was low because of the low number of people in North America in pre-Columbian days (as shown by archaeological research).  When looking at the way in which Natives interacted with the environment it appears no different from Europeans at a similar stage of their society.  In other words both produced garbage which they tossed over the walls, and both were a little lax in the sanitation department.  Destruction of the fertility of the soil necessitated village movements every 20 or so years in Iroquoia, and the slash and burn technique of creating new fields was wasteful but for stone age people, not much more could be expected.  Only when fertilisers and the ard and plough were invented could agriculture proceed indefinitely at the same site, with crop and field rotations.  This was learned by the Europeans many years before, and the attempt was to teach these methods to the Natives - with pretty dismal success in general.  Going back to the "old ways" would simply be regressive and counter productive.  Change is inevitable if one wants to move forward.  If one wants to stay fixed in some idealised period in time one can try to do so and suffer the consequences as the rest of the world moves forward and accepts that which is likely to foster positive change.

Education and the Professions:  Jews are voracious learners and have ended up at the top of almost every profession in Canada.  Look at professions as diverse as the law, psychology and economics.  Four of ten doctors and dentists were Jewish in 1991; Jews hold three in ten managerial and professional positions in Canada.  Considering that they make up less than 1% of the population of Canada, it is quite telling that they sometimes compose 50% or more of any one profession.  Even in the entertainment industry, Jews have always been the forerunners.  In the US all of the big studio bosses in Hollywood were Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jews (Warner Brothers, Samuel Goldwyn, etc.).  All of the composers of Broadway musicals were Jewish (e.g., Gershwin Brothers; Rogers and Hammerstein).  Jewish parents push their children to attend post secondary schooling, and the stereotype of the "Jewish mother" mirrors that of the "tiger mother" in Asian culture.  Failure is not an option.

43% of Jews have a bachelor's degree, compared to 19% of British Canadians and 16% in the general population.  At large Universities in Canada Jewish students are found in numbers well beyond their expected level of 1%.  At McGill, Queens, York, and the University of Western Ontario in London Jews make up 10% of the student body.  Native Canadians are virtually invisible, well below their expected level of about 2%.  I am sure that there are a legion of excuses that could be pressed into service to explain this difference, but it is abundantly clear that Jews, while often perceived to be "clannish", wish to fully integrate into mainstream Canada, but wish to retain their distinctive culture.  Clearly it is possible to do this successfully.  They become lawyers not just for other Jews, but for Canadians in general - and some of our finest lawyers come from this community.  Unfortunately most aboriginal Canadians who go into law go into "aboriginal law" in a programme that is "geared to their needs" - in other words their performance in High School was poor (whereas Jews are typically at the top of their class), so they are given modified programmes in law to "make up the difference" and the outcome is an inferior product that can only perform aboriginal law for aboriginals.

In looking at "dynasties", Jews are once again over represented.  For example the Bronfmans, the Reichmanns, the Segrams are but a few examples.  So the over wealthy are found more often in the Jewish group relative to other Canadians.  23% of the 100 wealthiest Canadians are Jewish.

Language Learning:  Like it or not, fluency in the English language sets the stage for success the world over.  Norwegians learn English very early in school and it is taught throughout with the realisation that it provides the key to success in the wider world.  It does not in any way inhibit their fluency in their native language.  Some English Canadian parents opt for French language immersion for their children.  While this seems as a "no brainer" for those who want to be able to compete for jobs in the civil service and military promotions, it is far from clear that this is the only or even best route to follow.  I have not found good evidence to support the merits of French immersion since the outcome is largely a function of the parent's support of the programme - which is true of just about everything.  Hence I would strongly question the move these days to have Mohawk or Cayuga immersion for children at Six Nations.  These languages are immensely difficult to learn if the parents don't speak it at home, and there is no "outside" benefit to spending inordinate amounts of time here and expecting that children will be able to learn abstract concepts by this manner.  If so, where is the evidence.  I expect there is none.  It is a political decision, and divorced from any close look at the realities of Native education producing a product that as it stands cannot compete in the wider world - let alone with untried language and cultural immersion.  I expect that the children who emerge from these educational experiments will be high on ethnocentrism, and low on basic skills.  How or when will be three "R's" be taught - let alone preparing, via teaching critical thinking skills, for the maths and sciences which hold the key to success in modern society?

Frankly it is getting somewhat embarrassing to make these comparisons since one group consistently comes out as winners, and the other, not so much.  So are there any lessons we can take from these disparities?  It seems that the answer is obvious, if you want to succeed in life (not via a sinecure funded via transfer payments from the Federal Government), you have to have the skills to compete.  Obtaining those skills does not mean giving up ones culture - Jews are among the most cohesive and distinctive groups in Canada.  The same could be said for Japanese - Canadians who suffered interment in camps during WWII, significant discrimination, but are among the wealthiest Canadians today.

Jews frequently started with nothing, but through hard work, dedication, a willingness to integrate just enough to meet their needs, Jews have become the most successful ethnic group in Canada bar none.  So the question I ask to all First Nations people, and in particular the Six Nations, which do you want - a platform to set the stage for success, or continued perpetual dependency on the Canadian Federal Government?  The status quo will not cut it as failure lurks at the end of each path.  Things are coming apart at the seams and will crumble.  It is no secret that the Canadian taxpayer has reached the end of their rope as more and more money is sunk into a bottomless pit with no tangible signs of success.  So what do you want to do to avert disaster?

DeYo.

"First Nations? Second Toughts": What this Book has to Say about Six Nations Issues

The heading to this posting is the title of a controversial book by Tom Flanagan, First Nations?  Second Thoughts, McGill - Queen's University Press, Montreal & Kingston, 2nd Edition, 2008.  Flanagan is (or was) a Professor of Political Science at the University of Calagary.  I have previously declared that many Political Science departments at Canadian universities have become hotbeds of Marxist - based orthodoxy about Native peoples - however there are some in this field who have risked their careers to offer a dissenting opinion based on the mass of data that they have assembled. Hence at the very least, I think that we must give a listen to these bold iconoclasts.

While I have read Flanagan's book two years ago, I recently took time to read it again since I recalled that he included a lot of information germane to the topics considered in my blog.  It became apparent that my experience, research and perceptions are largely in agreement with what he has written on Native issues, or perhaps I have been strongly influenced by his writing but have just forgotten the source.

In order to obtain a broader background of Flanagan, see here.  I will say from the git go that I find the comments he made in 2013 about viewing child pornography as disturbing and repugnant.  I have no intention of defending the indefensible.  Indeed the comments on this topic have the potential of removing some of the persuasiveness of what he has written on other topics, but if one confines oneself to only the 2008 book, he clearly has made some valuable contributions to the literature on this subject.  To some extent I can justify not summarily dismissing him because he has been certified as an expert witness in Manitoba, Alberta and Canada in Court cases involving Native issues.

I will summarize key points in this book by chapter in the order in the way Flanagan presents them, and comment on how what he says may apply to Six Nations.

1)  Aboriginal Orthodoxy:  According to Flanagan, this term, is an emergent consensus on fundamental issues.  It is widely shared among aboriginal leaders, government officials, and academic experts.  It weaves together threads from historical revisionism, critical legal studies, and the aboriginal political activism of the last thirty years (p.4).  Hence aboriginal policy makers tend to adhere to this orthodoxy if only for the self - serving reality that rocking the boat could result in a backward career move.  Going against the grain of accepted wisdom is difficult, even when you have strong evidence on your side.  There are always terms such as "racist" lurking nearby that some will be willing to send your way because there is only one way to view the matter, and a lesson will need to be learned.  Flanagan gives the example of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples of 1996 as a document widely accepted by the aboriginal orthodoxy, but if implemented could result in a pot pouri of aboriginal self governing groups, owning a third of Canada's land base, paying no taxes, supported by transfer payments (from the taxpayers of Canada), and be positioned to engage in nation to nation diplomacy with Canada.  Since there are about 665 Native Bands, this would obviously be a chaotic disaster.  In fact this would just further set the stage for the wealthy well - connected families on the Reserves to consolidate their hold, enhance their position, give the plum jobs to their kin, while the rest of the Reserve population is no better off and lives in abject poverty.

2)  We Were Here First:  Flanagan makes the point that when the first Europeans set foot in what is today Canada, they were met by very few and widely dispersed people who were often constantly on the move.  That may have been true in parts of Canada with certain tribes, but the Five Nations were sedentary and claimed a territory beyond their settlements for hunting and resource exploitation.  The problem here is that this was in what is today New York State, and the Five (Six) Nations had no settlements in Canada at the time. 

Flanagan sees the Europeans as just another tribe, with more advantages to exploit (not in the negative sense) the environment to carve out new settlements in the wilderness.  He brings up one of the "bones of contention" between Status Indians and other Canadians.  A concept of "priority" gives one group a great number of benefits (e.g., eyeglasses, medications), and perks such as freedom from taxation (e.g., no sales tax, income tax if earned on Reserve) based on priority - who was here first, and they don't have to "do" anything to obtain these benefits other than be born.  However in reality some of the earlier Native American groups pushed through those who were here and usurped them of their "rights", and did not grant them special considerations because of some concept of being first in the region.  In more recent times, the Five Nations committed horrible acts of genocide against all groups in the region (e.g., Huron / Wendat, Erie) completely wiping their presence and whatever rights they "should have" had off the map.  They made particular "clean work" of the Attiwandaronk / Neutral peoples of what became the Haldimand Tract.  It is ironic that the Six Nations "Territory" is basically ill gotten gains made available because their ancestors committed genocide (not war, but the methodical complete annihilation) against the previous occupants.  The British (excepting some of their American colonists) have never committed anything remotely similar - yet Six Nations activists never acknowledge that their ancestors committed "the final solution" in their desire to remove any competition for resources in the area they would later claim as their own for the purposes of the Nanfan Treaty of 1701. 

The British had the power to exterminate any Natives who challenged them, but chose not to exercise this option but instead to negotiate treaties and land surrenders - yet are still described by Natives as "colonialist".  If the British had not chosen to develop new settlements in North American, the Spanish or other European power certainly would.  In addition to murdering thousands of Native people in their expansionist sweep across the Americans, the Spanish also "introduced" Christianity in such a way that it was "accept conversion or die".  The result is that today all of Latin America is Catholic.  Never did the British practise any forced religious conversions, and today Six Nations can enjoy the option of following the Longhouse practises without any interference by any Chrisitian group including the Church of England.  The facts are quite irrelevant to many at Six Nations, the British were labelled "colonialist" in the same way that Spain was labelled "colonialist" without the realization of how very different the British were in their actions.  So somehow post - modern thinkers or our time conceive that the Natives have the "inherent right of self government", a concept that does not take into account history or reality - just an idealized and romanticized view of the "rights" of those who were among those muscling their way into the territory of others, and committing acts of genocide, before the British arrived to become merely another group jockeying around for lands to settle their people.

3)  What Ever Happened to Civilization?:  The aboriginal orthodoxy would have you believe that the level of civilization between aboriginal groups and the new waves of Europeans was equal but different.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Europeans possessed a civilization thousands of years ahead of the stone age people they met.  They arrived with a sophisticated technology, which the aboriginal peoples were quick to recognize and utilize.  The gap in civilization was so great that one or the other of the European civilizations was bound sooner or later to seek out opportunities in the Americas - in the natural course of events.

Hunting and gathering can support only a relatively few and over a huge land mass.  Agriculturalists can support large populations by intensely using farming techniques applied across smaller tracts of land.  The Iroquoian slash and burn and move every 20 years methods were wasteful, and only partly met the litmus test for a horticulturalist (but not an animal husbandry) society.  Hence, farmers are justified in taking land from hunters and defending it as long as they make the arts of civilization available to the hunters (p.43).  This is precisely what the British did, and they constantly encouraged the Six Nations to focus on becoming more productive agriculturalists in order to feed their own people and perhaps have a surplus to sell to purchase other goods and services.  A clash of cultrual values made this plan only show limited success anywhere in North America.  In some areas such as Northern Ontario there was no viable agricultural option - only to move to where there was.  Among Iroquois males, agriculture was largely "women's work" and their insistence on maintaining a hunting lifestyle beyond the time when it was even remotely feasible led directly or indirectly to escalating social problems, fuelled by alcohol, and a lack of forward momentum that is still seen today as many still cling to long outmoded ways of subsistence and dependence on the transfer payments from the Federal Government.  This failure to adapt is counter productive and can never lead anywhere but toward despair.

4)  The Fiction of Aboriginal Sovereignty:  The aboriginal peoples were not sovereign once the French and the British had planted their flags in North America.  Each claimed sovereignty and could back up their claims with force, although both were very "light handed and eminently fair" in that department compared to for example the Spanish who committed acts of genocide and enslaved the local population.  The new buz words, "inherent right to self - government" is little less than a declaration of sovereignty and all that entails (e.g., nation to nation relationships).  This concept cannot be defended from the arrival of the first Europeans to the British Proclamation of 1763 when sovereign rights to Canada were formally acknowledged after the defeat of the French.

In reality, when the British arrived in what was to become Canada, the concept of "terra nullius" (no one's land) applied.  There were wandering groups of Anishinabe peoples, and to the south Iroquoian peoples who practiced some agriculture, but still participated in a hunting culture little different from their neighbours (who also practiced some agriculture on a small scale).  The actual taking possession by a State of a territory which is 'terra nullius', i.e., not under the sovereignty of another subject of international law - either because it is uninhabited or because its native inhabitants are not organized in the form of a State subject of international law, with the intention of acquiring sovereignty over it (p.56).  The British acquired Australia on this basis (there was no "aboriginal State"), but legal cases had concluded that, the acquisition of sovereignty had not in itself extinguished aboriginal property rights (p.57).  The British have always recognized this aspect in North America where the legal title to the land was meticulously purchased and compensation provided.  However property rights do not usurp sovereignty.  British law has always claimed sovereignty, but recognized property rights.  There is nothing at all in this that would years later be a basis for claiming Native sovereignty rights - they did not exist once the Crown representatives arrived on the scene.  There was no "Native State" with which to negotiate.  North America was de facto "terra nullius". 

The sovereignty of Canada (the inheritor of British sovereignty) is recognized the world over - there are no lingering questions about this.  The British Crown and now Canada are the only sovereign powers having any valid claim to the possession of the land we know as Canada.  Various challenges submitted to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (St. Catherine's Milling Company), and the Supreme Court of Canada (Delgamuukw) came down as decisions in support of British and Canadian sovereignty that stem directly from the Proclamation of 1763.

Flanagan sums this up saying, the claim to possess an inherent right of self-government, as the phrase is understood in Canada today, is an assertion of sovereignty contrary to the history, jurisprudence, and national interest of Canada (p.66).

5)  Bands, Tribes, or Nations?:  While for years there was a recognition of les deux nations, two founding peoples (France and Britain), in recent times, after promotion by groups such as the National Indian Brotherhood, a new concept entered the scene - the "First Nations".  The fact is that none of the groups composing this entity met the litmus test for a "nation", and were actually bands according to the Indian Act of 1876.  The obvious fact that there were actually 665 bands in 1999 with a median size of about 1000 members, was apparently irrelevant.  The fact is that these "nations", are viable only through the massive and continuing financial support of the federal government (p.86).  So now there were three founding groups in Canada.  Flanagan says that unless Canada wishes to become a modern version of the Ottoman Empire, it needs to realize that the aboriginal peoples were a series of tribes and none had in any way reached the status of nationhood.  There must only be one nation - Canada.

6)  The Inherent Problems of Aboriginal Self-Government:  The small size of the vast majority of the 665 bands means that self - government or some abbreviated form of nationhood is not practical, only a romantic ideal that is not grounded in reality.  What would result if these notions were converted into law would be more transfer payments (more taxpayer dollars - endless or without and end in sight), and petty factionalism of the "self - governing" entities which would be controlled by power groups of kin that would worsen the already appalling differences between rich and poor on the Reserves.  Even if something of this nature were implemented, practical difficulties of resourcing and competence at the ground level will be enormous, no matter what deals are struck at the symbolic level of constitutional politics (p.101).  In other words problems such as the chronic shortage of competent educated Native people to fill necessary roles under this conceptualisation make anything of this nature unviable. 

All bands depend on Federal Government transfer payments - none are self - sufficient or even close.  Even those with huge resource windfalls (e.g., oil), which are not earned, but are just an accident of geography, have seen the money pi##ed away on pickup trucks and the like without developing any infrastructure that could justify "self - government".  Meanwhile there is no accountability, and "ordinary" band members watch as the homes of the chief and their kin grow, and the first class travel to "conferences" of a questionable nature is justified by a "mind your own business" attitude.  A sense of entitlement pervades.  At the more macro level it is much the same.  "You owe us", and we are still sovereign if we rely on government funding because it is owed to us as rent (p.105), and that Federal transfers are "owed" are "reparations for past wrongs". 

Massive amounts of money were spent to "compensate" those who attended Residential Schools, even though no individual analysis of the supposed "damage" was ever provided.  A massive handout to keep the restless Natives quiet, and ignore the good some of these schools did in bringing Natives into the modern age, and keeping them from the social dysfunction that infected so many Reserves.  Since Canadian taxpayers are funding all of this, one might wonder what their tolerance level will be when they realize that those who don't work will be supported by those who do work - forever.  Only when self taxation is instituted will any true progress occur, and only then will residents have any true stake in what is being done with the money.  Right now for lack of a better word, only government "handouts" keep things going on all 665 Reserves.  This has resulted in odd situations where with huge sums of money being funnelled into Northern Reserves in particular, there is lots of new housing being built (more than the Canadian average) yet ironically the houses soon become eyesores and substandard - because they are not maintained.  There is no more pride of ownership here than there has been in the mega housing projects in American cities where the buildings are soon turned into cockroach infested graffiti coated slums (ghettos).  The solution is to "wind down" the chronically dysfunctional Reserve system and ensure that residents are equal in every way to Canadians in general.  No one is willing to touch that political hot potato, whatever the realities may be - they are not politically correct and so no matter how logical and rational, they will never fly.  Just the way it is.

7)  In Search of Property:  Various Supreme Court rulings make it possible that the concept of aboriginal property could change, and land claims would magnify many fold impoverishing Canada.  It is also possible that if Natives are not careful, the land will be given in fee simple and in a generation be lost to their children, the Reserves dismantled, and the community dispersed.

8)  Treaties, Agreements, and Land Surrenders:  The proposal to re-open treaties and "modernize" them makes no sense. What was done was done. This would open a can of worms. It would mean that more "modernization" could occur at any time, with a consequent lack of stability resulting in a series of fractured "nation to nation" relationships which could only have highly adverse effects on Canada, and see our taxes skyrocket to support these politically correct schemes.

In this chapter, Flanagan speaks specifically about the aboriginal "claims industry" of lawyers and bureaucrats and academics which, encourages First Nations to focus on the past rather than on the future, to see themselves as victims, and to put their best efforts into proving victimization and reinforces the primary goal being, to get money from the government through negotiation and litigation.  Such strategies may succeed in their immediate objective of obtaining money, but they are unlikely to create the skills and attitudes associated with more permanent forms of prosperity (p.150).

9)  Making a Living:  Continued heavy subsidies to keep the population on the Reserves may just be entrenching poverty.  What is needed is a work force ready to move to where the jobs are - as was needed in Newfoundland when the cod fishing ban destroyed the viability of the out ports.  In reality it simply means more welfare, with the addition of a very few and very wealthy Native entrepreneurs who will not necessarily create many on Reserve jobs for Native people (although non-Native professionals may benefit).

Flanagan gives an excellent background to, the staggering level of welfare dependency where, on-Reserve welfare has become a way of life, passed on from generation to generation, and often rationalized by recipients as a treaty right (p.175).  As in the Maritimes, most Indians will be financially better off if they draw welfare on the reserve than if they enter the labour market at the bottom and try to work their way up the ladder (p.175).  There are also a series of affirmative action buzz words that academics and others like to use to justify the inflated tax flow in one direction - from the taxpayers of Canada to the Reserves.  One is "citizens plus", emphasizing special expenditures on Indians to overcome decades of neglect (p.179).

10)  The Octagon is a Stop Sign:  If Reserves are to remain intact, in other words retained by the Crown for the use of the Indians, but not given in fee simple which would mean that in a generation all the land that now composes the Reserve could be in the hands of non-Natives, certain things need to happen - and the status quo is not one of them.  To accomplish this, the transfer payments will need to continue from the Federal Government, and individual Indians will need to get off welfare and the total dependency relationship funded by Canadians who work, and integrate into the wider economy.  This means self sufficiency, a broad education enabling Indians to compete, and a willingness to go where the jobs are.

Flanagan notes how people who are subjugated and oppressed and even the victims of true genocide often succeed at the highest levels in Canada.  This is true of Japanese - Canadians who bounced back from the relocation of WWII to become one of the most prosperous of ethnic groups.  This is particularly true of Jewish - Canadians who have ended up at the top of just about every category of employment and enterprise despite surviving the horrors of the Holocaust.  Neither wish to be left behind and have no "tradition" of welfare.  They have the cultural push to succeed in the majority culture, and develop the skills to make it happen.  Hence the only likely solution to aboriginal poverty and unemployment is to acquire the skills and attitudes that will foster success.  Trying to extract more and more money from Canadian taxpayers for perceived wrongs does not fit with this model.  On page 197 Flanagan offers a prescription to rectify the present ills of the Reserve system.  For example, full accountability to the people (which is something unheard of by the hereditary councillors at Six Nations - that has to change).  Flanagan proposes that the $6.3 billion now spent by the federal government on aboriginal programs be divided up as individual cash grants to each of the 610,000 Status Indians.  At that point they could decide what to do with their own money, including giving some of it as taxes for infrastructure or programmes on the Reserve, and voting on whether the money should be spent to "revive extinct languages" or to provide better English instruction in reading, and physics and whatever it takes to make a success of ones life.  As it stands, everything is handed on a platter by increasingly annoyed Canadian taxpayers who see only whining and demands for more and more.  His whole prescription is worth reading in full.

11)  Update 2008:  Since the original edition was written in 2000 the science of genetics has advanced light years, and can now pinpoint specific origins of the probable earliest wave of those who first set foot in North America.  Flanagan does an excellent job of summarizing the evidence from the various disciplines (e.g., linguistics, archaeology), all saying pretty much the same thing.  The earliest wave was probably about 16,000 years ago and progressed along the coastal route to Monte Verde in Chile, and sometime later to Meadowcroft in Pennsylvania where people were living along the margin of the retreating ice.  Successive waves from Siberia arrived, with the most recent being the ancestors of the Dene (e.g., Chipewayans) about 9,000 years ago, and much later beginning about 5,000 years ago and continuing to modern times, the Inuit who replaced the Dorset peoples of the Arctic.  Immigration from the east was the norm, and the English were simply a later wave to reach the shores of America, and via a western approach.  It does no one any good to believe in creation myths (unsupported by any evidence at all) at the expense of what the facts say.  The average Norwegian is well aware of their ancestor's creation myths, but none take it literally, and as a people they are only going to accept what the evidence shows to be correct.  Most Norwegians speak (excellent) English, and none would aspire to welfare.

The most recent evidence (published after Flanagan's book) suggests that about one third of the modern (unadmixed by post-Columbian admixture) Native American genome is Northern European.  The original study can be accessed here.  This is based on the study of the autosomal structure of ancient DNA (about 26,000 years old) of a child from the Lake Baikal (the most probable "home", or point of origin, of most Native Americans) area shows clear affinity to modern Native Americans such as the Karitiana from South America, as well as Northern Europeans, but no affiliation with ancient or modern East Asians.  Hence the observations of physical anthropologists of "Europeanoid" or "Caucasoid" features in the earliest Native Americans such as the 9,600 year old Kennwick Man from Washington State, are rooted in the apparent early genetics of the "first Americans". 

Thus we may as well accept the fact that the Europeans (French and British) have been here for hundreds of years and are not going anywhere.  Their ancestors built this country, and their descendants are paying the extraordinary transfer payments to "settle old scores".  This is an outdated outmoded concept.  All Canadians must be treated equal for their to be any true equality of opportunity and for all groups to have an equal chance for success in the modern world.  There is some encouraging news from those bands who have accepted that on Reserve taxation is preferable.  Here there has been positive feedback, about the effect of self-taxation had in enabling bands to pay for services, increasing members' interest in band government, and promoting transparency and accountability (pp.207-208).  Flanagan further states that there is, little doubt about the economic advantages.  The Canadian commercial economy is based on ownership in fee simple, and it will obviously be easier for First Nations to participate in that economy if their land is held in the same way (p.210).

The land claims issue is not going to go away.  In June 2007 Prime Minister Harper announced a, "Specific Claims Action Plan" including an impartial tribunal of judges to make final decisions when negotiations fail.  The Claims Commission can also suggest a settlement, but it is the Courts that would make the final pronouncement.  The number of individual claims is staggering, and would completely defy any reasonable attempt to provide a settlement without billions tendered just for the process alone. Flanagan (as I have done many times) has questioned why the Statute of Limitations does not seem to apply in these land claims cases.  As it stands there will be claims for "issues" from 200 years ago, and amendments to the claim and appeals and the Canadian taxpayer in the process will be bankrupted.  So, The specific-claims process may become not a one-time way of dealing with past grievances but an ongoing method of shaking the money tree (p.213). 

On page 214 Flanagan addresses the events at Caledonia in 2006, including a description of the HDI and their "mandate" to press development charges in the Haldimand Tract (they have expanded their horizons since then).  He says that it is really a statement of political jurisdiction, and that, It will ultimately have to be settled by force in Six Nations activists continue to violate Canadian law, claiming it does not apply to them because they are part of a sovereign Iroquois nation (p.214).  Humm, that is a pretty bold statement.  I can't really disagree.  Flanagan expresses concern that if things keep heading in the same direction, all Indian bands, including those who long ago surrendered their aboriginal title in return for clearly defined land reserves and other benefits, will soon be able to claim a right to be consulted on development proposals across vaguely defined 'traditional territories' that extend far beyond their own reserves with the result that no government or private individual will have secure property rights that enable them to make decisions about their own land without what could be either a lot of acrimony, or a lot of extortion money.  Well, that sounds familiar.

DeYo.

Extortion by Hereditary Council Brings New Deal with Power Company

I have blogged many times here about the bully tactics used by certain groups at Six Nations to get their way.  It works, so why change anything when you have a formula that works.  To heck with morality, legality and the like - it is all about extracting the bucks in whatever way is expedient.  Here is the latest amongst a series of such sordid schemes.

According to Turtle Island News of January 8, 2014 (p.7), under the banner Confederacy Finalizes Deal with Capital Power, we learn that the Hereditary Council (HCCC) is up to its old tricks of exploitation and extortion all the while justifying such acts with bogus claims of ownership or control over lands that neither they nor any Six Nations entity has any legitimate claim.

As reported, Capital Power is developing wind turbines in Haldimand County, towards Nanticoke on lands that are traditional Haudenosaunee Territory. News flash here for those who are unaware of the geography - Nanticoke is not even in the Haldimand Tract, let alone anywhere near "traditional Haudenosaunee Territory".  That is a false claim, and the only reason why Capital One "honoured" the deal on lands that have nothing remotely connected to HCCC lands was due to out and out extortion.  The company "came to their senses" when, The company was forced to the negotiating table after a caravan of Six Nations people shut down four different wind turbine construction sites over a day last year.  Considering that Six Nations have no rights under the Nanfan Treaty of 1701, and the fact that any lands "nearby" were ceeded in 1844 (as acknowledged by the Federal Government in 2009 and the Superior Court of Ontario in 2010), the company simply caved into the pressure to avoid future delays.  It should have requested an immediate Court injunction, which I believe would have been granted, and any trespassers would have been subject to enormous fines for such illegal behaviour.  The absolute flaunting of the law, and getting away with it, just emboldens these criminals.  It makes those of us with knowledge of the facts of the matter have absolutely no respect whatsoever for the HCCC, whether done via their own devices, through Men's Fire, or their "enforcement strong arm body" the HDI.  Do the hereditary councillors have no scruples?  It is a legitimate question based on their behaviour.  They are sticking their noses where they have no legitimate right only a perceived right.

Truth is that I don't have any sympathy with these power companies as they will destroy the environment and result in the death and dismemberment of the area wildlife.  Don't the HCCC tout themselves as the "custodians" of the environment because of the perceived "special relationship" between the Creator and the aboriginal people?  Well, since Six Nations are not aboriginal to any location except the State of New York, that is going to be a claim that only the naive or ignorant will swallow.  The sheer audacity of it all.  Once again they are getting away with crimes, and no level of government is saying boo about it.  All hush hush.  Let the HCCC have their way, it is only X number of dollars anyway.  What about the criminal acts that brought this about?  What about the laws of Canada, Ontario, and Haldimand County?  It all means nothing.  Most people are afraid to challenge the HCCC, despite the fact that that the "emperor has no clothes", but no one has the guts to announce it publicly.

So, looking at the details of the "deal", HCCC will get $3, 200, 000 over 20 years.  Apparently, The funds are expected to begin to arriving.  It is dirty money that cannot be laundered in any way.  And where does the money go? Who is accountable? Where is the transparency?  I can give an answer to the latter - there is none.  Who gets to pocket the dough?  No one but HCCC knows.  If there was an ounce of legitimacy to the matter, why was it not negotiated via the Elected Council (SNEC)?  At least here we would have some reasonable assurances that the money would go to community development projects, rather than into the pockets of criminals.

The HCCC will have to face the harsh reality that they have become little more than a "shakedown" entity, far from the keepers of the Great Law and the traditions of the Six Nations.  Since 1924 they have had no legal authority to govern - but they continue to claim to be the "legitimate" governing body.  Legitimate in their eyes perhaps, and also among supporters at Six Nations, some of who benefit directly from their support.

This MUST STOP.  We do not live in Naples, Palermo or Chicago, although it certainly feels as if we do.  It was the responsibility of the company, Capital Power, to seek a Court injunction.  Unfortunately their lack of action here has probably put the "deal" out of reach of the law.  My recommendations to any company placed in similar circumstances, document everything, take pictures and audio recordings, and be prepared to submit this into evidence at a Court or trial proceeding.  Someone has to stop this out of control freight train which has absolutely no regard for anything or anyone except the almighty dollar. 

DeYo.

Tax Relief and Benefits Available to Six Nations Members: Unfair?

I think that it would be fair to say that most Canadians believe that not paying taxes as a legitimate "right" of Native people is highly questionable.  It is no secret that if you ask anyone in Caledonia, Hagersville or Brantford what they think about the tax concessions and other benefits that Six Nations and New Credit people have, you might get an earful.  It is just "one of those topics", intensified perhaps due to the very expensive (to taxpayers) Caledonia "reclamation".  So what are the facts here?

Hence if a local from one of these communities were to pick up the most recent issue of Turtle Island News (31 December 2013) and were to look at the panel on page 7 all in red, it might provoke some not so positive feelings.  This ad says, "No Tax!  Taxes are slowly coming to our Territory, show your support by coming to tax meetings."  Then there is a logo with a circle, the word "Tax" in the middle, and a line across it.  The ad further states, Also, we have a petition saying no to taxes.  Come sign and stop the taxes.  Underling theirs.

So, what are the facts?  The most comprehensive document I have encountered that speaks to this issue is that of Revenue Canada's site pertaining to Indians, see here.  In Ontario we pay the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) which is a combination of the PST (Provincial Sales Tax) at 8% of the sale and the Federal GST (Goods and Services Sales Tax) at 5% of the sale for a total of 13% taxes on retail purchases of products and services.  On 1 July 2010 the RST (Retail Sales Tax) was replaced by the HST.  The focus here is on Ontario.  Some of the specifics may have changed as taxation is a fluid environment.

I will only address exemptions from tax for individuals, not the multi - faceted rules relating to businesses and business dealings on Reserve.  In essence, what I have discovered is that the fact is that the tax code in relation to Status Indians is horribly complex, and defies my attempts to crack the code without a tax consultant or CPA at my side.  A few bits and pieces will be included, to give a sense of what is what in this arena, but nothing remotely resembling a comprehensive review would be useful here.  All of the below derive from section 87 in the "Indian Act".  Generally a person or group must produce their Federal "Certificate of Indian Status" card to take advantage of the exemptions.  Most of what is included below is from the above Revenue Canada website.

If you have ever stood in line at the cash behind someone from Six Nations in say Canadian Tire or Zehrs in Caledonia, they will produce this card and their bill will be somewhat lower than those who cannot produce this card.  It is a bit mysterious as some items are not taxed, whereas others are.  What is noted here is general to Indians in Ontario:

1)  HST and sales taxes:

a)  No taxes on gasoline if purchased on a Reserve (note, White people purchasing gas on the Reserve are supposed to pay these taxes).
b)  No taxes on cigarettes if purchased on a Reserve.  Here the situation becomes complicated since White people can also purchase these untaxed cigarettes which at one time were smuggled from the USA, but are now largely locally produced in "off brand" forms.  Thus the price locals pay at one of the establishments selling these goods on Reserve, and sometimes illegally from shanties off Reserve by Six Nations vendors, is substantially less than what they would if buying from a convenience store in say Brantford.
c)  No taxes on alcohol if purchased on Reserve, but no exemption if purchased at a location off Reserve.
d)  No taxes for goods (e.g., TV) and services (e.g., a haircut) if purchased on Reserve.
e)  Importation of goods from say the USA are taxable.
f)  Generally goods (including prepared foods over $4) will be taxed if purchased off Reserve.
g)  Motor vehicles purchased on or off Reserve are not subject to taxation (as I understand it) - but the vehicle must be delivered to the Reserve even if registered off Reserve.
h)  If an Indian purchases say a washing machine off Reserve they are subject to paying full taxes, unless it is delivered by the seller to the eligible purchaser on Reserve.
i)  As a rule, Status Indians do not pay taxes on most goods and services as long as these are for use on the Reserve.  Most, but not all.  Good luck in figuring out what is taxed and why in purchases at say a major grocery store such as Zehrs or a major retail outlet such as Canadian Tire.  When you have it all figured out let me know because I have yet to find a clear rationale when there appear to be so many exceptions.

See here for other HST exemptions.

2)  Other Taxes:  Generally the Reserve Councils do not tax their citizens directly.  This gives me the chance to sneak in a bit of reality here.  Most of the needed money comes from transfer payments via the Federal Government which means that the taxpayers of Canada are footing the bill.

-  Employment income is not taxed if earned on Reserve (some complications).
-  The Canada Pension Plan and other pensions are taxed or not based on the manner in which the income generating the pension was earned.  If earned as above, no CPP taxes.
-  Old Age Security is taxable as with every other Canadian.
-  Scholarships to Status Indians are not taxable.
-  As of 1 September 2010 in Ontario Indians do not have to pay the 8% part of the HST "on qualifying property or services at point of sale".  Wonder how this plays out in downtown Toronto.

3)  Benefits or Entitlements Available to Status Indians:  Generally what follows comes from the Federal Government and are "blessings" (entitlements) deriving from the Indian Act, and the specifics can be found here.

a)  Medical - Status Indians are entitled to uninsured heath benefits such as dental and pharmacy (medications) which are not available to "average" Canadians.  See here.
b)  Education - Post - secondary education "support" is extensive, with tuition, scholarships and all sorts of goodies, again not available to "average" Canadians.  See here.

There are numerous other "benefits and entitlements" available to Status Indians.  Until I had sifted through the website above, I did not realize the full extent of what is out there. 

I have not spoken about miscellaneous"perks" available to Six Nations members who reside on Reserve.  Just as an example, years back my neighbour who had a well paying union job off Reserve got $20,000 as a grant (and tax free of course) to build a new home.  I expect that the amount these days would be considerably more.  So Band Council provides these "gifts" as a stimulus to remove the log and tar paper houses, that when I was a kid were just about all there was here, and encourage members to build modern homes.  I fully understand the rationale of grants here since mortgages from Canadian banks cannot be obtained unless secured / guaranteed by Council.  Ultimately though, the Canadian taxpayer foots the bill since the money comes from transfer payments, rather than on Reserve taxation, which does not exist.

Just as a footnote here, I am not exactly sure why, considering the Six Nations historical reality of being refugees from what is today the United States, that the entire spectrum of the benefits available to those who are aboriginal to Ontario, can also be tapped by Six Nations members.  Well, to be frank, other than Treaty obligations spelled out in the clearest of terms when the document was signed, I can't quite grasp why one group in Canadian society has benefits not available to others.  It just seems unfair, to my way of thinking.

DeYo.

Six Nations Fleece Taxpayers out of 75 Million Dollars in Samsung Wind Generator Deal

It is often difficult to get real facts from the present Liberal Government installed in Ontario.  Former Premier McGinty, who shamelessly let Caledonia down when it needed the support of Government, and now Premier Wynne, have been negotiating with Six Nations to keep up their "green facade".

I have watched helplessly as the giant zombie robots known as wind generators march across the Ontario landscape, murdering all the birdlife in the area with their unfeeling arms.  They have stained the landscape from Port Dover in their slow but unstoppable  blitzkrieg to the point where they are now on the doorstep of South Cayuga, within the Haldimand Tract.  At this point the heat under my collar has risen to intolerable levels.  Scams, fraud, under the table deals and so much more.  Can we expect anything less from a corrupt government which has handed Caledonia over to the Six Nations as a play toy - "do what you will, we won't intervene, the OPP are now peacekeepers and have been instructed to forget about the old fashioned 'serve and protect' anachronism.  What is important is to be culturally sensitive and politically correct - otherwise we may be called 'racists', and that must be avoided at all costs."

It is very difficult to get good facts in this and related matters because the mainstream media do not want to touch this subject, they were literally battered and bruised in Caledonia - so best to focus elsewhere.  No mind that there are reporters in Syria who are risking their lives every day - Canadian media does not seem to have the stamina to go after a local story which shows in the clearest of terms that the Provincial Government and the OPP are willing to make sacrificial lambs of a place such as Caledonia which presents an inconvenient truth.

What I do know I have spoken about in previous posts, but to reiterate, the land in South Cayuga Township was first purchased for use as a toxic waste dump.  When the citizens presented a solid front with irrefutable facts to show that this was an insane idea, the Government backed down,  In the meanwhile they had lands purchased for the purpose, and additional acquisitions of family farms that were expropriated in order to build the fantasy city envisioned to accompany the fantasy industrial complex at Nanticoke.  Actually the latter did come to fruition (to a degree), there was virtually zero demand for housing and what was needed was created from the lands bought in Townsend where an actual town was created and 40 or so houses built.  Townsend has never been anything other than an embarrassing white elephant.  In South Cayuga, the original owners of the land could rent the property if they chose, but it remained Provincial land.  First it has to be converted from Provincial land to some other designation before the new off the wall scheme could be put into effect.  Since the McGinty Liberals were a "green party", and all those nasty power generating plants which did not meet their exacting standards had to be "retired" to create a need to cover the agricultural land in Southwestern Ontatio with the latest and greatest in green technology - solar panel farms and wind generation "farms".

It was no secret that Six Nations expect to be consulted in any project in the Haldimand Tract (or Southwestern Ontario) whether they had a legitimate claim or not - that is apparently irrelevant.  The Six Nations are not aboriginal to the Haldimand Tract, but rather to lands in Upstate New York.  In 2012 on the buzzword was "consultation".  Some rather clever enterprises had sprung up after the "success" of the take over the Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia in 2006.  Since no one had offered any serious challenge to the Six Nations claim that the DCE were on unceded lands, various groups sprung up to test the limits in this arena.  The fact that Six Nations had no claim to any lands beyond the boundaries of the present day Reserve by virtue of the surrender of 1844 was ignored in most quarters.  It seems more "polite" to pretend that Six Nations have legitimate land claims within the Haldimand Tract.  The fact that all the land was surrendered was acknowledged as legal and binding but the Federal Government in 2009; and was reaffirmed in an Ontario Superior Court ruling in 2010.  None the less, fact seemed to have absolutely no bearing on subsequent events. 

So with all of this embarrassing land that has been haunting successive governments over the past 30 plus years - a "solution" or sorts was found.  Forget about the lack of any validity to the Six Nations claim of possessing "unceded" lands in South Cayuga, link them with the Provincially owned parcels, and pay Six Nations for their permission to develop the lands by Samsung into a wind farm.  It all seems too bizarre too ever fly, but it soared. 

Despite the fact that the Mohawk Warriors had shown they were in control by imposing their will on the route of transmission lines from Niagara Falls, the pitifully fearful Liberal government negotiated with the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC), and Samsung was forced to deal with not only this body but also the Hereditary Confederacy Chief's Council (HCCC) who wanted their slice of the pie - turning the messier tasks or collection etc. over to their enforcement wing, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute who were not in the least averse to using threats and intimidation to obtain "process" for the HCCC and the application fees extracted from all developers who would rather that their project not be subject to work stoppages because they failed to recognize the "process".  Ultimately SNEC, the legal governance authority at Six Nations, took the lead in negotiations and while transparency was not (nor has it ever been) seen as required, it seems that the Provincial Government was willing to fork over $55 million dollars of the $500 million local deal with Samsung to SNEC for absolutely no legitimate reason what so ever - it was all politics (see here).  The Six Nations have no rights under the Nanfan Treaty of 1701 covering Southwest Ontario, nor any rights superseding those of the Crown to lands in the Haldimand Tract - let alone land that was falsely claimed as "unceded".  The land was gone before 1844 as seen in the Holmes Report submitted to Justice Harrison Arrell, Brantford Superior Court, in 2009.  The "right" to be consulted about projects in formerly owned land is a recent politically correct gift by various levels of government and is just a reflection of the times and the unwarranted guilt over the fact that Six Nations are now left with less than 5% of their former holdings (all lands sold legally and correctly between 1784 and 1850).

The wicket gets even stickier when considering some of the other wind generator deals in other parts of the Haldimand Tract which again Six Nations held nothing remotely resembling a legal title - but that does not seem to matter (see here).  After all, if Six Nations are placated, then perhaps there will be no more Caledonia "situations".  So Six Nations holds the Province and local governments hostage due to the perceived threat of further "action" whether legal or not.  No one seems to have any intention of challenging these "rights" of Six Nations (ironically the supposed "custodians of the environment"), as outlandish and as totally wrong as they might be.  Are there governments more "pansy" than ours anywhere on the planet?  To blazes with truth, justice, facts, evidence - lets just keep the lid on things and don't rock the boat.  This seems to have been the modus operandi to keep the Liberal "green agenda" moving forward with no stumbling blocks.  A progress report on this subject is available here from one of my earlier blog postings - and most recently it appears that the figure as to what Six Nations will see from the deal is upped to $75 million - not exactly chump change.

While I have spoken about this matter previously, it is my distinct impression that much discussion of the topic is falling on deaf ears.  The negative effects on human health were documented in 2013 by a University of Waterloo study (see here), and the documented impact on wildlife such as golden eagles has resulted in heavy fines for the owners of the wind turbines (see here).  Gone are the days of community activism as seen in the 1980s with the Haldimand Norfolk Organization for a Pure Environment (of which I was a member).  Unfortunately at this time in my life, direct community activism is out of the picture, so the blog will have to suffice at least for me.  So this time residents, because they failed to organize and challenge obvious factual errors such as those relating to the rationale for Six Nations involvement, will be steamrollered.  Are residents in the second decade of the second millenium ready to just roll over and give up?  That is sad and pathetic.

DeYo.

Road Blockades and Flash Mobs: Protests by Six Nations

The posting below is composed largely of my opinions. This does not reflect the content of the previous 64 posts which are largely rooted in verifyable facts.  None the less, there are multiple reasons why I believe that the topic is worthy of discussion.

I just picked up the latest issue of Turtle Island News (31 December 2013) and my eyes immediately were drawn to the caption to the side of the picture on page 1.  The picture itself showed a group of individuals, some First Nations, some White people, holding hands, doing a "round dance" while edging out into a road where there were three lanes full of vehicles backed up beyond the edge of the picture.  The caption reads, Aamjiwnaang First Nations march stops highway traffic as 'toxic tour' makes way through Sarnia. The underlining is mine.  Where were the OPP during this "action"?  Oh yes, they were "watching" while a helicopter circled overhead (p. 7).  Apparently the traffic was stopped for 3 hours! 

Now Sarnia (in the "Chemical Valley" near Lake Huron) is a long way from Six Nations, but the fact that the picture is on the first page of the local newspaper here speaks volumes about how much interest is expected in the matter from Native media far from Sarnia.  All people in Sarnia and surrounds have every reason to be concerned about the environmental hazards in that location.  My only issue is with the form of protest, not the legitimacy of the protest itself. 

However, back to page 3 where there is another article of interest, entitled, Idle No More: One Year Later.  Here the reporter provides an overview of the history of this movement, which began 10 November 2012 as a "teach in" at the University of Saskatoon about environmental issues.  Somehow this got wrapped up with the "hunger strike" (which was nothing of the sort) by Chief Theresa Spence of the Attiwapiskat Reserve in Northern Ontario who was demanding that the Federal Government meet with First Nations people on a nation - to - nation basis.  Eventually her "cause" (despite revelations of serious mismanagement of taxpayers dollars at Attiwapiskat) triggered protests elsewhere in Canada.  In particular, Protests and rallies were held in cities across North America.  Roads and highways were blocked during demonstrations and international bridges and railways were shut down, all in solidarity with Idle No More.  The underlining is mine.

Further in the article, it was reported that, Ralies, demonstrations and flash mobs continued during the holiday season until Idle No More hit fever pitch on Jan. 11, 2013 with an international day of action.  The underlining is mine.  I was scratching my head as to what a "flash mob" is in this context.  I had known of these social media driven events to be used by young thugs and gang bangers down south where I live part time - this is a means by which they create chaos and confusion to facilitate the theft of valuables at a mall.  I did not have to wait long to find that flash mobs also occurred with Six Nations youth.  My ignorance can be explained by my absence at the time of the following event from the Year in Review article on page 4 of Turtle Island News.  Here I find that, Jan. 2 - Idle No More Flash Mob Hits Brantford Mall.  Here, A crowd of 1,000 people from Six Nations and New Credit took shoppers by surprise Sunday afternoon at Lynden Park Mall launching a sudden flash mob round dance in the middle of the Christmas rush.  I can only guess at how much Christmas joy that must have brought to the merchants in Lynden Park Mall.

Then, in the same article, on Jan. 16 - Idle No More Rally Blocks Cockshutt Road, Marks Coming Global Event.  The snapshot goes on to say, Cockshutt Road was peacefully shut down Saturday by Six Nations activists in solidarity with 'Global Day of Action' and Idle No More.  The underling is mine.  Again, I was not in the area at the time and did not know of this action - guess I need to call more people more often to get the scoop on what is going on "back home".  So apparently Six Nations can just do that, close down any road or highway they wish, call it "peaceful" which is supposed to make it OK, all based on some justification that it is in solidarity with this or that. 

So here in addition to the old standby, the road blockade, there is something called a "flash mob" as a way of getting attention.  Both actually can now be "facilitated" by using the new social media options such as Twitter.  What these actions seem to have in common is that both are used as a way to protest something.  I will deal with flash mobs first.

1)  Flash Mobs:  It appears that flash mobs can emerge for a variety of reasons, to engage in bizarre behaviour (e.g., pillow fights) before dispersing, to "entertain", to manipulate a situation to obtain bargains at retail facilities, to protest some perceived wrong, or to engage in criminal behaviour.  See here for a good overview of the subject.  A very recent example of a seemingly benign "party" for "entertainment" purposes that took place at the Vancouver Airport can be seen here.  Since I am as yet unclear as to the disruption that may or may not be caused to innocent individuals by flash mobs, I will leave the topic for now and return to it on another occasion.  Here I merely wish to alert readers to the very real possibility of the escalating use of this method of getting attention in Haldimand and Brant. The "phenomenon" is becoming more common everywhere.

2)  Highway Blockades:  So how is this topic related to the theme of this blog, and why do I focus on this subject?  There are a couple of factors at work here.  First, I have always considered blockading highways, rail networks or any such activity as a very inconsiderate and unjustifiable way of getting ones point across. Inconveniencing innocent people can never be considered as justified.  For example, emergency services will be disrupted and someone could die.  Also, the protesters do not set up portable washroom facilities, so six hours in a car ...............  Who knows how many lives will be impacted in a negative way. In the  January 2013 incident, shutting down Cockshutt Road directly impacts Hagersville and Brantford, and clearly these actions were strategically sited for maximum local effect - but not taking it the next step of blocking a major thoroughfare such as Highways 6 or 403 - that was to await events later in the year. 

In November 2013 the spontaneous social media driven blockade of Highway 6 south of Caledonia occurred - which was, curiously, not mentioned in the above year in review article. The stated reason for this action was to show support for the First Nations in New Brunswick, who were at the time blocking a highway in the Moncton area (and tossing Molotov cocktails at vehicles), in their protest against fracking to extract natural gas from shale. The facilitator of the events along Highway 6 was, according to their own statements, Turtle Island News who used their "streaming" this or that with all the social media at their disposal to in effect coordinate the protest (although this may not have been their goal, only de facto the result).  The "foot soldiers" here appear to have all been adolescents or young adults.

In my opinion, those who blocked Highway 6 in November 2013 are bullys, with no concern for the rights and feelings of others. Their youth and immaturity, combined with crowd psychology, are explanations not excuses.  There was nothing unusual when I left home, but after purchasing my dinner in Caledonia, I saw that there was now bumper to bumper traffic in both directions along Argyll Street. Thanks to the kindness of fellow motorists who stopped or slowed down to let me in traffic, I was able to access Argyll Street and make for home - albeit rather slowly.

In later reflecting on this incident, I recalled the fear and anger I felt as the target of school yard bullies - blocking my way home.  The consequence of the latter here was the birth or "hatching" of the present blog to allow me to vent about matters I had until then been reluctant to reveal.  This became my version of "Idle No More" - a way of "thanking" those who resurrected "old ghosts".

It appears that the goal of the November 2013 blockade of Highway 6 by Six Nations members, which does not traverse Six Nations at any location, was to inconvenience the general public.  What I cannot understand is the rationale.  There is a protest over fracking going on 1000 miles away, but instead of "showing solidarity" by travelling to the area where the fracking is actually happening, a group of youth here at Six Nations decide that a proper course of action is to block a busy highway a few minutes from their homes.  So in effect, those impacted by the "solidarity action" had nothing whatsoever to do with fracking, and were simply convenient pawns in the game initiated by Six Nations youth.

If one were to focus on fairness and balance, it would not be surprising if local citizens decided to return the favour, if they had a valid "cause", and wanted to shut down a road that would offer comparable "inconvenience" to primarily Six Nations members living on the Reserve.  Probably the corner of Chiefswood Road and Highway 54 would have the most impact.  

Thus if citizens wanted to show solidarity with local environmentalists, one completely legitimate cause is the destruction of birds that will die on an "industrial scale" on the Six Nations supported wind farms established on lands in South Cayuga Township falsely declared as "unceded".  I wonder what would happen if local activists shut down Chiefswood Road with "round dances".  The likely OPP response here will be a function of the assessment of the composition of the protesters.  In all probability, if there is evidence that Six Nations were responsible for the action, then it is hands off, become "peacekeepers" and bring in the Native liaison officers.  If it is "only" White folks doing the deed it will be time to go into the "disperse and arrest mode".  If the composition of the gathering included both Six Nations and non Six Nations citizens ............. well that could pose difficulties for the OPP in deciding how to gauge their responses.  However, certain "Rez dynamics" ensure that no action of this particular nature will occur by Six Nations members on the Six Nations Reserve.  It would be a very brave soul indeed who contravened this unwritten rule.

There is a very real possibility that someone in say Caledonia might start a social media driven campaign to get people from as far away as Brantford, Simcoe and Dunnville to gather at the corner of Chiefswood Road and Highway 54 (an OPP patroled public Provincial highway that traverses the Onondaga Township part of the Reserve) to protest the wind generators a few miles away in South Cayuga - within the Haldimand Tract. I ask the "what would happen if" question out of mere curiosity, and I disavow any intent to spark a protest of this nature.

Edited:  3 - 6 January 2014.

DeYo.