It saddened me greatly when "Tekawenake", which at one time was the "voice of Six Nations" closed its doors - to be replaced by a dodgy publication called "Two Row Times".
I have no idea as to why "Teka", a local fixture both on and off Reserve, suddenly stopped publishing - doubtless there is an interesting story behind the move. It reminds me of when the Haldimand County newspaper, "The Regional News", was forced to shut down. I was told by an inside source that the reason was because their competitor, which is linked to a massive publishing empire, offered advertising at such low rates that it was impossible for the Regional News to stay afloat. It was a shame because it offered an unbiased forum for those who were most impacted by the Caledonia 2006 situation. Even Gary McHale had a column - something that I suspect would be too "controversial" for the remaining newspapers. The publishers were clearly sympathetic to the plight of Caledonians, and gave voice to these concerns. They organized a book signing for Christie Blatchford's book "Helpless" about Caledonia's struggle against not only Native aggression, but also Government apathy. But their bottom line could only withstand the onslaught by the well funded mega conglomerate (who could carry the other local newspaper at a loss until the competition folded) for so long. Anyway, that was the story given to me by the publishers of a much missed local newspaper. Presently, residents of Haldimand County have two newspapers, "The Sachem" (I don't have any complaints whatsoever about the content of the paper), and the "Haldimand Press" which has a more restricted circulation due to the fee charged for each issue (The Sachem is free, both in print and online).
So for reasons that have never come to my attention, "Tekawenake" just vanished, leaving "Turtle Island News" (TIN) as the sole newspaper on the Reserve. Some concerns here are noteworthy. This newspaper (TIN) is entirely behind the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) and the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) with the result that little if anything as to what is going on with the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) is seen in print. One is forced to go to their website to locate this information, but for many this is not something equivalent to having a weekly newspaper that would inform the public as to what is happening with the many activities of SNEC from repair of the roads, to the development projects with which they are involved. There is no on Reserve newspaper that will offer Six Nations members and others key information of what is happening with the most essential services on the Reserve.
So, there was a vacuum, and as with all vacuums, something will fill it eventually. In this case, some of the non-native participants of the defunct "Tekawenake" and their political buddies, convinced a member of the Six Nations business community to embark on an new venture to compete with "Turtle Island News". And so, "Two Row Times" (TRT) was born. At least they will print articles or letters to the Editor from members or supporters of the Elected Council, and serve a much needed function.
On the down side, the non-natives who have assumed significant roles (e.g., editor, general manager, reporter) at TRT are all of the same far left wing radical element, some of whom have directly caused so much suffering in Caledonia. They are composed of radical union members, Anarchists, Communists, and those who support the use of violence at events such as the G8 and G20 Conferences in Toronto, and are in attendance at such events. All or most were organizers and major participants of the spring 2012 "parade" (protest march) that, as I have said before, shut down Caledonia on a Saturday, and risked, in the words of the then Elected Chief William Montour, "opening old wounds". Still, this destructive path did not deter our intrepid anti-capitalist, anti-establishment, and as far as I am concerned, anti-social individuals from stressing our already wounded community in order to meet their own agenda. They showed their true colours at that time, having bussed in all the Toronto radicals that would fit on the CUPE bus and others hired for the occasion. Palestinian, Black Bloc, Communist Party of Canada and other violent, radical elements flew their flags at an event which was billed as promoting healing between Caledonia and Six Nations. That was the spin, but the goal was something quite different. They hoped to once again draw fracture lines within and between Haldimand and Six Nations, and to a degree they succeeded. I will never forget their block long purple and white "Two Row" flag being held horizontally and undulating as waves on a lake by marchers in the fashion of pall bearers. It is interesting that many of those who participated in the "rally" at this time went on to form the supposed "Native" and "Reserve" newspaper, "Two Row Times".
I have expressed my concern that this supposed Reserve newspaper is nothing more than a platform for the same old same old radical elements that have been loitering around Caledonia since 2006, and are members of various "solidarity" with Six Nations groups, and are in control of a newspaper that is being touted as "Native" and "Reserve". While I am no friend to the Editor / Publisher / Owner of "Turtle Island News" (TIN), I do think that her take on this "newsletter" is most revealing. She alerts people to the fact that it is operated from the barn in Brant County of the brother (who is a physician at Brantford General Hospital) of the most notorious radical TK whose background in radical left wing politics I have discussed on numerous occasions. The TIN Editor believes that it has nothing to do with the Reserve, and that TIN is at present the only Reserve newspaper. The Editor's comments seen here are well worth taking the time to read.
Due to the radical left wing anti-Canadian and anti-Semitic views expressed in "Two Row Times" one must question whether it should be supported by the community. It seems to be calling itself one thing (a voice of the Reserve) but in fact is something quite different (a platform for the promulgation of dangerous radical left wing ideals of those bent on the destruction of Canada). If this is true, then we would have to ask ourselves whether supporting the paper in any manner is justified.
As I said in a recent posting,
Those individuals and corporations who wish to have their names and company logos associated with this newspaper do so at their own risk. As long as the non-Native Anarchist - Communist radicals are affiliated with the newspaper there will be a strong bias in the direction of the far left activists.
I wish that there was a viable alternative to the Hereditary Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) publishing wing, "Turtle Island News", but alas when "Tekawenake" was disbanded, it left a vacuum that was filled by non-Native radical Unionists, Anarchists, Communists and those who they support (which includes the Palestinians), and Native tag alongs. The down side of ridding the community of "Two Row Times" is that the Elected Council, the single legitimate governance group on Reserve, and the voice of moderation, would be silenced. It is a difficult call, but those advertisers who pay for large advertisements in this newspaper may wish to assess their priorities. I will certainly not be doing business with any of these companies. Perhaps there are others who will also take a similar stand here, and the bottom line of those who inadvertently support anti-Semitism and similar hatred could be impacted.
In my opinion, something similar to "Two Row Times" is needed at Six Nations, but without the non-native agitators with a violent and hate mongering background - but I will be watching who gives their advertising dollars to this newspaper, whose views only foster hatred.
DeYo.
Thursday 7 August 2014
Response to HDI's Constructing Fence at DCE; Six Nations Factionalism Worsens
Some things just never seem to change. No matter what the reality and the truth of the matter, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) and their Media supporters ("Turtle Island News") match to their own drummer along a path of their own choosing, and seeing themselves as being victims, being left out of the process - when the facts say precisely the opposite. Talk about bull headed, and head strong, and "its my way or no way", and my perspective has validity, yours does not. The sheer arrogance in the face of an array of groups all expressing the same concerns does not make the HDI deviate from their chosen path by one centimeter. Here is the latest, and it involves two "f" words, fence and factionalism. What follows simply adds the next chapter to the saga I have written about in numerous earlier postings.
The present situation 6 August 2014: First an update on the fence which was illegally constructed along the north side of the DCE property where it meets the backyards of the lots along Thistlemore Street in Caledonia.
Article 1: "Two Row Times" on page 8, has an article entitled, Opposition to Kanonhstaton fence opens familiar wounds. The article sets the stage by saying that, Despite some frantic and grossly exaggerated posts on local blogs, only a couple of families with property abutting the former Douglas Creek Estates, now known at Six Nations as Kanonhstaton, have been in any kind of verbal conflict with Six Nations people at the contested site near Caledonia. The author then points the finger at one resident, DR, "her friends and relatives" everything has been quite peaceful since the fence went in, even considering that a "Native flag" ("Mohawk Warrior"?) was installed behind her home - a message perhaps? I wonder what would have happened if DR installed a Canadian flag in the same location of the land she says the Province of Ontario had given her permission to grow a garden.
Apparently only the fence posts are up, and await the chain link fencing (a much more expensive proposition). Also, RF who knows DR and is an outspoken critic of the Six Nations hypocrisy surrounding DCE, warned that, unless the fence posts across what used to be the northern entrance to Kanonhstaton were removed, there would be "action". RF, did not specify what that would entail. The author notes how most of the neighbours have been very helpful in cleaning up, and there have been "impromptu" baseball games presumably between the children of Thistlemore and the illegal occupants. The author accuses both DR and RF of being, known supporters of "anti-Native rights activist Gary McHale" who engages in "publicity stunts". That is a complete fabrication, no one with a "good mind" would see McHale's actions as anything but what they are, a statement of the frustration of having to deal with a two - tiered system of policing and a double standard where Natives are shown the kidd glove treatment, and non-Natives risk arrest for the same actions. Those are the facts. I have been there and with my own eyes witnessed all of these shenanigans while the reporter of this article was also present. The author goes on to talk about how while McHale sees Natives as Canadians, the Onkwehonwe people see themselves as separate (unless of course they are taking handouts from the taxpayer via the Federal Government), living on traditional lands they occupied since long before European contact. This if far from the first time that this reporter has made a serious mistake of fact. The Six Nations are immigrants to the Grand River Haldimand Tract, which belonged to the aboriginal Mississauga people and was purchased by them from Governor Haldimand in 1784. So, "before European contact" - hardly. Then follows more historically incorrect information, which is so frustrating since, while it is consonant with Six Nations beliefs, is absolutely refuted by factual data - which means zip to most Six Nations in the target audience.
The reporter JW, non-Native (author of the article), goes on at length blaming the victim DR for her own troubles. Was she just supposed to tolerate the horrors of 2006 with some sort of equanimity never seen in any of the Six Nations "protestors". A pitiful attack on a 71 year old woman standing up for her rights and what she believes in - but that cannot be allowed, all must conform to HDI modes of thinking. The writer also castigates the granddaughter of DR and the blog she has created to tell the world her grandmother's story - as if this should somehow be stifled - again because it does not resonate well with HDI dogma, their version of reality.
The author then blames Ontario for aggravating the situation by not coming clean with what it knows about the situation and meeting with the HCCC representatives, the HDI. Then the author says something which gives me pause to think that perhaps he does see the complexity of the matter when he says that it is not clear who is not telling the truth here, "perhaps it is everybody". That at least allows some possibility that there is more than one side to the matter. The author, however, ends on a note that can best be described as "threatening". He says that whatever may be the case here, either way, it is not helping to prevent the situation from flaring up into open conflict again.
Article 2: The "Turtle Island News" (p.9), the now mouthpiece of HCCC/HDI, provides the expected slant on matters. The article is entitled, Ontario Aboriginal Affairs bureaucrats told talk to Confederacy. It seems that there may be a fracture line emerging from within the HCCC/HDI ranks, and even more so in the group outside the HCCC circle of clones.
New role for the Men's Fire: Led by Confederacy Chief Bill Monture, had the nerve to speak with two Ontario Ministry bureaucrats when everyone knows, or should know "the protocol" - and at his home no less. In other words, no one does anything without the say so of the HDI, the font of all information of relevance from Six Nations. Monture said that he was disappointed that no one from the Elected Council, the HCCC or the HDI attended despite invitations being sent. The HDI claims that they weren't invited, but were busy anyway. Of course the HDI Director's hair is all frazzled because Ontario refuses to "renew the protocol". Monture said that he made it clear to the Province that, the only way you can negotiate is through our Confederacy. That's the proper protocol - not meeting with the band or anyone but strictly with the Confederacy. It is what he didn't say that speaks volumes. In other words, although the HDI consider that they speak for the HCCC, Monture is adamant that Ontario must speak with the HCCC Chiefs, and was not clear about the role of the HDI. Is it any wonder that the Provincial Government is completely confused as to who speaks for Six Nations? Of course the answer is that there are factions within factions that claim to speak for Six Nations and as a result nothing gets done and the Government, whether Ontario or Ottawa, take the blame.
Also at the meeting at the home of Chief Monture was Haldimand County Mayor Ken Hewitt. Monture said that Hewitt was "upset" because no one notified them about the fence going up, to which Monture countered that Hewitt told no one at Six Nations when the County planned to pull down the barricade blocking Surrey Street. That is a profound error. Mayor Hewitt is receiving a lot of criticism from his own constituents for negotiating with Six Nations about the matter, offering to attend a meeting with the Elected and Hereditary Chiefs as well as Ontario. The HCCC was formally invited in writing to attend a meeting (which Monture calls "secret"), but they refused leaving the Chief of the Elected Council to attend as the sole representative of Six Nations - but HCCC was invited. Amazing how people can tell "untruths" like this and there are many who will believe them despite the extensive media coverage of the meeting. Apparently Mayor Hewitt was also concerned because fence post holes were drilled into a County road, instead of putting in a gate - an obvious illegal act. Monture's response was, He has no choice, let's put it that way. Amazingly arrogant, but hardly unexpected response by the Hereditary Chief.
More factions create more issues: So the HCCC is upset that Ontario met with the Elected Council since, the community's support is behind the Confederacy, not band council. Well, I know for a fact that this is false, and Monture is speaking through his a&&. Furthermore, he is annoyed that Ontario has met with the Mohawks of the Grand River, and Men's Fire - other factions of some note at Six Nations. Of course if Ontario did not meet with these groups there would have been a hew and cry from them - such craziness.
Haldimand's Mayor takes a stand: Without a shadow of a doubt, Mayor Hewitt was furious that the posts were put into a County road, and, they're doing it illegally. They've been told those poles need to be removed and the road needs to be replaced as it was. Short of that, we have no choice from our perspective other than to advise the OPP that they're not in compliance with the county.
Ontario takes a stand: The Province will not be badgered into doing things the HDI way. They are willing to meet with the HCCC but they were turned down. Further efforts have met with stonewalling. The Ministry met with Men's Fire, Mohawks of the Grand River, Elected Council, and has been turned down each time they try to meet with the HCCC - although that is not that spin generated by the HCCC spokesperson group, the HDI.
The HDI (and HCCC) stubborn refusal to meet with Ontario, but blaming Ontario: As the above will indicate, all the best of intentions on the part of Ontario will be for naught unless they conform to the specific requirements of the HDI - no matter how off the wall. The rationale for the HCCC not meeting with the Ontario Aboriginal Affairs is as follows, according to the above article: The Ministry had invited the Confederacy Chiefs who were unable to attend because the Ministry has refused to sign a communications protocol with the Confederacy that would allow them to attend the meetings. However if the Ministry did sign the protocol then they would be giving up any possibility of meeting with the Elected Council or other groups who wished to have input. That would never be acceptable to the Province and the HDI better get used to it since myself and others will call them on their hypocrisy - even saying, absurdly, that, The Confederacy has attempted several times to arrange meetings with the Ontario Minister and been rebuffed, said the HDI Director.
Article 3: Editorial in "Turtle Island News": The accompanying Editorial, companion to Article 2, is entitled, Ontario fostering division at Six Nations and violence over a fence. Both the article and Editorial are written by the Editor, so the content is virtually identical. However, there are some comments worth quoting.
Here is a "doozy" - But it appears that the security fence has done nothing but make Ontario's Liberals the most insecure they have felt since winning a majority government and sent Haldimand Mayor Ken Hewitt into a tail spin trying to figure out how he will be able to continue whine to the province for more money for his "victimized" community when his own community is helping build the fence in partnership with Six Nations in keeping non-native activists out of their town. Such nonsense. One person from Caledonia was reported to have provided assistance in some manner - hardly a trend, and likely a person scared sh*tless and hoping to curry favour from the aggressors. The Editor makes all sorts of attributions about the neighbours along Thistlemore, but is short on documented examples. I may not live on Thistlemore, but I do reside in Caledonia and I would sooner have three root canals without anesthetic that lift one finger to build an illegal fence on land owned by Ontario, and lawfully ceded by Six Nations ancestors, specifically 47 Chiefs in Council, on 18 December 1844. Then there is an attempt to suggest that both Caledonians and Six Nations are upset that Ontario did not meet with the Confederacy - I would like to see evidence that more than a handful of Six Nations and Caledonians are concerned that the Confederacy meet with Six Nations - likely most would wish the legitimate negotiating group, which would be the Elected Council, to meet with either Ontario or Ottawa. The Editor then accused Ontario, by not meeting with the HCCC under the bizarre demands of their supposed spokespersons, the HDI as follows: There is no question that move was an attempt to foster division within Six Nations and prevent any unity here that would see any repeat of the 2006 Reclamation. But a meeting with the local "Men's Fire" isn't going to stop anything. So now the once valued and respected Men's Fire is seen as but another divisive force within Six Nations - how quickly things change when someone does not unquestioningly accept the authority of the HDI.
Article 4: The "Sachem" of 6 August 2014 includes an article entitled, Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs releases a statement on DCE fence (see here). The article states the following:
“Ontario is aware that there are people currently on the former Douglas Creek Estates (DCE) property who are engaged in putting up a fence on the northeast side of DCE. The Province, the owner of the DCE property, does not support this unilateral action and has not given its permission to anyone to build a fence on DCE.
“Ontario has been having discussions with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) and Haldimand County about the possibility of building a fence on the northeast side of DCE. This approach would include talking to local residents.
“It is unfortunate that the individuals who are currently building the fence on DCE felt that they could not wait for the discussions about the fence to be completed.
“Ontario recognizes that all communities impacted by the situation at DCE deserve to be treated with respect and that solutions can only be found when all parties work collaboratively, respectfully and in good faith. To that end, the Province is willing to continue to work with the HCCC, the SNEC and Haldimand County to find a path that will reduce the potential for confrontation and ensure safety at the DCE property. We believe that it is crucial that all parties work together to remove symbols that could attract ongoing protests. “
Summary of the Above Articles
Focus on the HDI and the Fence: The fence is but one way of the HDI asserting its authority. Without it, something else would have to be created or designed. Despite the indisputable (to sane rational individuals) fact that, despite not being a legally mandated group whose role it is to speak for Six Nations (that would be the Six Nations Elected Council - SNEC), but an appendage of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), the Haudenosaunee Development Institute not only expects but demands to be the sole party with which the Province of Ontario negotiates. This is their self - assigned role. They has been in existence since 2006 when their radical antics brought them some initial success in extorting money from developers in Cayuga, Hagersville, and Brantford - but at a cost in all three with Court Injunctions, upheld on appeal, being issued against the HDI and supporters. Their past efforts to use violence and intimidation with any group with whom they have dealings, and to leverage concessions, is well documented - yet still they have some form of "standing" - at least in some circles. By now the Ontario Government is up to their tricks and have refused to go along with the "demanded" renewal of the HDI "protocol" - which would allow the HDI to call all the shots and basically have the Province at its mercy, and ultimately virtually guarantee that DCE would be returned not to Six Nations, but to the private HDI Land Registry which is not open to anyone except the select group of non-Christian Six Nations, who are of a "good mind", and who can speak with their HCCC Chief through their Clan Mother - although only a minority at Six Nations have any idea as to their clan, and who is the "proper authority" to speak with.
Focus on Present Responses of Haldimand County and the Province of Ontario: Clearly the Province and the County are angry and frustrated by those controlling the DCE, in other words the HDI. They are by now aware that there is no negotiating with them, only accepting demands - period. One hopes that both jurisdictions will take decisive action based on this awareness, and will act in the interests of all those except the HDI who have shown by their actions that they are undeserving of any further consideration. Since they have no wish to negotiate except by placing Ontario under duress, and since it is generally not a good idea to negotiate with terrorists, hopefully the rational elements at Six Nations and the County and Province can come to some agreement that will not set a counterproductive precedent - as would be the case by caving into HDI demands and acceding to their "protocol".
Focus on Factionalism within Six Nations: The problem of factionalism at Six Nations is endemic and can be traced at least back to the divisions between the Catholic (Kahnawake) and Protestant (Mohawk Valley) Mohawks. Then among the latter there were disputes between the Upper and Lower Villages of Mohawks in the Mohawk Valley, and subsequently in both Tyendinaga and Six Nations where brother killed brother, and cousin killed cousin, that culminated in a bloodbath at the former in 1800 - as every individual chose which "chief's party" to join. Some things never change. Some things will never change!
A Summary of the factions found today at Six Nations would include, in broad groupings:
A) The Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC): Along with SNEC, who is the legitimate representative of Six Nations in dealings with the Federal Government and all other agencies; the Mohawks of the Grand River, while perhaps unaligned, would likely see their interests falling into the less controversial Band Council.
B) The Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC): The HCCC has no formal recognition except in what it is able to obtain via extortion from for example developers, and from the present alignment with the Haudenosaunee Development Institute better known as HDI, which does the talking for HCCC, and as far as I can see, the decision making - despite what you will be told "officially". Giving some further legitimacy to their cause (moral not legal) is Men's Fire, composed of Hereditary Chiefs and conservative / traditional males. The publishing wing of the HCCC is "Turtle Island News".
Confused yet? Imagine being an Ontario Provincial Government negotiator and trying to wrap your mind around all this. Those of us locals who are well versed in history know that this is just par for the course.
DeYo.
The present situation 6 August 2014: First an update on the fence which was illegally constructed along the north side of the DCE property where it meets the backyards of the lots along Thistlemore Street in Caledonia.
Article 1: "Two Row Times" on page 8, has an article entitled, Opposition to Kanonhstaton fence opens familiar wounds. The article sets the stage by saying that, Despite some frantic and grossly exaggerated posts on local blogs, only a couple of families with property abutting the former Douglas Creek Estates, now known at Six Nations as Kanonhstaton, have been in any kind of verbal conflict with Six Nations people at the contested site near Caledonia. The author then points the finger at one resident, DR, "her friends and relatives" everything has been quite peaceful since the fence went in, even considering that a "Native flag" ("Mohawk Warrior"?) was installed behind her home - a message perhaps? I wonder what would have happened if DR installed a Canadian flag in the same location of the land she says the Province of Ontario had given her permission to grow a garden.
Apparently only the fence posts are up, and await the chain link fencing (a much more expensive proposition). Also, RF who knows DR and is an outspoken critic of the Six Nations hypocrisy surrounding DCE, warned that, unless the fence posts across what used to be the northern entrance to Kanonhstaton were removed, there would be "action". RF, did not specify what that would entail. The author notes how most of the neighbours have been very helpful in cleaning up, and there have been "impromptu" baseball games presumably between the children of Thistlemore and the illegal occupants. The author accuses both DR and RF of being, known supporters of "anti-Native rights activist Gary McHale" who engages in "publicity stunts". That is a complete fabrication, no one with a "good mind" would see McHale's actions as anything but what they are, a statement of the frustration of having to deal with a two - tiered system of policing and a double standard where Natives are shown the kidd glove treatment, and non-Natives risk arrest for the same actions. Those are the facts. I have been there and with my own eyes witnessed all of these shenanigans while the reporter of this article was also present. The author goes on to talk about how while McHale sees Natives as Canadians, the Onkwehonwe people see themselves as separate (unless of course they are taking handouts from the taxpayer via the Federal Government), living on traditional lands they occupied since long before European contact. This if far from the first time that this reporter has made a serious mistake of fact. The Six Nations are immigrants to the Grand River Haldimand Tract, which belonged to the aboriginal Mississauga people and was purchased by them from Governor Haldimand in 1784. So, "before European contact" - hardly. Then follows more historically incorrect information, which is so frustrating since, while it is consonant with Six Nations beliefs, is absolutely refuted by factual data - which means zip to most Six Nations in the target audience.
The reporter JW, non-Native (author of the article), goes on at length blaming the victim DR for her own troubles. Was she just supposed to tolerate the horrors of 2006 with some sort of equanimity never seen in any of the Six Nations "protestors". A pitiful attack on a 71 year old woman standing up for her rights and what she believes in - but that cannot be allowed, all must conform to HDI modes of thinking. The writer also castigates the granddaughter of DR and the blog she has created to tell the world her grandmother's story - as if this should somehow be stifled - again because it does not resonate well with HDI dogma, their version of reality.
The author then blames Ontario for aggravating the situation by not coming clean with what it knows about the situation and meeting with the HCCC representatives, the HDI. Then the author says something which gives me pause to think that perhaps he does see the complexity of the matter when he says that it is not clear who is not telling the truth here, "perhaps it is everybody". That at least allows some possibility that there is more than one side to the matter. The author, however, ends on a note that can best be described as "threatening". He says that whatever may be the case here, either way, it is not helping to prevent the situation from flaring up into open conflict again.
Article 2: The "Turtle Island News" (p.9), the now mouthpiece of HCCC/HDI, provides the expected slant on matters. The article is entitled, Ontario Aboriginal Affairs bureaucrats told talk to Confederacy. It seems that there may be a fracture line emerging from within the HCCC/HDI ranks, and even more so in the group outside the HCCC circle of clones.
New role for the Men's Fire: Led by Confederacy Chief Bill Monture, had the nerve to speak with two Ontario Ministry bureaucrats when everyone knows, or should know "the protocol" - and at his home no less. In other words, no one does anything without the say so of the HDI, the font of all information of relevance from Six Nations. Monture said that he was disappointed that no one from the Elected Council, the HCCC or the HDI attended despite invitations being sent. The HDI claims that they weren't invited, but were busy anyway. Of course the HDI Director's hair is all frazzled because Ontario refuses to "renew the protocol". Monture said that he made it clear to the Province that, the only way you can negotiate is through our Confederacy. That's the proper protocol - not meeting with the band or anyone but strictly with the Confederacy. It is what he didn't say that speaks volumes. In other words, although the HDI consider that they speak for the HCCC, Monture is adamant that Ontario must speak with the HCCC Chiefs, and was not clear about the role of the HDI. Is it any wonder that the Provincial Government is completely confused as to who speaks for Six Nations? Of course the answer is that there are factions within factions that claim to speak for Six Nations and as a result nothing gets done and the Government, whether Ontario or Ottawa, take the blame.
Also at the meeting at the home of Chief Monture was Haldimand County Mayor Ken Hewitt. Monture said that Hewitt was "upset" because no one notified them about the fence going up, to which Monture countered that Hewitt told no one at Six Nations when the County planned to pull down the barricade blocking Surrey Street. That is a profound error. Mayor Hewitt is receiving a lot of criticism from his own constituents for negotiating with Six Nations about the matter, offering to attend a meeting with the Elected and Hereditary Chiefs as well as Ontario. The HCCC was formally invited in writing to attend a meeting (which Monture calls "secret"), but they refused leaving the Chief of the Elected Council to attend as the sole representative of Six Nations - but HCCC was invited. Amazing how people can tell "untruths" like this and there are many who will believe them despite the extensive media coverage of the meeting. Apparently Mayor Hewitt was also concerned because fence post holes were drilled into a County road, instead of putting in a gate - an obvious illegal act. Monture's response was, He has no choice, let's put it that way. Amazingly arrogant, but hardly unexpected response by the Hereditary Chief.
More factions create more issues: So the HCCC is upset that Ontario met with the Elected Council since, the community's support is behind the Confederacy, not band council. Well, I know for a fact that this is false, and Monture is speaking through his a&&. Furthermore, he is annoyed that Ontario has met with the Mohawks of the Grand River, and Men's Fire - other factions of some note at Six Nations. Of course if Ontario did not meet with these groups there would have been a hew and cry from them - such craziness.
Haldimand's Mayor takes a stand: Without a shadow of a doubt, Mayor Hewitt was furious that the posts were put into a County road, and, they're doing it illegally. They've been told those poles need to be removed and the road needs to be replaced as it was. Short of that, we have no choice from our perspective other than to advise the OPP that they're not in compliance with the county.
Ontario takes a stand: The Province will not be badgered into doing things the HDI way. They are willing to meet with the HCCC but they were turned down. Further efforts have met with stonewalling. The Ministry met with Men's Fire, Mohawks of the Grand River, Elected Council, and has been turned down each time they try to meet with the HCCC - although that is not that spin generated by the HCCC spokesperson group, the HDI.
The HDI (and HCCC) stubborn refusal to meet with Ontario, but blaming Ontario: As the above will indicate, all the best of intentions on the part of Ontario will be for naught unless they conform to the specific requirements of the HDI - no matter how off the wall. The rationale for the HCCC not meeting with the Ontario Aboriginal Affairs is as follows, according to the above article: The Ministry had invited the Confederacy Chiefs who were unable to attend because the Ministry has refused to sign a communications protocol with the Confederacy that would allow them to attend the meetings. However if the Ministry did sign the protocol then they would be giving up any possibility of meeting with the Elected Council or other groups who wished to have input. That would never be acceptable to the Province and the HDI better get used to it since myself and others will call them on their hypocrisy - even saying, absurdly, that, The Confederacy has attempted several times to arrange meetings with the Ontario Minister and been rebuffed, said the HDI Director.
Article 3: Editorial in "Turtle Island News": The accompanying Editorial, companion to Article 2, is entitled, Ontario fostering division at Six Nations and violence over a fence. Both the article and Editorial are written by the Editor, so the content is virtually identical. However, there are some comments worth quoting.
Here is a "doozy" - But it appears that the security fence has done nothing but make Ontario's Liberals the most insecure they have felt since winning a majority government and sent Haldimand Mayor Ken Hewitt into a tail spin trying to figure out how he will be able to continue whine to the province for more money for his "victimized" community when his own community is helping build the fence in partnership with Six Nations in keeping non-native activists out of their town. Such nonsense. One person from Caledonia was reported to have provided assistance in some manner - hardly a trend, and likely a person scared sh*tless and hoping to curry favour from the aggressors. The Editor makes all sorts of attributions about the neighbours along Thistlemore, but is short on documented examples. I may not live on Thistlemore, but I do reside in Caledonia and I would sooner have three root canals without anesthetic that lift one finger to build an illegal fence on land owned by Ontario, and lawfully ceded by Six Nations ancestors, specifically 47 Chiefs in Council, on 18 December 1844. Then there is an attempt to suggest that both Caledonians and Six Nations are upset that Ontario did not meet with the Confederacy - I would like to see evidence that more than a handful of Six Nations and Caledonians are concerned that the Confederacy meet with Six Nations - likely most would wish the legitimate negotiating group, which would be the Elected Council, to meet with either Ontario or Ottawa. The Editor then accused Ontario, by not meeting with the HCCC under the bizarre demands of their supposed spokespersons, the HDI as follows: There is no question that move was an attempt to foster division within Six Nations and prevent any unity here that would see any repeat of the 2006 Reclamation. But a meeting with the local "Men's Fire" isn't going to stop anything. So now the once valued and respected Men's Fire is seen as but another divisive force within Six Nations - how quickly things change when someone does not unquestioningly accept the authority of the HDI.
Article 4: The "Sachem" of 6 August 2014 includes an article entitled, Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs releases a statement on DCE fence (see here). The article states the following:
“Ontario is aware that there are people currently on the former Douglas Creek Estates (DCE) property who are engaged in putting up a fence on the northeast side of DCE. The Province, the owner of the DCE property, does not support this unilateral action and has not given its permission to anyone to build a fence on DCE.
“Ontario has been having discussions with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) and Haldimand County about the possibility of building a fence on the northeast side of DCE. This approach would include talking to local residents.
“It is unfortunate that the individuals who are currently building the fence on DCE felt that they could not wait for the discussions about the fence to be completed.
“Ontario recognizes that all communities impacted by the situation at DCE deserve to be treated with respect and that solutions can only be found when all parties work collaboratively, respectfully and in good faith. To that end, the Province is willing to continue to work with the HCCC, the SNEC and Haldimand County to find a path that will reduce the potential for confrontation and ensure safety at the DCE property. We believe that it is crucial that all parties work together to remove symbols that could attract ongoing protests. “
Summary of the Above Articles
Focus on the HDI and the Fence: The fence is but one way of the HDI asserting its authority. Without it, something else would have to be created or designed. Despite the indisputable (to sane rational individuals) fact that, despite not being a legally mandated group whose role it is to speak for Six Nations (that would be the Six Nations Elected Council - SNEC), but an appendage of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), the Haudenosaunee Development Institute not only expects but demands to be the sole party with which the Province of Ontario negotiates. This is their self - assigned role. They has been in existence since 2006 when their radical antics brought them some initial success in extorting money from developers in Cayuga, Hagersville, and Brantford - but at a cost in all three with Court Injunctions, upheld on appeal, being issued against the HDI and supporters. Their past efforts to use violence and intimidation with any group with whom they have dealings, and to leverage concessions, is well documented - yet still they have some form of "standing" - at least in some circles. By now the Ontario Government is up to their tricks and have refused to go along with the "demanded" renewal of the HDI "protocol" - which would allow the HDI to call all the shots and basically have the Province at its mercy, and ultimately virtually guarantee that DCE would be returned not to Six Nations, but to the private HDI Land Registry which is not open to anyone except the select group of non-Christian Six Nations, who are of a "good mind", and who can speak with their HCCC Chief through their Clan Mother - although only a minority at Six Nations have any idea as to their clan, and who is the "proper authority" to speak with.
Focus on Present Responses of Haldimand County and the Province of Ontario: Clearly the Province and the County are angry and frustrated by those controlling the DCE, in other words the HDI. They are by now aware that there is no negotiating with them, only accepting demands - period. One hopes that both jurisdictions will take decisive action based on this awareness, and will act in the interests of all those except the HDI who have shown by their actions that they are undeserving of any further consideration. Since they have no wish to negotiate except by placing Ontario under duress, and since it is generally not a good idea to negotiate with terrorists, hopefully the rational elements at Six Nations and the County and Province can come to some agreement that will not set a counterproductive precedent - as would be the case by caving into HDI demands and acceding to their "protocol".
Focus on Factionalism within Six Nations: The problem of factionalism at Six Nations is endemic and can be traced at least back to the divisions between the Catholic (Kahnawake) and Protestant (Mohawk Valley) Mohawks. Then among the latter there were disputes between the Upper and Lower Villages of Mohawks in the Mohawk Valley, and subsequently in both Tyendinaga and Six Nations where brother killed brother, and cousin killed cousin, that culminated in a bloodbath at the former in 1800 - as every individual chose which "chief's party" to join. Some things never change. Some things will never change!
A Summary of the factions found today at Six Nations would include, in broad groupings:
A) The Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC): Along with SNEC, who is the legitimate representative of Six Nations in dealings with the Federal Government and all other agencies; the Mohawks of the Grand River, while perhaps unaligned, would likely see their interests falling into the less controversial Band Council.
B) The Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC): The HCCC has no formal recognition except in what it is able to obtain via extortion from for example developers, and from the present alignment with the Haudenosaunee Development Institute better known as HDI, which does the talking for HCCC, and as far as I can see, the decision making - despite what you will be told "officially". Giving some further legitimacy to their cause (moral not legal) is Men's Fire, composed of Hereditary Chiefs and conservative / traditional males. The publishing wing of the HCCC is "Turtle Island News".
Confused yet? Imagine being an Ontario Provincial Government negotiator and trying to wrap your mind around all this. Those of us locals who are well versed in history know that this is just par for the course.
DeYo.
Wednesday 6 August 2014
Anti-Semitic and Anti-Canadian Editorial in "Two Row Times" Newspaper
Although I suspected that only the non-Native Editor of "Two Row Times" had a hand in the despicable anti-Semitic anti-Jew article of last week's issue (see here), I was apparently wrong.
I suspect that what follows is a vain attempt at "damage control" after the above article received some negative backlash by myself and others.
In "Two Row Times" of 6 August 2014 (p.6) is an Editorial, Ambidextrous Politics, on the same subject which makes it crystal clear that JG, the co-Editor who is a Six Nations member, also shares a similar view of Jews.
It can readily be shown that despite almost constant persecution and waves of genocide from the Middle Ages to modern times, the Jews have persevered and made a success of whatever they were allowed to pursue (generally, for example, they were not allowed to own land in Europe). They funded the campaigns of European Princes and aristocracy, but when the debt accumulated, instead of doing the honourable thing and selling property to pay monies owed, many aristocratic Europeans in debt to the Jews called for their expulsion or their execution - genocide. Still they survived. In more recent times all of the major movie studios in Hollywood were owned by Jews from a small area in Eastern Europe (e.g., Warner Brothers, Goldwyn). Is there a major Broadway musical whose score was not written by a Jew (e.g., Gershwin, Hammerstein)? So with success despite adversity comes jealousy. The adolescent idealists and the marginal players of life do not take kindly to a small group of people who overcome unimaginable impediments to become the most successful of entrepreneurs, entertainers, medical specialists, professors, and you name it. So more hatred, and from Six Nations. So lets look at the words of the above Editorial, and see the direct meaning and what is between the lines.
I am sorry, but the first part of the Editorial is indecipherable to me - its meaning lost, so I won't dwell on it. After some questionable historical overview of how the Jewish state came to arrive in the Middle East, the Editor says, Admittedly as an Indigenous person I cannot help but being pro-Palestinian. Being forcibly removed from your land sounds familiar. There are certain discrepancies which I bring up when talking to my right wing friends who blindly support Israel because of their religious convictions. To their ears I sound like a Quran carrying pro-Hamas terrorist.
Well, if the shoe fits .... The Editor then discusses a small group of Jews in New York City who, for reasons of theology, believe that until the Messiah appears, Israel does not belong to the Jews alone.
The Editor continues, When I look at the resurgence of the Jewish people I feel ambivalent. Someday I hope that my people the Haudenosaunee will retake our homelands and form our own country which already exists in our hearts and minds. Perhaps we will be funded $233.7 billion by a foreign world power. By then the people of Canada and the United States will probably realize that the land is theirs and that they are indigenous in some way or other. My prayer is that we will not destroy them or advocate genocide ................ Unless I am greatly misinterpreting the bold printed statement, the Editor is giving a veiled threat of all out war if Canada does not give in to the "demands" of Six Nations. I am not at all clear on what the Editor means, but if the words can be taken at face value then what he is saying is profoundly disturbing, and he needs to be taken to task for these words.
Continuing, The 10,000+ Jews against Israel declared that the land does not belong to Benjamin Netanyahu but to the Creator of Heaven and Earth. In our ancient ways the Haudenosaunee say that we borrow it from the coming faces, our descendants. Maybe we are both saying the same thing. Concerning the last statement, the Editor may wish to explain this philosophy to the Director of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute who is obsessed with obtaining not only the former Douglas Creek Estates, but also other land acquisitions, to place in their HDI Land Registry - the goal is ownership, the transfer of the land from the Province of Ontario to the private HDI Land Registry which will be for their private consumption, or that of the people who go to longhouse, the select few who they deem are of "good mind" and deserving to partake of these fruits.
There are two matters embedded in the Editorial which need to be addressed:
1) The "Native" Editor of "Two Row Times" agrees that others perceive him as a "Quran carrying pro-Hamas terrorist", and the other Editor (non-native) is also perceived strongly in this light, and has gone on record as strongly supporting anti-Semitic causes. Thus, based on this evidence, we have a newspaper governed by Anti-Semitic individuals who will use their paper as a platform to do what so many others across the world, and through various historical periods, have done. Specifically, foster hatred towards Jews, and prop up their enemies - the goal, destroy the Jews and the Jewish State. It is a story that reaches back to the beginnings of the Christian and Muslim "religions" where some sort of boogey men were needed, and Jews filled the bill nicely. So much suffering, all in the name of religious dogma (often disguising real motives, such as avoiding debt repayment). So labels such as "Christ killers" and "heretics" could be used by the ignorant and the greedy to justify their "hatred" toward Jews. Their survival, despite being the scapegoat of virtually every group they came into contact with, is inspiring.
2) The other statement that it is his wish that when Six Nations retake their former lands, they will not perpetrate genocide, should concern Canadians, and especially those who live in Haldimand and Brant Counties. I want to make this perfectly clear, our ancestors, whether they arrived as Loyalists of Butler's Rangers and the Six Nations Indian Department, or as Six Nations and allied tribes came in the years 1783 to 1785 to the Niagara Penninsula and Grand River Territory are indigenous. No one is more "Indigenous" than the other. The people intermarried. Some got "status cards" some did not. The Editor can feel more "indigenous" than me if he wants, but objective reality would show him wrong. It is time that we whose ancestors have been here every bit as long as those who through the luck of the draw got "cards", see ourselves as having rights that are trampled on by those whose ancestors lived longer in the Six Nations community - in some cases by only one generation. This makes no sense, if JG is "Indigenous" with a capital "I", then myself and thousands of others also fall under this banner and demand our share of the pie. Watch out, we are coming to seek our rightful inheritance.
Those individuals and corporations who wish to have their names and company logos associated with this newspaper do so at their own risk. As long as the non-Native Anarchist - Communist radicals are affiliated with the newspaper there will be a strong bias in the direction of the far left activists.
I wish that there was a viable alternative to the Hereditary Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) publishing wing, "Turtle Island News", but alas when "Tekawenake" was disbanded, it left a vacuum that was filled by non-Native radical Unionists, Anarchists, Communists and those who they support (which includes the Palestinians), and Native tag alongs.
DeYo.
I suspect that what follows is a vain attempt at "damage control" after the above article received some negative backlash by myself and others.
In "Two Row Times" of 6 August 2014 (p.6) is an Editorial, Ambidextrous Politics, on the same subject which makes it crystal clear that JG, the co-Editor who is a Six Nations member, also shares a similar view of Jews.
It can readily be shown that despite almost constant persecution and waves of genocide from the Middle Ages to modern times, the Jews have persevered and made a success of whatever they were allowed to pursue (generally, for example, they were not allowed to own land in Europe). They funded the campaigns of European Princes and aristocracy, but when the debt accumulated, instead of doing the honourable thing and selling property to pay monies owed, many aristocratic Europeans in debt to the Jews called for their expulsion or their execution - genocide. Still they survived. In more recent times all of the major movie studios in Hollywood were owned by Jews from a small area in Eastern Europe (e.g., Warner Brothers, Goldwyn). Is there a major Broadway musical whose score was not written by a Jew (e.g., Gershwin, Hammerstein)? So with success despite adversity comes jealousy. The adolescent idealists and the marginal players of life do not take kindly to a small group of people who overcome unimaginable impediments to become the most successful of entrepreneurs, entertainers, medical specialists, professors, and you name it. So more hatred, and from Six Nations. So lets look at the words of the above Editorial, and see the direct meaning and what is between the lines.
I am sorry, but the first part of the Editorial is indecipherable to me - its meaning lost, so I won't dwell on it. After some questionable historical overview of how the Jewish state came to arrive in the Middle East, the Editor says, Admittedly as an Indigenous person I cannot help but being pro-Palestinian. Being forcibly removed from your land sounds familiar. There are certain discrepancies which I bring up when talking to my right wing friends who blindly support Israel because of their religious convictions. To their ears I sound like a Quran carrying pro-Hamas terrorist.
Well, if the shoe fits .... The Editor then discusses a small group of Jews in New York City who, for reasons of theology, believe that until the Messiah appears, Israel does not belong to the Jews alone.
The Editor continues, When I look at the resurgence of the Jewish people I feel ambivalent. Someday I hope that my people the Haudenosaunee will retake our homelands and form our own country which already exists in our hearts and minds. Perhaps we will be funded $233.7 billion by a foreign world power. By then the people of Canada and the United States will probably realize that the land is theirs and that they are indigenous in some way or other. My prayer is that we will not destroy them or advocate genocide ................ Unless I am greatly misinterpreting the bold printed statement, the Editor is giving a veiled threat of all out war if Canada does not give in to the "demands" of Six Nations. I am not at all clear on what the Editor means, but if the words can be taken at face value then what he is saying is profoundly disturbing, and he needs to be taken to task for these words.
Continuing, The 10,000+ Jews against Israel declared that the land does not belong to Benjamin Netanyahu but to the Creator of Heaven and Earth. In our ancient ways the Haudenosaunee say that we borrow it from the coming faces, our descendants. Maybe we are both saying the same thing. Concerning the last statement, the Editor may wish to explain this philosophy to the Director of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute who is obsessed with obtaining not only the former Douglas Creek Estates, but also other land acquisitions, to place in their HDI Land Registry - the goal is ownership, the transfer of the land from the Province of Ontario to the private HDI Land Registry which will be for their private consumption, or that of the people who go to longhouse, the select few who they deem are of "good mind" and deserving to partake of these fruits.
There are two matters embedded in the Editorial which need to be addressed:
1) The "Native" Editor of "Two Row Times" agrees that others perceive him as a "Quran carrying pro-Hamas terrorist", and the other Editor (non-native) is also perceived strongly in this light, and has gone on record as strongly supporting anti-Semitic causes. Thus, based on this evidence, we have a newspaper governed by Anti-Semitic individuals who will use their paper as a platform to do what so many others across the world, and through various historical periods, have done. Specifically, foster hatred towards Jews, and prop up their enemies - the goal, destroy the Jews and the Jewish State. It is a story that reaches back to the beginnings of the Christian and Muslim "religions" where some sort of boogey men were needed, and Jews filled the bill nicely. So much suffering, all in the name of religious dogma (often disguising real motives, such as avoiding debt repayment). So labels such as "Christ killers" and "heretics" could be used by the ignorant and the greedy to justify their "hatred" toward Jews. Their survival, despite being the scapegoat of virtually every group they came into contact with, is inspiring.
2) The other statement that it is his wish that when Six Nations retake their former lands, they will not perpetrate genocide, should concern Canadians, and especially those who live in Haldimand and Brant Counties. I want to make this perfectly clear, our ancestors, whether they arrived as Loyalists of Butler's Rangers and the Six Nations Indian Department, or as Six Nations and allied tribes came in the years 1783 to 1785 to the Niagara Penninsula and Grand River Territory are indigenous. No one is more "Indigenous" than the other. The people intermarried. Some got "status cards" some did not. The Editor can feel more "indigenous" than me if he wants, but objective reality would show him wrong. It is time that we whose ancestors have been here every bit as long as those who through the luck of the draw got "cards", see ourselves as having rights that are trampled on by those whose ancestors lived longer in the Six Nations community - in some cases by only one generation. This makes no sense, if JG is "Indigenous" with a capital "I", then myself and thousands of others also fall under this banner and demand our share of the pie. Watch out, we are coming to seek our rightful inheritance.
Those individuals and corporations who wish to have their names and company logos associated with this newspaper do so at their own risk. As long as the non-Native Anarchist - Communist radicals are affiliated with the newspaper there will be a strong bias in the direction of the far left activists.
I wish that there was a viable alternative to the Hereditary Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) publishing wing, "Turtle Island News", but alas when "Tekawenake" was disbanded, it left a vacuum that was filled by non-Native radical Unionists, Anarchists, Communists and those who they support (which includes the Palestinians), and Native tag alongs.
DeYo.
Friday 1 August 2014
Six Nations Elected Councillor Speaks Out Against the Injustices and Hypocrisy of the HDI
As has often been the case in the past, Elected Councillor HM is once again being direct and blunt, "shooting from the hip" and "pulling no punches". She is doubtless very bright, clearly articulate, well educated, and is willing to speak her mind on virtually any subject. Other Councillors seem to be less inclined to share their views with the Reserve Community. Generally Councillor HM is willing to tackle controversial topics, and give her honest opinion - which is very refreshing. Few Elected Councillors seem to be willing to voice their opinions in relation to the behavior of the Hereditary Councillors, and the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) - but HM is completely fearless in this regard. An honest opinion and a search for the facts - would that there were more Councillors of this stripe affiliated with both the Elected and Hereditary factions - although the latter use HDI mouthpieces to do their talking so we don't really know how they think or feel. Sometimes Chief Allen MacNaughton of the HCCC/CC and Men's Fire has spoken out about matters, such as the Birkett Lane development in Brantford - but we have heard less from him recently as all communication has been funneled through the HDI.
Councillor HM has not disappointed in relation to the recent issues surrounding the fencing of DCE, and related matters primarily to do with the HDI. Likely since "Turtle Island News" is little more than an affiliate of the HCCC, she has turned to "Two Row Times" to air her views on the HDI's recent forays, hardening of their agenda, and more and more claiming to speak for all Haudenosaunee.
In a letter to the editor of "Two Row Times", 30 July 2014, pages 3&17 entitled, Helen Miller on HDI, HM states that the HCCC (aka CC) through Chief MacNaughton has designated the HDI "to speak on their behalf". Clearly HM is upset that during a recent gathering at the barricade on DCE the Director of the HDI took the opportunity to, bad mouth the Elected Council. HM also expresses concern that, there is a double standard being applied in our community. There is one standard of stringent openness, transparency and accountability being demanded of the Elected Council, especially with proposed development projects. The community isn't, however, demanding the same standards from the Confederacy Council who are also making development deals. If you recall the HDI newsletter [the subject of a previous posting to this blog] listed several financial deals, including land leases, they have made with developers without any community consultation and approval.
HM notes how when Community Elder, Jan Longboat, asked about where the money taken in by HDI was going, that the Director of the HDI's response was such that HM sees the meaning as representing, "exclusivity". Here, as was noted in my previous blog posting, the Director of HDI said that those who are concerned about this issue should go through the "proper channels", through their clans and families, which translates to something like "only those who are participating members of the traditional society on the Reserve deserve to know this information" (my words). Thus, the only people who will have anything to say about the money or have access to the money are those who attend longhouse. That's not right, said Councillor HM.
HM further states that, the Elected Council's Economic Development Department is currently completing the development of a Development Corporation. Within this corporation will be a community trust to administer and manage monies from the development projects and any other source revenues. Unlike the HDI/CC this money will be used to the benefit of the community as a whole whether our citizens go to church or longhouse and whether our citizens follow the traditional way or the elected system.
Also HM takes exception to the statements of the HDI Director to the effect that the Elected Council "just wants money", whereas the HDI is focused on land. However what the evidence shows is a case of the "pot calling the kettle black", since it is the HDI who has established a system where developers pay into the HDI "Land Acquisition Fund" every year. Then the HDI will use this money to "buy" certain parcels of land over the 20 years of the project and put this land under the CC's land registry system.
Councillor HM then recalls how years ago, the CC and the community frowned upon the Elected Council for buying back our own land .............. now the CC is agreeing to buying back land as well. How times have changed!
HM questions whether "internal forces" (HDI?) are, straying from the traditional system and going down the wrong road. Neither is the CC practicing the traditional system as they should. There is no HDI in the traditional system, it is a group with questionable intentions who are causing further disruptions within the community with the result that, our community is more dysfunctional than ever in terms of building positive working relationships.
HM recounts the irony in having the HDI wishing to speak only to Ontario, yet not so long ago, the CC would have nothing to do with the Provincial government ...... but now as they say in political circles the CC is sleeping with the Province.
HM ends her letter with a statement of her belief that, It's only the people of Six Nations who can determine governance.
So in summary, at present we have a group of non elected self - appointed activists, associated as spokespersons(actually only the Director ever speaks, at least to the media) of the CC (HCCC), who do not have the mandate to speak for Six Nations members, but claim to do so on moral authority. Thus there is a small clique who are attempting a coup, to take over governance at Six Nations by their own authority and by their own rules, and convince everyone that it is Colonialism or some such concept which is at fault and that having a government that is not accountable to any but a relatively small percentage of the community is the correct path. Any who would accept this are making a pact with the devil. As HM says, the HDI has zero transparency and zero accountability. The claim that those who wish to "see the books" should go through proper channels and contact their Clan Mother flies in the face of reality. The majority of people at Six Nations do not know their clan, and it would be interesting to learn how many of the HDI "members" actually know their own clan. Although there is an attempt to make that connection, in reality the clan system was broken by the end of the 19th Century, and today it is chaotic and bears little resemblance to reality. When you have someone from the Ball Clan "representing" people of one of the Mohawk families you know that something is broken when only Turtle, Wolf and Bear clans were present among the Mohawk until recently. Anyone who wishes to see how the longhouse system has been imploding may wish to read the book by Annemarie Shimony about "Conservatism" at Six Nations, as it existed in the 1950s and 60s, which I have discussed in earlier blog postings. Yet there is a movement to install a dictator, in the form of a Director, of a group whose self - serving interests are seen by the collapsing Hereditary Council as their saving grace. The HDI does carry a large stick, that is correct, and they appear willing to use any means necessary, including violence, to obtain their ends - which is money that no one knows where it ends up - other than to pay for the well tailored suits of their non-Native legal counsel.
DeYo.
Councillor HM has not disappointed in relation to the recent issues surrounding the fencing of DCE, and related matters primarily to do with the HDI. Likely since "Turtle Island News" is little more than an affiliate of the HCCC, she has turned to "Two Row Times" to air her views on the HDI's recent forays, hardening of their agenda, and more and more claiming to speak for all Haudenosaunee.
In a letter to the editor of "Two Row Times", 30 July 2014, pages 3&17 entitled, Helen Miller on HDI, HM states that the HCCC (aka CC) through Chief MacNaughton has designated the HDI "to speak on their behalf". Clearly HM is upset that during a recent gathering at the barricade on DCE the Director of the HDI took the opportunity to, bad mouth the Elected Council. HM also expresses concern that, there is a double standard being applied in our community. There is one standard of stringent openness, transparency and accountability being demanded of the Elected Council, especially with proposed development projects. The community isn't, however, demanding the same standards from the Confederacy Council who are also making development deals. If you recall the HDI newsletter [the subject of a previous posting to this blog] listed several financial deals, including land leases, they have made with developers without any community consultation and approval.
HM notes how when Community Elder, Jan Longboat, asked about where the money taken in by HDI was going, that the Director of the HDI's response was such that HM sees the meaning as representing, "exclusivity". Here, as was noted in my previous blog posting, the Director of HDI said that those who are concerned about this issue should go through the "proper channels", through their clans and families, which translates to something like "only those who are participating members of the traditional society on the Reserve deserve to know this information" (my words). Thus, the only people who will have anything to say about the money or have access to the money are those who attend longhouse. That's not right, said Councillor HM.
HM further states that, the Elected Council's Economic Development Department is currently completing the development of a Development Corporation. Within this corporation will be a community trust to administer and manage monies from the development projects and any other source revenues. Unlike the HDI/CC this money will be used to the benefit of the community as a whole whether our citizens go to church or longhouse and whether our citizens follow the traditional way or the elected system.
Also HM takes exception to the statements of the HDI Director to the effect that the Elected Council "just wants money", whereas the HDI is focused on land. However what the evidence shows is a case of the "pot calling the kettle black", since it is the HDI who has established a system where developers pay into the HDI "Land Acquisition Fund" every year. Then the HDI will use this money to "buy" certain parcels of land over the 20 years of the project and put this land under the CC's land registry system.
Councillor HM then recalls how years ago, the CC and the community frowned upon the Elected Council for buying back our own land .............. now the CC is agreeing to buying back land as well. How times have changed!
HM questions whether "internal forces" (HDI?) are, straying from the traditional system and going down the wrong road. Neither is the CC practicing the traditional system as they should. There is no HDI in the traditional system, it is a group with questionable intentions who are causing further disruptions within the community with the result that, our community is more dysfunctional than ever in terms of building positive working relationships.
HM recounts the irony in having the HDI wishing to speak only to Ontario, yet not so long ago, the CC would have nothing to do with the Provincial government ...... but now as they say in political circles the CC is sleeping with the Province.
HM ends her letter with a statement of her belief that, It's only the people of Six Nations who can determine governance.
So in summary, at present we have a group of non elected self - appointed activists, associated as spokespersons(actually only the Director ever speaks, at least to the media) of the CC (HCCC), who do not have the mandate to speak for Six Nations members, but claim to do so on moral authority. Thus there is a small clique who are attempting a coup, to take over governance at Six Nations by their own authority and by their own rules, and convince everyone that it is Colonialism or some such concept which is at fault and that having a government that is not accountable to any but a relatively small percentage of the community is the correct path. Any who would accept this are making a pact with the devil. As HM says, the HDI has zero transparency and zero accountability. The claim that those who wish to "see the books" should go through proper channels and contact their Clan Mother flies in the face of reality. The majority of people at Six Nations do not know their clan, and it would be interesting to learn how many of the HDI "members" actually know their own clan. Although there is an attempt to make that connection, in reality the clan system was broken by the end of the 19th Century, and today it is chaotic and bears little resemblance to reality. When you have someone from the Ball Clan "representing" people of one of the Mohawk families you know that something is broken when only Turtle, Wolf and Bear clans were present among the Mohawk until recently. Anyone who wishes to see how the longhouse system has been imploding may wish to read the book by Annemarie Shimony about "Conservatism" at Six Nations, as it existed in the 1950s and 60s, which I have discussed in earlier blog postings. Yet there is a movement to install a dictator, in the form of a Director, of a group whose self - serving interests are seen by the collapsing Hereditary Council as their saving grace. The HDI does carry a large stick, that is correct, and they appear willing to use any means necessary, including violence, to obtain their ends - which is money that no one knows where it ends up - other than to pay for the well tailored suits of their non-Native legal counsel.
DeYo.
Thursday 31 July 2014
"Two Row Times" Publishes Anti-Semitic, Pro-Palestinian Article
Considering that the non-Native General Manager and Editor of "Two Row Times", TK, is a committed Anarchist and Communist (as I and others have noted over the years), what follows is not a surprise. The "parade" (aka "protest march") which shut down Caledonia on a Saturday in the Spring of 2012 was organized by TK, and there were Palestinian flags among those carried by the marchers on that day (I was there). Therefore it should not be surprising that considering the present events in the Middle East, that any such radical would use whatever platform is available to them to show support for the Palestinians - even though objectively Israel is only attempting to stop the rockets flying toward Israel. As is clear from the evidence, the terrorists use schools and mosques, and innocent human shields, in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas terrorists are obsessed with killing every Jew (their stated goal). But to have a Reserve newspaper publish a horribly biased article supporting the Palestinian terrorists is simply unacceptable - and will hopefully impact their advertising revenue. Recent pro-Palestinian rallies in Toronto include groups of which TK is a member (see here), including just those under the letter "C", Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Communist Party of Canada - both of whose flags were represented in the 2012 "parade" in Caledonia.
The article on page 3 of the 30 July 2014 issue of "Two Row Times" is entitled, Palestine and the Onkwehonwe. It was written by C(A)N, a filmmaker and lecturer from Kanehsatake Mohawk Territory. It is profoundly disturbing. In trying to justify why Six Nations people should be interested in what is happening in the Middle East, the author states that, what is happening in Palestine is the same as what has happened to our people on Turtle Island. What has to be looked at is the politics of colonialism and settlerism. The latter word is new to me, and the former is so so tired from overuse and being a catch all phrase.
Almost predictable is the next sentence in the article by CN, As Indigenous people we have endured centuries of genocide, ethnic cleansing, land theft and cultural devastation. As Haudenosaunee people we need not look too hard for these examples; we only need to look at the ethnic cleansing of our people in the 18th and 19th centuries from our homelands in what is now New York State.
Lets explore the reality, to counter this fantasy above. The truth is that of the many acts of genocide to which our species must bear responsibility, one of the most atrocious is the complete genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Huron/Wyando, Petun, Attiwandaronk/Neural and all of the other peoples who resided in Central and Southwestern Ontario - all Iroquoian speaking peoples closely related to the then Five Nations - perpetrated by the Five Nations between 1640 and 1650 - erasing these people from the planet. In addition, the method to complete this heinous task was horrid. They used torture and cannibalism (as reported by the Catholic priests and lay people who witnessed but survived these acts; and as well what is seen in the archaeological record). So would the author wish to compare this documented act of genocide and ethnic cleansing to the pretend versions supposed to have happened in the 1700s and 1800s? He is speaking of General Sullivan's incursions through Six Nations territory which killed not a single soul, only destroyed the villages and foodstuffs which meant that the Senecas and the others most affected moved to Fort Niagara and Buffalo Creek to be under the wing of the Crown. How can the author have the effrontery to call the war time devastation (on both sides) during the American Revolution, genocide? It makes no sense. I have given an example of true genocide - but it was perpetrated by then Five Nations people. I guess it is easy to cherry pick and conveniently forget about real history.
Then the author states, without references or examples, that, There are many, too many, points in history of Indigenous people in the Americas which mirror the genocide of the Palestinians. Other than the fact than no examples are given, there is the matter of calling what is going on in the Middle East "genocide" against the Palestinians. If Israel protecting its citizens from brutal Hammas attacks is "genocide" - then this is one of the grossest misuse of the term yet seen.
Then comes even more bizarre off the wall accusations by the author. He says, Settler apartheid as used by Israelies has its roots in both the Canadian apartheid system - the Indian Act - and the South African Apartheid system. There is little to distinguish either from one another. This assertion makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The Indian Act is an apartheid system? Well if that is true, why do virtually all "First Nations" groups resist any attempt to change it? When Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau proposed his "White Paper" in 1969 which would have seen the abolishment of the hated Indian Act and the freeing of Indian people to make their own way in this world - eventually without the dole from Ottawa - there was universal condemnation from "Indigenous" people who did not want to lose the perks.
Wait, there is more. The author states that, the Canadian state has never been afraid to employ violence against Indigenous dissent as can be seen in what happened ....... in Six Nations in 2006. I was here, what exactly was the violence used by the "Canadian state"? All that occurred was "Indigenous" violence against helpless Caledonians, you know, such as arson (tire burnings; torching the Stirling Street Bridge), assault, destroying infrastructure, placing a gravel barricade across the main entrance from the south into Caledonia, to name but a few examples. Now where is this violence from the "Canadian state". I can answer that - it never happened, but is being imagined as what could have happened but never did. Strange.
Finally, to cap off the solidarity between Palestinians and "Indigenous" people in Canada, the author says, The oppression and genocide of Palestine is our oppression and genocide. Nonsense, and completely unsupported by anything resembling real evidence.
Comment: I am well aware that the "brass" at "Two Row Wampum" are pro-Palestinian and stereotype Jews in the same manner as the Nazis did in the 1930s. Once again Israel is forced to defend itself from not only direct attacks, but also from false allegations from across the world. As I see it, this newspaper was irresponsible in publishing this article, no matter what their political views might be. The article is replete with factual errors and blatant anti-Semitic views.
I am wondering whether this decision on the part of the owners and staff at the newspaper has breached publishing guidelines, and has crossed an ethical line (no alternative viewpoint was presented). If this is the case, would boycotting those companies who advertise in the newspaper be an appropriate course of action? They are creating the circumstances by which the key people at the newspaper are permitted to spew their poison against Jews. I will take a stance here and make a list of advertisers - and will not frequent any of them either on or off Reserve. This is perhaps the best way in which we can protest the rabid left wing views of the non-Natives at the newspaper - hit them where it hurts, in the wallet.
DeYo.
The article on page 3 of the 30 July 2014 issue of "Two Row Times" is entitled, Palestine and the Onkwehonwe. It was written by C(A)N, a filmmaker and lecturer from Kanehsatake Mohawk Territory. It is profoundly disturbing. In trying to justify why Six Nations people should be interested in what is happening in the Middle East, the author states that, what is happening in Palestine is the same as what has happened to our people on Turtle Island. What has to be looked at is the politics of colonialism and settlerism. The latter word is new to me, and the former is so so tired from overuse and being a catch all phrase.
Almost predictable is the next sentence in the article by CN, As Indigenous people we have endured centuries of genocide, ethnic cleansing, land theft and cultural devastation. As Haudenosaunee people we need not look too hard for these examples; we only need to look at the ethnic cleansing of our people in the 18th and 19th centuries from our homelands in what is now New York State.
Lets explore the reality, to counter this fantasy above. The truth is that of the many acts of genocide to which our species must bear responsibility, one of the most atrocious is the complete genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Huron/Wyando, Petun, Attiwandaronk/Neural and all of the other peoples who resided in Central and Southwestern Ontario - all Iroquoian speaking peoples closely related to the then Five Nations - perpetrated by the Five Nations between 1640 and 1650 - erasing these people from the planet. In addition, the method to complete this heinous task was horrid. They used torture and cannibalism (as reported by the Catholic priests and lay people who witnessed but survived these acts; and as well what is seen in the archaeological record). So would the author wish to compare this documented act of genocide and ethnic cleansing to the pretend versions supposed to have happened in the 1700s and 1800s? He is speaking of General Sullivan's incursions through Six Nations territory which killed not a single soul, only destroyed the villages and foodstuffs which meant that the Senecas and the others most affected moved to Fort Niagara and Buffalo Creek to be under the wing of the Crown. How can the author have the effrontery to call the war time devastation (on both sides) during the American Revolution, genocide? It makes no sense. I have given an example of true genocide - but it was perpetrated by then Five Nations people. I guess it is easy to cherry pick and conveniently forget about real history.
Then the author states, without references or examples, that, There are many, too many, points in history of Indigenous people in the Americas which mirror the genocide of the Palestinians. Other than the fact than no examples are given, there is the matter of calling what is going on in the Middle East "genocide" against the Palestinians. If Israel protecting its citizens from brutal Hammas attacks is "genocide" - then this is one of the grossest misuse of the term yet seen.
Then comes even more bizarre off the wall accusations by the author. He says, Settler apartheid as used by Israelies has its roots in both the Canadian apartheid system - the Indian Act - and the South African Apartheid system. There is little to distinguish either from one another. This assertion makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The Indian Act is an apartheid system? Well if that is true, why do virtually all "First Nations" groups resist any attempt to change it? When Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau proposed his "White Paper" in 1969 which would have seen the abolishment of the hated Indian Act and the freeing of Indian people to make their own way in this world - eventually without the dole from Ottawa - there was universal condemnation from "Indigenous" people who did not want to lose the perks.
Wait, there is more. The author states that, the Canadian state has never been afraid to employ violence against Indigenous dissent as can be seen in what happened ....... in Six Nations in 2006. I was here, what exactly was the violence used by the "Canadian state"? All that occurred was "Indigenous" violence against helpless Caledonians, you know, such as arson (tire burnings; torching the Stirling Street Bridge), assault, destroying infrastructure, placing a gravel barricade across the main entrance from the south into Caledonia, to name but a few examples. Now where is this violence from the "Canadian state". I can answer that - it never happened, but is being imagined as what could have happened but never did. Strange.
Finally, to cap off the solidarity between Palestinians and "Indigenous" people in Canada, the author says, The oppression and genocide of Palestine is our oppression and genocide. Nonsense, and completely unsupported by anything resembling real evidence.
Comment: I am well aware that the "brass" at "Two Row Wampum" are pro-Palestinian and stereotype Jews in the same manner as the Nazis did in the 1930s. Once again Israel is forced to defend itself from not only direct attacks, but also from false allegations from across the world. As I see it, this newspaper was irresponsible in publishing this article, no matter what their political views might be. The article is replete with factual errors and blatant anti-Semitic views.
I am wondering whether this decision on the part of the owners and staff at the newspaper has breached publishing guidelines, and has crossed an ethical line (no alternative viewpoint was presented). If this is the case, would boycotting those companies who advertise in the newspaper be an appropriate course of action? They are creating the circumstances by which the key people at the newspaper are permitted to spew their poison against Jews. I will take a stance here and make a list of advertisers - and will not frequent any of them either on or off Reserve. This is perhaps the best way in which we can protest the rabid left wing views of the non-Natives at the newspaper - hit them where it hurts, in the wallet.
DeYo.
The Elected Council and Corporate Officials are Fuming Over False Allegations by HDI
In order to obtain a background to the present circumstances I will discuss, if you have not already read my recent posting on this subject, seen here, as it will assist in putting things in context.
1) "Turtle Island News" (TIN) makes no bones about its wholehearted support for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) and its enforcement wing the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), they do print Letters to the Editor which run counter to their own firmly held opinions. One such case is found in the 30 July 2014 issue on page 6, where a letter, Grand Renewable Solar project is found.
Here the Chief of the Six Nations Elected Council, and representatives of Samsung Renewable Energy, Inc. and Grand Renewable Solar jointly sign a letter expressing their dismay at the information in previous issues of TIN, information which has been strongly questioned by myself using my own personal experience as a Volunteer (we were not paid then) Archaeological Conservation Officer with the then Ministry of Citizenship and Culture Ontario, and with observations which seem clearly evident to me. So, despite my complete lack of support for the wind and solar initiatives that are gobbling up prime farmland in my home County, I look to the evidence, and will stand by the truth irrespective of my personal views on the matter.
With the awareness of the shenanigans involving the HDI assigned monitors, who may or may not have any formal training (unlike their Elected Council counterparts who have been trained and certified by the Ontario Professional Archaeologists Association), we begin. The HDI monitors finding artifact allegedly missed by the earlier archaeological assessments done by those who have spent 4 to 8 years in university studying the subject, is convenient since it brings into question what is going on in a joint venture between the detested Elected Council and one or more corporations. I can assure all that if the Elected Council had not been involved, there would be no issues or finds that defy any laws of probability and which are clearly not what they are claimed to be (10,000 year old).
Here follows excerpts from the above Letter which attempts to "address potential misconceptions" that any of their groups would have destroyed artifacts. They also attempt to emphasize the, exhaustive archaeological work undertaken on the project site, noting that they had taken great pains to identify any artifacts within the boundaries of the project, having, employed four leading, independent archaeological consulting firms to do this work. The process was monitored on a daily basis by representatives of the Six Nations, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute and the Mississaugas of the New Credit. This work took several years, and the results have received the approval of all relevant government bodies.
The fact is that it is redundant to have two groups of Six Nations "monitors" on site, with those of the Elected Council having the background to assess what is being observed. One Six Nations and one Mississauga group would be more than sufficient. Their presence at all is largely political, and not because the professional archaeologists need any "assistance" of this sort in doing their work competently. This is my opinion, not necessarily that of the professional archaeologists.
The signers are clearly very frustrated that they went the distance to include the HDI monitors, and accommodated to all of their requirements, and all was fine until the construction phase began, when the HDI monitors showed up on site and began to make somewhat mysterious findings that, in my opinion, are bogus. Of course those who wrote the letter would not be permitted to add their views on why HDI would decide to make an appearance after signing off on the work. I can. It was because there was political hay to be made, and potentially more money to be extracted from the corporations.
The Elected Council and the corporate entities took very great exception to some of the statements in the TIN article of 16 July 2014, in particular that there was, "a 'deliberate' attempt to stop HDI" and "a deliberate interference of an investigation" and, are simply false.
The Elected Council and the corporations are stating facts, and I can provide an opinion that the artifacts I saw in the picture were nothing but items seen in every field in Southwestern Ontario, along with some stray plough broken rock - but nothing dating to earlier than relative recent times, and numbers found in "minutes" are never ever found in early sites even with careful controlled archaeological excavations. Nothing adds up other than it is but another ploy by HDI to disrupt things.
To rub salt into the wound, immediately above the said letter is a cartoon, showing an adult "Native" male saying, with obvious emotion, "Native artifacts! ... Gone!? All for the love of money? To one side is a "Native" boy who says, "Is my papa's gravesite SAFE?" The only word I can think of to say here is, RIDICULOUS! If anyone is interested in facts as opposed to spin, they will know this is but another ploy by the HDI and their media wing to make all others seem evil, money grubbing types, who are robbing Six Nations of their heritage. The people who made the artifacts are long gone, and who their lineal descendants might have been is largely unknown, or are Nations that were part of the genocide perpetrated by the then Five Nations against all of the peoples residing in Southwestern and Central Ontario in the years between 1640 and 1650. Why Six Nations, who are immigrants to Grand River, should have a say is something with a political twist. I have news for all - these sites are part of the heritage of all in Ontario, they are part of our heritage. Those who really care about our heritage do not necessarily have a "Status Card", but they care about heritage for reasons other than politics and money.
On two occasions bones were found (no doubt much to the glee of HDI), but all these turned out to be cow bones - a common find on such sites.
2) "Two Row Times" has an article of 30 July 2014, p.2, entitled, Samsung denies human bones at site, artifacts disappear. Same old, same old. They attempt to make a big deal about finding of bone, which were later determined to be cow bone. None the less, the article accuses various officials of not being upfront about the bones, and attempt to make a mountain out of a mole hill. The article includes the dubious statement that, some experts speculate that the artifacts [noted in previous postings] may date as far back as 10,000 years ..... and may be the remenants of an ancient Onkwehon:we village. I would indeed love to meet this so called "experts" since the suggestion of a 10,000 year old "village" is absurd. There were no villages then, only temporary settlements - the people were hunter - gatherers who moved with the caribou herds. You can say anything in print, even if it is ridiculous. Even more dubious is the source, HDI monitors who do not wish to be named, for fear of losing their jobs. That statement is really questionable since only the HDI would be involved in hiring and firing - and they would be unlikely to terminate the employment of anyone finding artifacts (stones and bones) that HDI could use to make political hay. There is no use in quoting further from the article since it is largely composed of accusations by both parties going back and forth.
Perhaps to counteract the potentially damaging effects of the above letter to the HDI "cause", another article about the archaeology at the same site is included in TIN, p.13. It is entitled, Grand Renewable Energy Part work. It is largely a regurgitation of what has been noted in previous reports, and again the HDI, though their Director, are whining about their being shut out of the process (not supported by the evidence). The article reports that, An engagement process with Stantec [professional archaeology firm already dealing with Elected Council monitors] didn't begin until 2012. "We were told they were advised by Ontario to only deal with the elected band council. It is unfortunate that Ontario has taken this position in a number of areas and affected the Haudenosaunee's ability to ensure our [non existant] treaty rights and the honour of the Crown are being respected. The Director lays the blame for any delays both here, and at "Kanonhstaton" (DCE) squarely at the feet of Ontario, and states that, Had our monitors been engaged in the beginning we most likely would have found these sites as we were able to do now during the construction process. One wonders if the Director really believes this fairy tale - I doubt it.
Clearly Ontario is not buying this warped view of reality, but of course there will be political pressure to "conform". It remains to be seen how far Ontario is willing to go to support two independent groups from Six Nations who each claim that they have the right to negotiate with Ontario. The latter, as well as the Federal Government, knows full well that only the Elected Council has "status" at the table - but that the very vocal and very demanding and very violent HDI can go to great lengths to make the legal process problematic and ensure than nothing productive comes of anything touched by HDI.
DeYo.
1) "Turtle Island News" (TIN) makes no bones about its wholehearted support for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) and its enforcement wing the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), they do print Letters to the Editor which run counter to their own firmly held opinions. One such case is found in the 30 July 2014 issue on page 6, where a letter, Grand Renewable Solar project is found.
Here the Chief of the Six Nations Elected Council, and representatives of Samsung Renewable Energy, Inc. and Grand Renewable Solar jointly sign a letter expressing their dismay at the information in previous issues of TIN, information which has been strongly questioned by myself using my own personal experience as a Volunteer (we were not paid then) Archaeological Conservation Officer with the then Ministry of Citizenship and Culture Ontario, and with observations which seem clearly evident to me. So, despite my complete lack of support for the wind and solar initiatives that are gobbling up prime farmland in my home County, I look to the evidence, and will stand by the truth irrespective of my personal views on the matter.
With the awareness of the shenanigans involving the HDI assigned monitors, who may or may not have any formal training (unlike their Elected Council counterparts who have been trained and certified by the Ontario Professional Archaeologists Association), we begin. The HDI monitors finding artifact allegedly missed by the earlier archaeological assessments done by those who have spent 4 to 8 years in university studying the subject, is convenient since it brings into question what is going on in a joint venture between the detested Elected Council and one or more corporations. I can assure all that if the Elected Council had not been involved, there would be no issues or finds that defy any laws of probability and which are clearly not what they are claimed to be (10,000 year old).
Here follows excerpts from the above Letter which attempts to "address potential misconceptions" that any of their groups would have destroyed artifacts. They also attempt to emphasize the, exhaustive archaeological work undertaken on the project site, noting that they had taken great pains to identify any artifacts within the boundaries of the project, having, employed four leading, independent archaeological consulting firms to do this work. The process was monitored on a daily basis by representatives of the Six Nations, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute and the Mississaugas of the New Credit. This work took several years, and the results have received the approval of all relevant government bodies.
The fact is that it is redundant to have two groups of Six Nations "monitors" on site, with those of the Elected Council having the background to assess what is being observed. One Six Nations and one Mississauga group would be more than sufficient. Their presence at all is largely political, and not because the professional archaeologists need any "assistance" of this sort in doing their work competently. This is my opinion, not necessarily that of the professional archaeologists.
The signers are clearly very frustrated that they went the distance to include the HDI monitors, and accommodated to all of their requirements, and all was fine until the construction phase began, when the HDI monitors showed up on site and began to make somewhat mysterious findings that, in my opinion, are bogus. Of course those who wrote the letter would not be permitted to add their views on why HDI would decide to make an appearance after signing off on the work. I can. It was because there was political hay to be made, and potentially more money to be extracted from the corporations.
The Elected Council and the corporate entities took very great exception to some of the statements in the TIN article of 16 July 2014, in particular that there was, "a 'deliberate' attempt to stop HDI" and "a deliberate interference of an investigation" and, are simply false.
The Elected Council and the corporations are stating facts, and I can provide an opinion that the artifacts I saw in the picture were nothing but items seen in every field in Southwestern Ontario, along with some stray plough broken rock - but nothing dating to earlier than relative recent times, and numbers found in "minutes" are never ever found in early sites even with careful controlled archaeological excavations. Nothing adds up other than it is but another ploy by HDI to disrupt things.
To rub salt into the wound, immediately above the said letter is a cartoon, showing an adult "Native" male saying, with obvious emotion, "Native artifacts! ... Gone!? All for the love of money? To one side is a "Native" boy who says, "Is my papa's gravesite SAFE?" The only word I can think of to say here is, RIDICULOUS! If anyone is interested in facts as opposed to spin, they will know this is but another ploy by the HDI and their media wing to make all others seem evil, money grubbing types, who are robbing Six Nations of their heritage. The people who made the artifacts are long gone, and who their lineal descendants might have been is largely unknown, or are Nations that were part of the genocide perpetrated by the then Five Nations against all of the peoples residing in Southwestern and Central Ontario in the years between 1640 and 1650. Why Six Nations, who are immigrants to Grand River, should have a say is something with a political twist. I have news for all - these sites are part of the heritage of all in Ontario, they are part of our heritage. Those who really care about our heritage do not necessarily have a "Status Card", but they care about heritage for reasons other than politics and money.
On two occasions bones were found (no doubt much to the glee of HDI), but all these turned out to be cow bones - a common find on such sites.
2) "Two Row Times" has an article of 30 July 2014, p.2, entitled, Samsung denies human bones at site, artifacts disappear. Same old, same old. They attempt to make a big deal about finding of bone, which were later determined to be cow bone. None the less, the article accuses various officials of not being upfront about the bones, and attempt to make a mountain out of a mole hill. The article includes the dubious statement that, some experts speculate that the artifacts [noted in previous postings] may date as far back as 10,000 years ..... and may be the remenants of an ancient Onkwehon:we village. I would indeed love to meet this so called "experts" since the suggestion of a 10,000 year old "village" is absurd. There were no villages then, only temporary settlements - the people were hunter - gatherers who moved with the caribou herds. You can say anything in print, even if it is ridiculous. Even more dubious is the source, HDI monitors who do not wish to be named, for fear of losing their jobs. That statement is really questionable since only the HDI would be involved in hiring and firing - and they would be unlikely to terminate the employment of anyone finding artifacts (stones and bones) that HDI could use to make political hay. There is no use in quoting further from the article since it is largely composed of accusations by both parties going back and forth.
Perhaps to counteract the potentially damaging effects of the above letter to the HDI "cause", another article about the archaeology at the same site is included in TIN, p.13. It is entitled, Grand Renewable Energy Part work. It is largely a regurgitation of what has been noted in previous reports, and again the HDI, though their Director, are whining about their being shut out of the process (not supported by the evidence). The article reports that, An engagement process with Stantec [professional archaeology firm already dealing with Elected Council monitors] didn't begin until 2012. "We were told they were advised by Ontario to only deal with the elected band council. It is unfortunate that Ontario has taken this position in a number of areas and affected the Haudenosaunee's ability to ensure our [non existant] treaty rights and the honour of the Crown are being respected. The Director lays the blame for any delays both here, and at "Kanonhstaton" (DCE) squarely at the feet of Ontario, and states that, Had our monitors been engaged in the beginning we most likely would have found these sites as we were able to do now during the construction process. One wonders if the Director really believes this fairy tale - I doubt it.
Clearly Ontario is not buying this warped view of reality, but of course there will be political pressure to "conform". It remains to be seen how far Ontario is willing to go to support two independent groups from Six Nations who each claim that they have the right to negotiate with Ontario. The latter, as well as the Federal Government, knows full well that only the Elected Council has "status" at the table - but that the very vocal and very demanding and very violent HDI can go to great lengths to make the legal process problematic and ensure than nothing productive comes of anything touched by HDI.
DeYo.
What it Will Take to Settle the DCE / Kanonhstaton Matter - Considering that HDI Runs the Show There
There is ONLY ONE peaceful solution possible in the present situation viz a viz the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) / Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) versus everyone else. I will offer my perspective in a somewhat lighthearted, but hopefully poignant, way at the end of this post. However, to highlight the absolute intransigence / inflexibility of the HDI, I will first provide a summary of the Editorial in their media mouthpiece, "Turtle Island News" 30 July 2014, p.6, entitled, Wynne is MIA leaving neighbours to find solutions.
Here the Editor castigates the real perceived cause of the problems - the Province of Ontario - calling Premier Kathleen Wynne, "Missing in action". The Editor states that, Ontario has refused to renew a communications protocol, put in place by Kathleen Wynne when she was Aboriginal Affairs Minister. Therefore, why would Ontario suddenly be surprised when a fence ....... suddenly goes up.
Before I continue quoting from the Editorial, I think it is important to note that the situation is far more complex than stated. Actually the Federal Government was involved in the negotiations as well as the Elected Council. In 2010 the latter two withdrew since the HCCC representatives demanded to be the sole negotiators - they got their wish, but there was no one to negotiate with.
Going back to 2006, in order to defuse the volatile situation the Province of Ontario sent in negotiating teams and those they were faced with were the only group left standing, the HCCC / HDI. So they did agree to a temporary protocol for negotiations (there is no evidence that it was meant to be permanent) just to "get through the day" when dealing with terrorists. So DCE was purchased by Ontario from the legitimate owners, and to this day is registered in Cayuga as belonging to the Province. There were problems such as the barrier across Argyle Street and other insurrections that had been perpetrated against the people of Caledonia and Ontario (e.g., bringing down the Hydro One towers; destroying a Hydro One substation which knocked out power to Caledonia and parts of Six Nations). So in desperation, the possibility of granting parcels of land to Six Nations was brought to the table - one parcel being the former Burtch Correctional Center and surrounding land (about 250 acres). As I understand it, Ontario realized that due to a variety of factors (e.g., overlapping jurisdiction with the Federal Government) it was simply out of the question to give HDI what it wanted. No doubt, having the Federal Government state in no uncertain terms that the DCE property had been properly surrendered 18 December 1844 by 47 Chiefs in Council, factored into Ontario's realization that they were being duped.
Somehow the Editor appears to ignore all of the above. To move into a more bizarre domain, the Editor states, Could Ontario really be so naive to think that people really believe their claim that they invited the HCCC to a meeting in Toronto a few weeks ago to discuss the fence when they didn't even bother to tell the HCCC where the meeting was. Seriously, How many people get invited to a party and are not told where it is being held? The Elected Council, County of Haldimand and Province of Ontario would be able to confirm or refute this statement. At the time the HCCC, in writing, refused to attend - because the Elected Council would also be present. Thus the Editor's comments warrant some further explorations - they seem quite wrong.
The Editor continues on the same theme of blaming Ontario, saying, Only Ontario would pull such a unilateral stunt to keep the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs from being seen for what they are, the only government at the Grand River that is invested with the authority to deal with. The Editor then accuses the Federal Government and the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) with conspiring, to exploit Six Nations lands. This is a huge stretch. SNEC is the only legal authority mandated to negotiate with the Federal Government through the Indian Act of 1876 and later revisions. Since 1924, HCCC has NEVER accepted the legal relationship between SNEC and the Federal Government. Thus the spin above since the Editor is clearly indicating that only the HCCC has legitimacy at Six Nations - untrue, but this is what we are dealing with.
More odd accusations in relation to Ontario are made which are too off the wall to even report here. Always someone is needed to accept blame for any misfortune - taking personal or group responsibility would be a rarity in this part of the world. Here and now it is Ontario on the receiving end - they are the only ones who can "return" DCE, and they are not playing ball, they are making it clear that this is not an option - thus Ontario becomes the target - thus for the moment taking some heat off Gary McHale, the Haldimand County Council and the Federal Government who are the usual entities in the cross hairs (metaphorically speaking).
The Solution?: As can be seen in many of the previous blog postings, the HDI has no interest in negotiation. They want direct talks with Ontario and, mark my words, will NEVER settle for anything but full and unrestricted control over the DCE property. Therefore if bringing in the army will not fly, the only solution is to utterly capitulate to terrorists (generally not a good idea). So Ontario must step forward and say something along the lines of this imaginary scenario,
The Province of Ontario to the Haudenosaunee Development Institute
"We are pleased to be in a position to turn the ownership of the former Douglas Creek Estates (sorry, Kanonhstaton, we need to be very culturally sensitive since we despair of any bad press involving Natives) over to the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, although the fact that it cost Ontario taxpayers $16 million to buy out the legal owners (Henco) is of some mild concern. Oh, well yes, the multi millions of dollars spent to cover OPP overtime in "Cashedonia", and the monies spent to compensate owners of nearby properties, and the businesses which suffered due to the 2006 violent take over (sorry, "reclamation"). There is also the millions lost as a result of your efforts to keep Hydro One workers from stringing the high tension wires from Niagara Falls on the towers just south of Kanonhstaton. Then there are the illegal contraband cigarette shacks you guys erected on Hydro One land. We have found it difficult to explain these circumstances to the public, but most Canadians have been taught that Natives have been victimized by the "racist" policies of the Federal Government, so "White guilt" should take care of that potential problem.
However, all things considered, it is with much satisfaction that we offer this property to you despite the pain and suffering caused to the citizens of Caledonia and surrounds, because we are certain that you are sorry for these actions, and would say so if the opportunity presented itself.
We hope that you will use this land in a manner that will benefit members of all communities, but if you wish to build a casino or an array of contraband cigarette shacks on the property, then it is your right to do so since the OPP will not enforce the laws of Ontario except under certain unclear circumstances.
We trust that this gift will make a nice addition to the newly created Haudenosaunee Land Registry. The fact that the land was legally surrendered by your ancestors 170 years ago was not taken into consideration - we anticipate some difficulty with academics and others with copies of the surrender - but we won't dwell on it. Certain that you wish to acquire other properties in the Haldimand Tract to bulk out this Registry, it is our sincere hope that you will not cause excessive damage while divesting legal owners of their rights.
Unfortunately there will be those "activists" within the non-Native community who will take exception to our decision. We wish at all costs to avoid another "Caledonia 2006" situation. To this end we will ensure that the media obtains the most helpful spin on things. Surely the majority of taxpayers of Ontario and Canada can see that we have made the right decision here, accepting that it has nothing to do with political correctness or such cynical interpretations. Some believe that governments should never negotiate with terrorists. However citizens will eventually come to understand that there is reason to fear that by not caving in to your firm demands it would surely create more work stoppages, road blockades, and threats of violent civil disobedience, so eventually full support our actions is expected as all want to avoid such unpleasantness. There will no doubt be some backlash from those most impacted by the DCE situation, or those who question the decision on moral or legal grounds. Ultimately, as you are no doubt aware, we will just have to wait it out and the furor will die down with time, leaving the Federal Government at blame in the public perception."
While this has been said tongue in cheek, is it all that far off the mark? The ball is in Ontario's court.
DeYo.
Here the Editor castigates the real perceived cause of the problems - the Province of Ontario - calling Premier Kathleen Wynne, "Missing in action". The Editor states that, Ontario has refused to renew a communications protocol, put in place by Kathleen Wynne when she was Aboriginal Affairs Minister. Therefore, why would Ontario suddenly be surprised when a fence ....... suddenly goes up.
Before I continue quoting from the Editorial, I think it is important to note that the situation is far more complex than stated. Actually the Federal Government was involved in the negotiations as well as the Elected Council. In 2010 the latter two withdrew since the HCCC representatives demanded to be the sole negotiators - they got their wish, but there was no one to negotiate with.
Going back to 2006, in order to defuse the volatile situation the Province of Ontario sent in negotiating teams and those they were faced with were the only group left standing, the HCCC / HDI. So they did agree to a temporary protocol for negotiations (there is no evidence that it was meant to be permanent) just to "get through the day" when dealing with terrorists. So DCE was purchased by Ontario from the legitimate owners, and to this day is registered in Cayuga as belonging to the Province. There were problems such as the barrier across Argyle Street and other insurrections that had been perpetrated against the people of Caledonia and Ontario (e.g., bringing down the Hydro One towers; destroying a Hydro One substation which knocked out power to Caledonia and parts of Six Nations). So in desperation, the possibility of granting parcels of land to Six Nations was brought to the table - one parcel being the former Burtch Correctional Center and surrounding land (about 250 acres). As I understand it, Ontario realized that due to a variety of factors (e.g., overlapping jurisdiction with the Federal Government) it was simply out of the question to give HDI what it wanted. No doubt, having the Federal Government state in no uncertain terms that the DCE property had been properly surrendered 18 December 1844 by 47 Chiefs in Council, factored into Ontario's realization that they were being duped.
Somehow the Editor appears to ignore all of the above. To move into a more bizarre domain, the Editor states, Could Ontario really be so naive to think that people really believe their claim that they invited the HCCC to a meeting in Toronto a few weeks ago to discuss the fence when they didn't even bother to tell the HCCC where the meeting was. Seriously, How many people get invited to a party and are not told where it is being held? The Elected Council, County of Haldimand and Province of Ontario would be able to confirm or refute this statement. At the time the HCCC, in writing, refused to attend - because the Elected Council would also be present. Thus the Editor's comments warrant some further explorations - they seem quite wrong.
The Editor continues on the same theme of blaming Ontario, saying, Only Ontario would pull such a unilateral stunt to keep the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs from being seen for what they are, the only government at the Grand River that is invested with the authority to deal with. The Editor then accuses the Federal Government and the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) with conspiring, to exploit Six Nations lands. This is a huge stretch. SNEC is the only legal authority mandated to negotiate with the Federal Government through the Indian Act of 1876 and later revisions. Since 1924, HCCC has NEVER accepted the legal relationship between SNEC and the Federal Government. Thus the spin above since the Editor is clearly indicating that only the HCCC has legitimacy at Six Nations - untrue, but this is what we are dealing with.
More odd accusations in relation to Ontario are made which are too off the wall to even report here. Always someone is needed to accept blame for any misfortune - taking personal or group responsibility would be a rarity in this part of the world. Here and now it is Ontario on the receiving end - they are the only ones who can "return" DCE, and they are not playing ball, they are making it clear that this is not an option - thus Ontario becomes the target - thus for the moment taking some heat off Gary McHale, the Haldimand County Council and the Federal Government who are the usual entities in the cross hairs (metaphorically speaking).
The Solution?: As can be seen in many of the previous blog postings, the HDI has no interest in negotiation. They want direct talks with Ontario and, mark my words, will NEVER settle for anything but full and unrestricted control over the DCE property. Therefore if bringing in the army will not fly, the only solution is to utterly capitulate to terrorists (generally not a good idea). So Ontario must step forward and say something along the lines of this imaginary scenario,
The Province of Ontario to the Haudenosaunee Development Institute
"We are pleased to be in a position to turn the ownership of the former Douglas Creek Estates (sorry, Kanonhstaton, we need to be very culturally sensitive since we despair of any bad press involving Natives) over to the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, although the fact that it cost Ontario taxpayers $16 million to buy out the legal owners (Henco) is of some mild concern. Oh, well yes, the multi millions of dollars spent to cover OPP overtime in "Cashedonia", and the monies spent to compensate owners of nearby properties, and the businesses which suffered due to the 2006 violent take over (sorry, "reclamation"). There is also the millions lost as a result of your efforts to keep Hydro One workers from stringing the high tension wires from Niagara Falls on the towers just south of Kanonhstaton. Then there are the illegal contraband cigarette shacks you guys erected on Hydro One land. We have found it difficult to explain these circumstances to the public, but most Canadians have been taught that Natives have been victimized by the "racist" policies of the Federal Government, so "White guilt" should take care of that potential problem.
However, all things considered, it is with much satisfaction that we offer this property to you despite the pain and suffering caused to the citizens of Caledonia and surrounds, because we are certain that you are sorry for these actions, and would say so if the opportunity presented itself.
We hope that you will use this land in a manner that will benefit members of all communities, but if you wish to build a casino or an array of contraband cigarette shacks on the property, then it is your right to do so since the OPP will not enforce the laws of Ontario except under certain unclear circumstances.
We trust that this gift will make a nice addition to the newly created Haudenosaunee Land Registry. The fact that the land was legally surrendered by your ancestors 170 years ago was not taken into consideration - we anticipate some difficulty with academics and others with copies of the surrender - but we won't dwell on it. Certain that you wish to acquire other properties in the Haldimand Tract to bulk out this Registry, it is our sincere hope that you will not cause excessive damage while divesting legal owners of their rights.
Unfortunately there will be those "activists" within the non-Native community who will take exception to our decision. We wish at all costs to avoid another "Caledonia 2006" situation. To this end we will ensure that the media obtains the most helpful spin on things. Surely the majority of taxpayers of Ontario and Canada can see that we have made the right decision here, accepting that it has nothing to do with political correctness or such cynical interpretations. Some believe that governments should never negotiate with terrorists. However citizens will eventually come to understand that there is reason to fear that by not caving in to your firm demands it would surely create more work stoppages, road blockades, and threats of violent civil disobedience, so eventually full support our actions is expected as all want to avoid such unpleasantness. There will no doubt be some backlash from those most impacted by the DCE situation, or those who question the decision on moral or legal grounds. Ultimately, as you are no doubt aware, we will just have to wait it out and the furor will die down with time, leaving the Federal Government at blame in the public perception."
While this has been said tongue in cheek, is it all that far off the mark? The ball is in Ontario's court.
DeYo.
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