Six Nations: False Reports By Caledonians

This article was in last week's Tekawennake, a local newspaper. There are so many instances of one-sided media reports coming out of the mainstream media. The true story is frequently left out. Even when false allegations are corrected in the media, there is still a lot of damage done. Many times people don't remember that something wasn't true, they just remember what was said in the first place.

More false reports From Caledonia frustrate OPP

By Jim Windle
Caledonia

It appears things are just a little too quiet around the reclamation site for some Caledonia citizens.

The Haldimand OPP reported Tuesday that they received a report from a Caledonia citizen that there was a break and enter in progress and that the perpetrators were still in the house. Police responded immediately and found the complainant still on the phone talking with police. The scene was checked as were neighbouring residences. It became evident that the break and enter was a fabrication. "The Ontario Provincial Police are aware of the frustration and aggravation that lingers in the communities," says an OPP media release. "However, reacting in such a manner creates a state of apprehension within communities, which is completely unnecessary." This kind of propaganda is nothing new for certain sectors of the Caledonia population who have fabricated many stories to help support their distaste for the ongoing occupation of the former Douglas Creek Estates land.

Reports of Natives carrying guns, bonfires being lit in resident's back yards adjacent to the reclamation site, weapons stashes, break and entries, children at Notre Dame Elementary School forced to eat their lunches under their desks, Canadian flags being shot at by Natives from the occupation site, and even elaborate bunker systems being built by Natives on the occupation site, have attracted certain regional media outlets who have given the fabricators free and open camera time to spread their propaganda without any verification of their validity.

"This kind of reaction only impedes negotiations and exploits valuable investigation time," the OPP release continues. "These false calls exhaust valuable police response time and affect public safety."

Since the misinformation campaign in Caledonia began, Tekawennake has called OPP regarding several reported incidents broadcast through the media and have found that most, if not all, complaints were never reported to police at all.