Six Nations: Background on the Imposition of the Elected System
I recently read the Iroquois chapters in Stolen Continents: The "New World" Through Indian Eyes Since 1942 by Ronald Wright (Viking, 1991). The book is very good (I am starting to read the rest now). It has an excellent, detailed record of the history of colonization. I highly recommend it.
Until then, however, here are some excerpts from it that may help you understand a little bit more about how the elected system was imposed and why the taking of the Council House is Six Nations is significant.
In Tyendinaga:
Canada began by overthrowing traditional governments on the smaller Iroquois territories of Ontario and Quebec. In the mid-1880s, Indian Affairs pressured the Bay of Quinte Mohawks, ostensibly on a trial basis, to replace their condoled chiefs with elected councilmen. The Indians put up with the new system for a couple of years, then rejected it - the adversarial style of European politics ran counter to their tradition of consensus, as the exclusion of the women's voice
But it turned out that the 'trial period' was a sham: Canada would nota llow the people to restore their own system. p. 317
In Akwesane:
Canada's most brutal intervention came at Akwesasne....
In March 1899, Mounted Police arrived to enforce the holding of an election. They were soon besieged by 200 Mohawks... Two months later they returned...'They occupied the Council Hall, where they sent a message to the chiefs to attend a special meeting regarding the buying of stone [to rebuild a bridge]....As the chiefs walked into the council office, they were thrown to the floor and handcuffed. One of the women notified the Head Chief, Jake Fire, and as he came through he door demanding the release of his fellow chiefs he was shot twice, the second shot being fatal. p. 318-319
In Six Nations:
A small but vocal minority opposed to the traditional government had arisen at Grand River. They became known as the Dehorners because deer antlers were the insignia of a condoled chief. Some the the dissidents were not-Iroquois, such as Delawares, who had not members of their own on the council; others were young men tho felt left out by their elders; most were doctrinaire Christians who taught the ancient assembly smacked of heathenism. The Canadian government conspired with this "Christian democrat" minority as a way of breaking the League in the name of electoral reform. p. 320
On October 7, 1924, armed police burst into the Oshweken Council House and read a decree dissolving the Six Nations' parliament. They broke open a chest and seized documents going back to the time of Joseph Brant, many of them germane to the sovereignty case. More police raided the wampum keepers' homes, taking the sacred belts, the Iroquois equivalents of flag, mace and Magna Carta. p. 325
The government called elections and:
From a population of 4,500 only twenty-seven people voted: "Christian deomcrats" who elected themselves" p. 325
Until then, however, here are some excerpts from it that may help you understand a little bit more about how the elected system was imposed and why the taking of the Council House is Six Nations is significant.
In Tyendinaga:
Canada began by overthrowing traditional governments on the smaller Iroquois territories of Ontario and Quebec. In the mid-1880s, Indian Affairs pressured the Bay of Quinte Mohawks, ostensibly on a trial basis, to replace their condoled chiefs with elected councilmen. The Indians put up with the new system for a couple of years, then rejected it - the adversarial style of European politics ran counter to their tradition of consensus, as the exclusion of the women's voice
But it turned out that the 'trial period' was a sham: Canada would nota llow the people to restore their own system. p. 317
In Akwesane:
Canada's most brutal intervention came at Akwesasne....
In March 1899, Mounted Police arrived to enforce the holding of an election. They were soon besieged by 200 Mohawks... Two months later they returned...'They occupied the Council Hall, where they sent a message to the chiefs to attend a special meeting regarding the buying of stone [to rebuild a bridge]....As the chiefs walked into the council office, they were thrown to the floor and handcuffed. One of the women notified the Head Chief, Jake Fire, and as he came through he door demanding the release of his fellow chiefs he was shot twice, the second shot being fatal. p. 318-319
In Six Nations:
A small but vocal minority opposed to the traditional government had arisen at Grand River. They became known as the Dehorners because deer antlers were the insignia of a condoled chief. Some the the dissidents were not-Iroquois, such as Delawares, who had not members of their own on the council; others were young men tho felt left out by their elders; most were doctrinaire Christians who taught the ancient assembly smacked of heathenism. The Canadian government conspired with this "Christian democrat" minority as a way of breaking the League in the name of electoral reform. p. 320
On October 7, 1924, armed police burst into the Oshweken Council House and read a decree dissolving the Six Nations' parliament. They broke open a chest and seized documents going back to the time of Joseph Brant, many of them germane to the sovereignty case. More police raided the wampum keepers' homes, taking the sacred belts, the Iroquois equivalents of flag, mace and Magna Carta. p. 325
The government called elections and:
From a population of 4,500 only twenty-seven people voted: "Christian deomcrats" who elected themselves" p. 325
posted by DAMN 2025 at 2:18 p.m.
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