Six Nations: Update from the Grande River January 27, 2007

Yesterday we had the main table meeting as scheduled. And if you watch CH TV 11, you'll see that the position of the Crown hasn't changed, and they've once again utilized the media as if to proclaim something new or great. It's nothing new, and it certainly doesn't offer any new evidence of any sale or lease. They merely rely on minutes of a meeting, they try to say that the oral history will play no part in a court of law, and it simply is not true. The document that they refer to is nothing more than an OPINION! It is not FACT, nor is it the LAW. And furthermore, it is not surprising. We expected as much from them. Did you really think they were going to make some great announcement and admit that they had in fact stolen our lands, stolen the lease monies, and made up fraudulent land deeds for all those living within the tract. Not likely! They will continue with their tactics of using the threat of courts to try and discourage us. What they failed to mention was that we are not in their court system, their court system will play no part in this resolution process, and that the LAW which they are obligated to follow, according to our relationship and ancient covenants, is the Two Row. They have just as much responsibility to it as we do, and they have many generations of neglect to answer to. There is nothing on that Two Row that leaves room for their DOJ opinion and for that matter, there is nothing on the Two Row that allows them to defend their actions. There is nothing that they can say to absolve them for violating the Law of Creation. They can only begin to right the wrongs, if they are serious about this resolution process.

Does their position worry us.............not one bit. Does our position worry them............what do you think! Do you think the fact that they've had a complete oral history, backed up by written documentation and historical evidence of facts presented to them; against their pathetic position of "the courts would find in our favour" without an ounce of documentation to back it up might worry them. Their recent action is is like a school yard fight when the bully gets busted for his actions, and he desperately tries to deflect away from his own actions by pointing fingers at everyone else, and making an issue of everything else but the issue at hand. That's all this is. Another smoke screen. Today, the issue at hand is the Haldimand. Just because the law they refer to in their DOJ opinion is an ever changing law that is designed for them to always win, doesn't mean its never been challenged. And our legal opinion says that there are plenty of cases in recent past that challenges their position and in fact where the Supreme Court of Canada has disagreed with the position of the DOJ. So if they think by bluffing we're gonna fold, forget it! But again, we're not talking about their laws, nor are we in their courts. They need to get honest with their citizens. They know that they have frauded the Onkwehonweh, and they know they have frauded the people of Caledonia, as well as the rest the people living in the municipalities, towns and townships along the grand. And they know they can't continue to try and bully their way through this lesson. Only this isn't the playground or school yard. And if the Crown wants to continue to challenge the Creator by undermining the Law that we are standing in defense of, so be it. As long as they understand the consequences of such actions. sas C

Six Nations: Update from the Grande River, January 20, 2007

Good Morning from Grand River. I sat down at my computer yesterday morning and began my update. Many thoughts ran through my head. I had thoughts about what to write about. I had thoughts about the vision of Gary McHale once again coming into the area in an attempt to instigate violence so that it would jeopardize the negotiations that have been the focal point of a peaceful settlement for the land of Kanonhstaton between the Haudenesonne and the Crown. I thought about the people at Kanonhstaton who continually uphold the peace, and the strength that is required when idiots like McHale are allowed to continue with their white supremisct campaign of hatred and racism. I thought about the Canadian government who represents McHale and the others, and about how their law is supposed to uphold law and order and peace; and yet they are unable to do anything with the likes of McHale. I thought about the injustices that our ancestors have suffered, and about the loss and destruction of our lands and environment, that is a direct result of this system and law at the hands and hearts of the people who founded it. Then I thought about our law, the Kaienerekowah and how it encompasses all things, all of creation, and that it protects not only the people, but the lands, waters, animals, plants.......all of our environment, and I thought about the responsibility of the clanmothers, chiefs and faithkeepers who now sit in our council and are striving to uphold those responsibilities by making decisions that are consistent with our law, and therefore consistent with all of Creation. And when I thought about this, I wondered about the minds of those people who felt that man-made laws were better than the law given by the Creator when it was intended to be the basis for Peace for all people. And then I thought again about the people, all of our people, throughout all of Onkwehonweh Territories, and how we need now, more than ever, to work together as we sit in Nation to Nation dialogue with the Crown and how we continue to educate "Canada" on our relationship with the English as Allies, and how Canada, now having been given that responsibility of the crown, is responsible for upholding the obligations of the crown with respect of treaties and ancient agreements. I thought too of my responsibility of updating the people, and of how frustrating it is to update, when your mind tells you that nothing is happening and these people have no intention of resolving this, they are only intent on dragging it out till the next election and we're back at stage one. And then my heart is given renewed hope and strength when I see our delegation continue to pressure them at the table, and force them to recognize their responsibilities, and remind them that the Law that we speak of as we sit at the table, is the Law of the Land, the Kaienerekowah; and that the relationship that we sit, with the Two Row on the table in the centre as a reminder, is as Allies, NOT as Subjects, and how they must bring their minds to this. And I thought about how our council continues to strengthen and grow as we assert our authority and continue to uphold our responsibilities. I thought about the divisions that continue to exist amongst us, and how the Crowns government has counted on those divisions. I thought about how some of the people within those divisions, who cannot see past what they perceive as their own personal power, continue to pursue their own agendas, not recognizing the danger that they bring not only to those amongst us who they view as the enemy, but also to their own children and grandchildren as they continue to try to undermine the peaceful negotiation process that has been agreed upon. I thought about how in the simplest terms and way of looking at this process, is that it's consistent with the Law. I thought about the power and ultimate greed that drives those who oppose this process, and how they are walking directly into the trap that so many of our people in the past have walked right into, and that is exactly where the crown wants them, to continue with the plan of genocide by continuing to give credence to those divisions so that the rest of the world, including the government of Canada, can say, "who is the government at Six Nations" and who has the authority to speak for them. And all of that, even before a cup of coffee!

Today, my mind is still on all of those things, perhaps a bit deeper, perhaps a lot stronger, but I must say, once again, the People of Six Nations have showed their Unity and showed they are fully capable of upholding the Peace, even in the face of criticism, racism and threats. McHale came into town, and this time, was whining of how the "natives" were allowed to hang Canadian flags on the land at Kanonhstaton but how good upstanding Canadian citizens such as he and his white supremest following, are not. Yesterday, the world woke up to not only the Canadian flag flying on the small bridge across from the front of Kanonhstaton, but also the American flag, with the Two Row, the Five Nations Hiawatha Belt, and the Unity flag flying above and between them. This was done as a reminder to McHale and others that the Haudenesonne have many wonderful Canadian and American allies who support our stand at Kanonhstaton as we assert our sovereignty within our territorial lands. It was done in recognition of all of our veterans, who have served as Allies of those nations flags, and in recognition of those who continue to serve. It was also done as a reminder that the Haudenesonne, are North American, and that those borders that have been placed between those two nations, and whose flags are displayed in similar fashion as the ones at Kanonhstaton; have no bearing on us. It was also done and placed in a way, with the Two Row between them, and the Five Nations above them, to remind those citizens and governments of Canada and the United States, who were founded under the Crown, that our relationship is based on that Two Row, as Allies, and that the Five Nations Flag is above as a reminder that the English are in fact refugees in our homelands. That we were here when they arrived, and we will continue to be here if they choose to leave. That they are obligated to uphold those responsibilities to Peace as well, and that their government is not to interfere in ours. So, be it symbolic or direct, the message was delivered.

And speaking of attempts at delivering a message.........

The Crown knows and understands our history, and that our relationship is as allies, not as subjects of the crown. They also know that We were given the job by the Peacemaker, to uphold and protect the Law of the Land. And yet they continue to sit there, with their paternalistic and authoritive attitudes, giving the sense that they are dealing with people beneath them. They see the word 'allies', even in their own history books and Canadian hansards, and yet continue to treat us as children and pat us on the head as if to say, 'that's a nice little story, here's a quarter, now go along and play now and let us grown ups deal with making the decisions because we know what's best for you"........

Only this time their message was once again an attempt of making a payment. This week they released a coin commemorating Joseph Brant, who lets not forget, was the one who helped in establishing and founding this land base now known as the Haldimand Tract. And throughout history, it has been the practice of the Crown that in order to continue to usurp the authority of the Onkwehonweh, and maintain some authoritative and self perceived governance over us and our lands, they have to make a payment. Its the whole reason why the haldimand was set up in the first place, because by perceiving to 'give' us this land base, it gave them "London's bridge" that was needed between upper Canada and lower Canada, and therefore, their foothold onto our homelands. And even though we know that the haldimand was only seen by the Onkwehonweh as re-affirming lands that already belonged to the Onkwehonweh, and that some of the five nations would now be amongst those now settling here; in the symbolic or spiritual world, it was an attempt at a payment that would allow them to continue with its fraudulent place in creation as having authority over us. This is why their whole lands claims process is set up as financial compensation only, they have no intention of ever letting go of the lands they have stolen, but every time they make a financial payment as compensation, it's like a message to Creation that we've accepted it. Sorry guys, we told you in the beginning, this isn't about money. So this latest attempt, with the releasing of Joseph Brant's coin, as an attempt at a payment and/or spiritual manipulation, is not accepted nor will it be tolerated, and now Creation must respond.

This week there was a lot of confusion and misunderstandings when the Canadian press released information they had received from the ministry of culture about the evidence of artifacts and village sites dating back to over 800 years ago. It was thought that this finding was recent and that it was a result of the archeology study that is currently being undertaken at Kanonhstaton. In fact, the information is from the report that developer Henco Industries and the Town of Haldimand had complete knowledge of prior to development, and that while we were aware of some parts of the report, there has never been any reports or findings of a longhouse that I am aware of, and this has caused once again, concern of what other reports are being withheld. And if you're gonna study history, or claim to be an expert in certain areas, please, please expand your knowledge by including research of the Oral History of the people of these lands, not just what Canada has put in their history books. I was amazed at the ignorance this week, of a professor of a nearby college or university who made the comment that the Six Nations had no claim to the lands we now call Kanonhstaton because the artifacts found were likely those of the Huron's. Our people have never claimed there weren't other nations here, in fact we know there were. The Haudenesonne had many Nations who had taken shelter under the Umbrella of the Great Law throughout the whole north American continent and beyond, and we were responsible to carry the voice of these other nations in relations with the crown. Not to mention the fact that we had already been given the responsibility as caretakers over the whole of Turtle Island by the Peacemaker; so we know there is a clear history of the Huron's, Wyandot & Tutello's as well as the Five Nations along the Grand River. And yes, we had our own history between us. So given the tradition of our people with respect to Oral history, we also know there are families amongst us to this day who are direct descendants of some of those other nations and that they still honour and respect their respective histories through the ceremonies that come with them, be it Huron, Wyandot or Tutello. One of our very wise and respected elders and Chief of the Cayuga Nation is amongst them, and he can tell you the history of his family and how they were adopted into the Cayuga Nation; so, yes, we not only know that we have a right to claim those lands and artifacts, we also know that we have a responsibility to those ancestors who were buried beneath them. And even though Henco and his archaeological study reports there were no burials, and the haldimand township insists there were no permits issued and therefore no soil removed from the development site, we know that our ancestors are on those lands and are guiding and supporting our reclamation.

It was brought to light at the recent main table negotiations that one of the lead federal negotiators was also the lead negotiator during the settlement with the refugees where Canada had given an apology and restitution to them for the atrocities that had been treated them upon their arrival here. It was reminded of the Crown that while it might have taken a long time for Canada to come to a settlement for those refugee's (they have stated it took 40 years), the Haudenesonne have been waiting well beyond that, and that in fact, as refugee's themselves, Canada must begin to take responsibility for the violations to the Two Row, the violation of trust, and for the interference of the Crown through its Indian Act, that has caused deep divisions and hurts amongst the Haudenesonne, and that in order to even begin to work toward a peaceful resolution at Kanonhstaton, Canada needs to begin by admitting its guilt of those violations, and by making that Apology, Restitution and Reconciliation so that the Haudenesonne can begin to heal the wounds that the Crown has caused by its interference. Only then, will we be able to begin to re-build the relationship between us, as allies, and each maintaining its obligations to those ancient agreements.

So, today, I'll end this update as we began this New Year, to reflect on the past year. For the Haudenesonne at Grand River Territory it has been a year of Unity and Strength and Assertion of our Sovereignty. We began with the reclamation of a small portion of our land base. We furthered our position by forcing the Crown to recognize and deal with the only true government of the Haudenesonne, the People, represented by the Confederacy Council. We continue to work toward resolving the governance of Grand River by opening up the communication between the many factions within our territories, and we have encouraged those factions to join us as we begin the process of creating a Vision Circle that will help with the re-birth and implementation of a Government that encompasses all of the Haudenesonne. One that is founded not only on the Principals of the Great Law, but one that truly represents our Confederacy, the Original League of Nations. One that encompasses and undertakes the responsibility that it has always known, and one that re-inforces the allowance of all of the Onkwehonweh it's protection under the shelter of that Great Tree, and one that will allow us to once again, truly speak with One Voice, One Heart, and One Mind. Part of that vision was the return of the Confederacy Council Building to the Confederacy, and the symbolic return of the keys by members of the band council, to one of our traditional Chiefs. It was the first step toward healing the past. It was only a beginning, and one that was not supported by all; but it was viewed as the start of a resurgence of the Governance of the People, under the Kaierenekowah, and one that was necessary......for the good of all!

In Love, Light and Peace,
Hazel

Hazel Hill is a Spokesperson for the Reclamation Site on Six Nation's land near Caledonia.

Six Natons: OCAP Solidarity Round Table

This is the full version of an interview Stef, Josh, and I did with Upping The Anti about Six Nations solidarity work.

From Anti-Poverty to Indigenous Sovereignty: Supporting the Six Nations Land Reclamation

A Roundtable With OCAP

What led you to get involved in supporting indigenous struggles in general, and the Six Nations struggle in particular?

AJ: The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) is a social justice organization and, as such, we support indigenous struggles. I hadn't heard of what was going on outside of Caledonia until some friends of mine in Tyendinaga told us about it and suggested we go. We went to check it out and see if there was anything we could do to support it. We didn’t know anyone and were quite shy so we sat silently by the fire a lot and hoped people would speak to us. Finally, we learned about things we could supply, and asked if there were things in Toronto we could do to show our support.

Josh: I got involved with indigenous struggles through working with OCAP. When I joined OCAP in 2001 there were 5 paid organizers, one of whom was Shawn Brant, a Mohawk from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory which is near Belleville on the Bay of Quinte in southern Ontario. Most members of OCAP, I would say, started learning more about native issues and sovereignty through the links Shawn brought to OCAP, and which went back further than 2001.

There were a number of actions over the years that built this connection, the most notable of which was the attempt to open up the bridge that runs from the U.S. through the Mohawk territory of Akwasasne into Canada. This action was planned when demonstrators came from the U.S. to attend the anti-FTAA demonstrations in Quebec, and it was done in conjunction with Mohawk people. The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte have also been providing OCAP with deer meat and fish and other kill from their hunts for a number of years which we serve at demonstrations in Toronto. They always reminded us that "every hunting issue is a sovereignty issue.” In any case, the connection and our consciousness about the issues grew greatly.

How we connected with the Six Nations struggle against the Douglas Creek Estates was a bit different. We didn't know anyone from Six Nations, but had been following the reclamation in the news. When they were dealing with the initial injunction from the courts, a few of us decided to make a trip up there. We drove up one weekend in late March, parked our car on the side of the road and said, "Hi, we're from OCAP, we really respect what you're doing, it's real inspiring, we'd like to know how we can help".

Why do you see these indigenous struggles as being such an important issue to organize around? What is their connection to your anti-poverty work?

AJ: I am white. Everything I have is a result of the theft from and genocide of Native people. I have a responsibility to fight for justice and support their struggles, we all have that responsibility.

The obvious connection to OCAP's anti-poverty work is that a lot of Native people are poor, especially in the cities. Systemic racism leads to less opportunities, lower pay and lower standards of living for many Native people. Further, Canada’s current and historical violation of treaties means that most First Nations do not have access to the lands, resources and funds that they are entitled to. On the reserves, there is less poverty right now because of the sale of cigarettes. The cigarette business has become a way for a lot of Native people to dramatically raise their standards of living. As a result, the government is attacking them and trying to destroy this economy.

More than being about poverty, though, connecting anti-poverty and Native rights movements is about building resistance. Aside from there being a lot of poor Natives, poor people and First Nations people have a great deal in common in regards to our issues, struggles and the repression we face. As a poor person, I know that our movement is stronger when we are united with other communities and movements. The only way any of us will be truly victorious is if we all are and the only way any of us will be truly free is if we all are.

Josh: I remember the first conversation I had with anyone at the reclamation site was about welfare rates. It was the first day I was there and I was talking with a man named John about when he lived on the streets in Toronto. He told me point blank that we should be fighting to get the welfare rates raised in Toronto and so we talked a bit about the OCAP "Raise the Rates" campaign. The connection is obvious. Native people live in extreme poverty unknown in many other communities across the country.

Beyond that, I see the struggle for native sovereignty as the most fundamental issue for people who want to see radical change in this country; it's the bedrock, the first issue. There's a quote from the paper by Taiaiake Alfred on warrior societies that was excerpted in Upping the Anti #2 which has really stuck with me. It's from an interview he does with Sakej Ward, the head of the East Coast Warrior Society where he's talking about his aspirations for sovereignty. He says, "I don’t see us having a strong enough military power to conquer Canada, but I do see us having the strength to create a condition of deterrence where colonial domination becomes very difficult for Canada to continue. This will create the physical and political space for us to pursue our own definition of our rights and our ways of life." I think that's very powerful and something that we could see in our lifetimes; not the conquering of Canada, but autonomy for Native Nations from it. Would this, in and of itself, end poverty, racism, exploitation? No. But it would shake the foundations of Canadian identity as a benign power, one that cares for its poor, and one that encourages peoples of all nations and colours to become part of its fabric. Exposing these myths is critical for all our various struggles.

In what concrete ways has your support for Six Nations manifested itself?

AJ: Most of my solidarity work with Six Nations has been on site. I see that work as playing four different roles.

The most obvious thing that I do to support Six Nations is cook. As there are a number of people who live permanently at the reclamation there is a cookhouse that feeds the people there. Primarily filling that role with people from outside of Six Nations (Native and non-Native) allows people from there to focus their energies on other things. This is especially true for freeing up some women to do jobs like security where they would otherwise be cooking. There are a number of other practical skills that I try to offer. From time to time, I act as a medic or provide legal information. I am also helping to compile a Kanenhstaton cookbook to raise funds.

Secondly, I am there as a witness. The presence of non-native people there shows support for the struggle outside of the Native community. This is important for the people there and for the Caledonians and the government to see. There is also a theory that the state will behave differently if they know there are non-Natives (especially white people) behind the lines. I do not know if this is true or not, I do, however, know that the white people there the day of the raid were treated dramatically different than the Native people were. Only three of the eight or so white people were arrested. Those who were arrested were not tasered, pepper-sprayed and only one was injured. The only white woman who was arrested was released on the spot, for no reason that we could tell other than that she was a white woman.

Additionally, I act as a communications person between Toronto and Six Nations. The work that I do on site is closely tied to the work that OCAP and The Coalition for Indigenous Sovereignty do off site. Like any community, the people at Kanenhstaton have a diverse range of opinions about when, how, why and what things should be done, including solidarity work. I try to engage different people about their thoughts on the issue on a regular basis to help ensure that we are actually taking leadership from the community. I also attend meetings and raise ideas we have about organizing with the people. Because decisions are made by consensus it is crucial that people doing solidarity work are getting leadership from the people, not just one person.

Lastly, both myself and OCAP do not view the struggle over The Protected Place as an emergency issue at this point. That is to say that things have somewhat regularized in the six months that we have been doing support work with them. There is no longer the sense of crisis that there was in April and May and we had to cut back the level of support we are doing (especially on-site support) in order to be more sustainable. We are behind the people of Six Nations in this struggle for this land but we also look forward to working in solidarity with them for years to come. Part of my presence there is about building relationships so the respect and trust exists between us to have a meaningful, lasting solidarity relationship.

Josh: I was out of the country when the raid happened on April 20^th, but when I returned I began spending a lot of time on the reclamation site. Along with a number of other OCAP members and other non-natives I was spending a lot of time cooking in the kitchen and maintaining the area around the cookhouse. Following the raid until about the end of June and into early July, a lot of non-natives came through and spent a good chunk of their time in Six Nations doing just this.

It’s worth it to note how so many people wound up putting so many hours into this work. It came out of a desire to support the reclamation in a functional way and followed from some of the prohibitions that people at the reclamation had on non-native supporters: they didn’t want us hanging around the checkpoints or the frontlines and they didn’t want us engaging with people from Caledonia. This was the general feeling from the period following the raid until late June, although there were some definite exceptions. In the case of many supporters, the kitchen was an easy place to slot people in, because of the sheer volume of food that needed to be made daily and the convenience of having us organized in a central spot so as to keep the greater site secure.

It was through this work that other supporters and myself were able to get to know many people at the site and a certain degree of trust was built. We tried to engage the reclamation with humility and deference, and I believe that overwhelmingly, people were glad to see this type of support.

Stefanie: As an individual, I worked both to support the people from my organization who were spending intensive amount of time on the site, and to help make supportive actions, events, and education around the Reclamation happen here in Toronto. I myself did not ever spend a considerable amount of time on the site itself, but, beginning in late March, I traveled back and forth quite frequently, sometimes spending a night or two, but most of my work was a manifestation of this back and forth.

In and around the more severe crises at the reclamation site – the police invasion on April 20th, Caledonian mobilizations against the site, alarms being sounded about the military being called in, etc. – I worked with others in Toronto to respond to requests from the site to bring people and supplies in very short amounts of time. This kind of response – people coming to observe and support through their very presence, be it for a few hours or a few days - was definitely at its height in late April and May. This activity brought with it a responsibility to share with other supporters as much as we knew, in terms of what to expect, what codes of conduct were in place (respecting the sacred fire, staying away from the front lines, etc.). Within 12 hours of the early morning invasion, we helped to send almost 20 cars full of people to the site. Such efforts continued, to a lesser degree, throughout the next two months.

Specifically, in Toronto, I acted as the elected representative of OCAP within the organizing space of the Coalition in Support of Indigenous Sovereignty. In co-operation with other organizations who participate in the coalition, we held information sessions, a demonstration against the Minister of Indian Affairs, demonstrations in front of federal government buildings and letter-writing campaigns. We co-organized a couple of large visits of people from Toronto to the site, bringing food and other supplies. One such effort resulted in people from a downtown drop-in that OCAP is very connected to being able to meet people from Six Nations and be impacted by the experience of listening to stories at the fire on the site, as well as people who came through urban native networks. As well, in consultation with people from Six Nations, I was heavily involved in organizing to prepare actions to take place in Toronto in the event of a raid on the site.

How does OCAP as an organization relate to Six Nations in terms of knowing what kind of work to do and how to do it?

AJ: We discuss our work with people from the community both on specific issues and in general. There are a number of different perspectives there and people who are part of different clans, nations, political factions and communities and it is very important that we get input from all of them, at least to the extent that is possible.

We do go to council fires and ask people's opinions on what we are doing or planning on doing. Frankly, our presence at these meetings complicates things for us. There is a lot of power in sitting at a decision making table and it is power that I, as someone who is doing solidarity work, don't want. However, because it is a government of the people it is the only real way to ensure that we are taking leadership from the people.

With that in mind, though, it is important for us to remember that we are doing solidarity work and that our need for leadership from the community not take up more space than is welcome or necessary. I do not think it is possible to do solidarity work properly or with integrity without constantly questioning your roles, tactics and actions. However, that questioning can lead to a lot of insecurity about what we are doing. No matter how much we want be constantly reassured that we are doing a good job, it is unfair to demand that kind of guidance and reassurance from the community, as they have more important things to be doing.

Stefanie: Our relationship to supporting indigenous struggle, as an organization, is centered in our own struggle against the government, for welfare, disability, housing, access to health care - a fight for respect and dignity, against poverty and oppression. It is also strengthened by our understanding of the impact which seeing, standing with, knowing people who are of fighting back together as a community and shaking the power structure, can have. I mean, what this can enable people to bring to their own daily lives and fights.

In support of Six Nations, OCAP worked to provide people, material supplies, including radios, medical supplies, big donations of food, money. As mentioned in Question #3, we worked in the city as well.

On-site, after the initial heat of late April, many people in OCAP began to transform the request for non-Native observers to the situation into something more concrete. You can’t stand around, watching, and feel useful for very long. This is how the work in the kitchen, which many people spent considerable time doing, began. Working in the kitchen was a means of freeing up people from the community to do other things, to get some sleep, to stay at the various camps farther away from the main kitchen, to go home to their kids, and so on. Because the volume of people from the community spending time on the site was so massive in the period after the invasion, and throughout the ensuing periods of high alert, there was clearly a need for people to fill this role. Obviously, the fact that people who stayed on-site slowly developed relationships with people from the community critically informs our organizational perspective and decision-making.

After the heightened tension subsided, from mid-June onwards, the number of people spending a lot of time on the site began to ebb. And the clarity of purpose in the kitchen work also subsided. So, non-Native on-site support began to make less sense, in very practical terms, and people stopped spending the same kind of intensive time on the site. At the same time as we were trying to support the membership on-site, we were also supporting within the city boundaries. And within this dual purpose is where some of the major criticisms begin to emerge.

What have been some of the challenges that you have faced in supporting Six Nations?

AJ: Kanenhstaton is a community with problems like any other. It is
very challenging as an outsider to negotiate
the need for me to be in my place as a supporter and still be myself. In the
beginning I acted very differently than I do now as I increasingly feel confident in
myself and my actions. My desire to be pleasing when I first started going meant
that I actually behaved poorly. Because I was afraid I would offend someone. It
meant that I wasn't as honest as I could have been, even when I was being asked
for my opinion. That wasn't fair to anyone.   Once I started being myself more and
dealing with things how I would normally do so, I became more comfortable. That was
when people actually started respecting me.

I also used to be paranoid that I would do something offensive without knowing it because I have a very limited understanding of Iroquois culture(s). At some point I realized that I had to respect and trust the people around me to let me know if I was doing something improper. Folks there knew that I was trying hard to learn things and if I was out of place I had to trust that I would be put back in it. To be clear, I am not saying that it is Native people's responsibility to educate me or correct my behavior but I am saying that at some point you have to accept that you don't know shit and that you aren't going to. At that point you have to be vigilant about learning but you also have to know you can trust your friends.

For me, that was the most important lesson, to trust myself and be confident in myself. There were several issues that had I figured that out sooner would likely not have become so substantial.

Stefanie: We should have worked harder to support our indigenous allies in the city, to ensure that Native people from Toronto who wanted to be there or learn about the Reclamation had access to resources available to us. It’s hard to make those things happen when your relationship with people from the Native community living in your city isn’t strong, and I know this is something we need to understand how to develop – the capacity to share limited resources also within our own city blocks. This is where the relationship between OCAP and the Indigenous Caucus of the coalition for indigenous sovereignty also becomes so important, which has been a crucial part of my experience of supporting Six Nations.

For those OCAP members supporting from Toronto, it was a priority to work with radical indigenous people that we met through the structure of the coalition, and being guided by their perspectives and experiences, both of their own struggles and their relationship to the Reclamation. We respected the structure requested by them, in order to ensure that the group was not overwhelmingly non-Native. However, we failed to pursue the interest and energy being felt by countless people from all different sectors and populations outside of that structure and outside of OCAP. We had a responsibility to harness those things, and between supporting our people on the site, respecting the framework of CSIS, and trying to understand the constantly shifting ‘facts’ on the ground at the site, we did not live up to this as we should have.

There are many reasons why the work we were doing in the city has floundered. There was a tendency to be very susceptible to the complex unfolding of events at the site – often to the point where we were second-guessing our actions and next steps all the time. In terms of working constantly to respect the wishes of the people engaged in the struggle, this is not wrong. It is also appropriate to be cautious given the amount of time it takes to build trust with people across centuries of mistrust and racism. But we also lacked the confidence and the numbers of people organizing here in Toronto to put forward ideas, to think creatively, and have trust in the work we know how to do because of our own struggles here in Toronto.

After the heightened tension and large numbers of community members frequenting the site subsided, we did not adapt our support strategy fast enough. We had a lot of people who had burned themselves out on extended stays on the site, who needed to pick up with surviving in Toronto, doing their work in the city, and who struggled to make the experience of being on the site translate into Toronto-based support work. The number of people who had been consistently thinking about city-oriented support organizing had been few, and we had missed big opportunities to outreach to a broader public who had clearly shown interest and a desire to support Six Nations in the spring. We were left with a small, drained core of organizers. We should have put more energy into attacking the government from Toronto and confronted the racism of the Caledonian citizens, through the media and through actions and events in Toronto, in order to give voice to the other supportive opinions which non-Natives have of the reclamation.

What drawbacks or dangers does this on-the-ground support pose?

AJ: A lot of the people we had on the ground were a part of the organizational core of OCAP. We had a lot of very skilled organizers doing a lot of unskilled work. While there were still people in Toronto working, there were times when they were largely unsupported and our work in the city did suffer for a period. We shifted focus too late and lost some organizing potential at the time and I think we should have refocused our energies onto doing other forms of support work sooner. Further, it took us a long time to start to figure out how to actually offer our skills at the reclamation site and we are only beginning to do that now.

I would certainly do things differently if I were to do it again. I think it is important to have people on site but that shouldn’t be the primary focus as it was at the time.

How do you conceptualize the role of non-native supporters in the struggle for indigenous sovereignty? What kinds of allies within settler communities can be relied upon to support indigenous struggles?

AJ: I think here, the question provides the answer; we are non-native supporters. It is important to remember that we are not and never will be the central players in this movement. Solidarity work is not in itself liberatory, only the struggles of the people directly affected will see their liberation.

I think that it is key that we take leadership from Native people and that we ensure that we are taking it from the people, not a few people. It isn't hard, in a community of a few thousand, to find someone to tell you what you want to hear and call that leadership. It is hard to try and figure out what an actual community wants and do that. In Six Nations, we are quite lucky because they have consensus based community meetings so it makes things a lot clearer than having a lot of individual conversations.

As far as what kinds of allies within settler communities can be relied upon, I don't know if any can be relied on. The only thing you can ever actually count on an ally for is to screw up. I know that this is a pessimistic view but as a disabled person I know that I constantly question if allies even exist. As a white person doing solidarity work with First Nations people I have to believe that allies do exist. I haven't solved those contradictions yet. I can't call myself an ally, I only say I am trying to be one.

I do however know that there are lots of people who want to support somehow. I think it is important that we try to reach them and get them involved. I do think it is important that we work in our communities. My community isn't Caledonia, I didn't know anyone there, didn't live there and hadn't gone there prior to this. I think it is important that we support the work of the Caledonians who are organizing but that we actually look at what we can do in our own communities.

That means talking to our neighbours, friends and families. It means educating people beyond activists. And it means trying to identify those people who show interest and get them involved.

Josh: There’s a story I’ve been told from someone who was involved in the Oka Standoff in 1990 about the solidarity activists there that I find pretty compelling. In Oka there was a peace camp supporting the stand by the Mohawks that formed on the opposite side of the military line and at its peak had about 1000 people staying there. This person told me they thought one of the greatest failures of the whole standoff was that the people at that peace camp didn’t try to cross the military line. That if they’d just tried to cross, to challenge and confront that line, it could have changed the dynamic of the whole situation. To quote the Doors, you gotta “break on through to the other side” (and I’m talking in our actions here, not in some identity crisis “going native” bullshit).

Stefanie: Toronto is where I am from, it is where I organize, where I live. That has to make sense to supporting indigenous struggle. Whether this means prioritizing working with the framework of Native activists in the city, sharing information and experiences with people from my world in Toronto, through conversations, sharing resources to ensure it isn’t only people with the time and money who get to travel to the community that is resisting, pushing against the power structure that oppresses where we can do it here in the city, it has to make sense to where you are standing.

Having said this, you can’t support unless you understand, and you can’t understand unless you break down the distance between people. It is really hard to argue with the power of meeting people and talking to them and the power of meeting people in a crisis is that you do spend hours and hours and for some people days and nights and in some ways collapses the amount of time you need for trust to build normally. But I have learned that this is not a true or complete collapse. Trust is still slow.

It is also very important to acknowledge that non-Native supporters are not only white. There was strong support for the Reclamation site by people of colour, which is often overlooked by white people when we talk about non-Native support work. The power of the Palestinian flag flying tall on the site in the very early stages of the reclamation, and what this meant to people visiting the site as well as the frequency with which kaffiyehs were worn by Natives on the front lines, was very visible. I was certainly made aware of different kinds of trust being built along colour lines, both on the site and off. Obviously, this makes sense and as a movement of people supporting indigenous struggle, the awareness that questions of resources, voices, access to information should always be asked, even in the rush to support a crisis situation.

The struggle at Six Nations is obviously ongoing, but how would you relate to it if the issue of the Douglas Creek Estates is resolved and ongoing struggle takes place in less high-profile ways? What suggestions would you have for non-native activists in other parts of Canada who may get involved in supporting indigenous sovereignty in the future?

AJ: There will always be struggle by First Nations people, at least as long as our government and economy are structured the way they are. When Douglas Creek is won, there is still the rest of the Haldimand Tract, let alone broken treaties, broken promises and a whole lot more. I have a feeling that Six Nations won't be going low-profile anytime soon, even with a victory at Kanenhstaton. However, should that happen, I know that OCAP would continue to support Six Nations. We would step back and look at what we should be doing and what the situation merits and then bring it back to the community. Frankly, if nothing overt was happing in Six Nations, we would continue to support the community and maintain communications through our personal relationships.

If I were to give advice to someone who is starting out doing solidarity work I would tell them to build relationships. Do not look at indigenous people as a means to an end or as a campaign. Liberation movements are long term. They are not there to be used to help you achieve your own political aims, be they environmental, anti-capitalist or anti-government.

I used to believe that if people saw you as an ally that you had achieved something and things would get easier. Six Nations has taught me that from that point it only gets harder and more complicated.

Josh: Often the best time to get involved in solidarity and foster connections with people in native communities is in the midst of high-profile struggles like the one taking place in Six Nations now. But the most important time is in between these battles. In OCAP, we’re lucky to have a close relationship with people actively involved in fighting for sovereignty up in Tyendinaga where there is a mutual aid sort of thing going on and we support each other’s initiatives pretty regularly. That’s a most ideal situation, where you have people in the community who you trust and trust you to shoot the shit with about what’s going on, to share stories and exchange advice about all the little battles. If this isn’t there then the solidarity can only go so far when the bigger struggles erupt.

Across the country there are good examples of varied organizations supporting communities that are geographically close to them like the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement in Montreal with the Mohawks of Kanehsatake and No One Is Illegal in Vancouver with the Secwepemc. I think we also need to do a better job of studying struggles like Oka and looking at what non-natives in solidarity have done before and also seek them out for their experiences. On that note, I want to thank Upping the Anti for provoking conversations about Six Nations and solidarity.

Stefanie: I don’t think our numbers at the site were ever significant enough to comprise some kind of supporters’ army, in terms of showing the state how huge the numbers of people standing with the community were. And that wasn’t needed – the community was the strength, the numbers, the force. We were never to be there as a fighting force, much as I think some people get caught up in the messed up romantic notion of being on the battle lines, being where the action is, and fighting a ‘real’ fight. The community of Six Nations never needed us in this way. But I do think that we did work to provide some of what was being asked for, in terms of supportive non-Native faces and presence and respect. Your work as a supporter is to hear what is being asked of you. It is to offer up what you appropriately can without having to lean on the people you are supporting for constant instructions. It can also be to know that you are implicated in what is being fought against, which has motivating consequences – not crippling or indifferent ones.

Non-native activists need to understand that indigenous struggle will never be won because of the actions of settlers. We need to understand our responsibility to fight the racism and power on the settler side, which may not be the most glamorous or exciting part of the fight, but a part of it only we can and should do. Many people who spent time at the site or who came together to plan support for the Reclamation here in Toronto are rooted in struggles of their own. This is one of the reasons why we came together, because we are already fighting. This is also one of the reasons why it is hard, albeit crucial, to support the Six Nation peoples. You can’t drop your own fight –because it is exactly that which grounds you and offers one way to understand why indigenous struggle is so crucial and what your role supporting it should be.

Tyendinaga: Update the Fight for Return of Culberston Tract Lands

Tuesday January 15, 2007

The Culberston Land Tract

The Culberston is a tract of land, 923 acres in size that runs along the eastern boundary of Tyendinaga today. In 1837 the Federal Government changed the status of the land from Indian land to white land.

All agreements with the Mohawk Nation predate the existence of Canada. While the Mohawk Chiefs immediately registered their people’s dissent in 1837 when the land was stolen, no formal legal process existed to pursue its return. Despite a fundamental obligation to uphold previous agreements between the Mohawks and the crown, the Federal Government only
created such a process in 1991.

Tyendinaga filed a formal claim for the land with the Feds in 1995. The claim seeks the restoration of lands to the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.

In November 2003, Tyendinaga received a letter from the Federal Government acknowledging what the people of Tyendinaga have always known: That the Culberston Tract was never surrendered and is Mohawk Land.

Since then the Federal Government has been trying to get Tyendinaga to take a buy-out for the land. Mohawk people know the value of land cannot have a dollar sign attached and that the future generations of our growing population will depend on this land. Tyendinaga will accept nothing less than the full and unfettered return of these lands to Mohawk control and use.

Deseronto

The Mayor of Deseronto has said that the town’s economic viability and survival depends on the development of Culbertson tract lands.

Tyendinaga’s Rotiskenhrakehte have twice ensured that deadlines to begin development of these lands have not been realized. “If they cannot find a way to survive without our land then they simply cannot continue to exist,” said Tyendinaga Mohawk, Shawn Brant.

The Rotiskenhrakehte have also been mandated to close a Deseronto quarry, situated on Culberston Tract lands, that literally digs up, sells off and ships out Mohawk land by the truckload. This obscene state of affairs can no longer be tolerated.

Land Claim Arrests

The Government struck back last Friday in a failed attempt to slow the momentum in the reclamation of 923 acres of Mohawk Nation Lands in Tyendinaga.

Friday’s attempt to target and remove Tyendinaga leadership with a clear embellishment of events surrounding the charges of Shawn Brant and Mario Baptiste has done nothing more than inflame the situation and anger the community.

Shawn and Mario would likely still be in jail if Tyendinaga community members had not responded immediately with imminent plans to shut down Deseronto completely.

The motive for the charges was made clear when the Crown pushed (unsuccessfully) for conditions barring the accused from Deseronto and the Culberston Land Claim Tract entirely.

“We have been denied our land for 170 years. That’s not going to fly anymore. There is no level of Government or police force that will keep a Mohawk off their own land,” said Tyendinaga, Mohawk Nation citizen, Jay Maracle.

Tyendinaga: Mohawks Barricade Quarry

A group of about 30 Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte erected a barricade outside of a quarry today. The did so in the second action taken to stop a developer from building on their territory. Today's action targeted a Desoronto quarry which would be assisting with the development. The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte took this action to send a strong message to everyone that threats to build on their land will not be taken lightly.

Spokes person Shawn Brant stated today on CJBQ radio that "We would do whatever is necessary in order to achieve our objectives." He also said that if the police attack them, the situation would "far exceed Caledonia's crisis".

To read the Intelligencer article, click here

Six Nations: Trevor Miller Still In Jail

As a legal worker, I have sat through many bail hearings, set dates and trials but today in Cayuga's Superior Court was the strangest by far. I felt like at any minute I would hear "do-do-do-do do-do-do-do you are now entering the Twilight Zone" coming out over a loud speaker.

It started, as is customary for Miller court appearances, with the gallery refusing to stand when the judge entered. When Miller came in people stood up and because he stayed standing the whole time, so did pretty much everyone else.

For a little while it seemed like things were following normal courthouse procedure. The crown, defense lawyer and judge discussed how to proceed given that the scheduled bail hearing was not going to take place because the transcripts weren't finished.

After a little while, the Judge called up Stewart Myiow from the Mohawk Traditional Counsel (MTC). Trevor's lawyer had informed the judge that the MTC intended to seek intervener status. Generally it would be unheard of to have someone address the court, especially in Superior Court, who isn't a lawyer when there is one on the case; however, because Miller is Mohawk and it is the position of the Mohawk nation that the court had no jurisdiction over him, the judge allowed him to speak.

Myiow requested that Trevor be released into the custody of the MTC and when the judge entertained the idea I began to believe I had entered a parallel universe. I didn't think this because it was legally impossible, in fact the opposite is true. The judge had the jurisdiction to release him and, while it is rarely done, it can happen. Rather I thought this because, up to that point, not a single judge has even considered this, not because the charges were overly severe or because he is truly a flight risk, but because they work for a racist system and because he is a political prisoner. In my experience, almost all political prisoners in "Canada" get off at trial or do very little time (certainly not always the case). The cops and the crowns know they often don't have strong cases against people so they try and get people's bails denied in order to punish them before trial. Indeed, innocent until proven guilty is a myth and Trevor is living the consequences of our legal reality right now.

It is patently unreasonable the Miller is still in custody given his charges which is probably why the judge felt he needed to inquire as to the circumstances of the original bail hearing and the reasons for his detention. The crown was very helpful and offered up a great deal of useful information (more evidence of the parallelism). A recess was called so Trevor could instruct his lawyer and, I believe, so the judge could consider the request for release.

After the recess, Trevor came back wearing a ribbon shirt and the traditional Mohawk headdress. This was also quite odd as the courts don't normally allow prisoners to be given things while in the courthouse as his mother had done. Then, the judge said he needed to wait until a proper bail review (to be set later) because the issues were very complex and he didn't feel like he could make the decision without the transcripts. He scheduled with the lawyers and figured out a way to set a bail review date quickly. The judge then said that if there was nothing else they could deal with today that he would adjourn.

Stewart Myiow said at that point "there is one other thing you could do...you could release Trevor Miller." The judge said that he couldn't do that today and adjourned. The clerk ordered that "all rise" and everyone sat down.

Maybe we entered a parallel universe but, more realistically, it was just another day in the kangaroo court that deals with Six Nations: largely racist and unable to grasp basic concepts of justice and sovereignty, sometimes comical, and entirely about quashing resistance - no matter how nice the judge seems to be.

For more information, read the Spectator article.

Six Nations: One Year, One Struggle, Many Victories

It has been almost a year since a small group of people from Six Nations reserve near Brantford took back a piece of land that was slated for development on the border of Caledonia. Back then, people slept in their cars or near the Sacred Fire, ate ice cold Timbits, and joked about using frozen coffee as a weapon in the event of a police attack.

As the word spread through Six Nations and other communities, it began to grow – in numbers and in significance. The handful of people became several dozen and then hundreds. When the OPP raided on August 20th, about two thousand gathered to defend the land. If retaking the land was the first major victory, removing the OPP from it was the second.

As the days went by and more and more people began to show their support, the political importance of the Reclamation Site increased dramatically. It went from a small occupation on what seemed like an unimportant housing development to something that grabbed the attention and imagination of people across Turtle Island. Communities inside the outline of Canada, Native and non-Native, called for and held solidarity actions from rail, bridge and highway blockades to public meetings, pickets and rallies. People saw others were fighting back and worked to support it. Each time this happened, it was a victory.

In fact, there are many victories coming out of the Reclamation site to count. Each time someone learned something about the traditional Onkwehonweh ways, each time someone spoke out against racism, each time someone passed on what they knew about the land and the struggle, each time people put aside their differences to come together to support the struggle, it was a victory.

Right now, there are some things that are very discouraging. The province is giving the OPP an extra $20 million to police the Reclamation. The land is appraised at $17 million but the government is willing to pay more than that to try to keep it from its rightful caretakers. Further, it has recently come out in the media that the federal negotiator doesn't even have a mandate to actually address the land claim. How is it supposed to get solved if Canada refuses to try to solve it? The media also gives racists like Gary McHale free reign in their papers and on their screens to pull ridiculous stunts and attention grabs. McHale has repeatedly tried to fly Canadian flags outside the Reclamation site. Each time the media gives him large amounts of publicity, helping him promote his racist crusade. Similarly the media has repeatedly reported false stories coming out of Caledonia (like that a house was vandalized by people who ran onto the Reclamation site) but rarely even gives lip service to the views of the Six Nations people.

While all of these things are very negative, the Reclamation remains after 11 months. Everyone needs to do whatever they can to support it and ensure that they keep the land. When all is said and done, taking the land back will be a major victory. However, it is important that we remember the smaller victories, each one a step towards decolonization, each one step closer justice.

Six Nations: Province Throwing Money Around - In The Wrong Direction

Henco bought what they named Douglas Creek Estates (now the Reclamation) and invested about $6 million into it. The province bought it for about $16 million and put it in trust (it seems like putting it in trust was just a ploy to get the Iroquois off the land). The province has handed out hundreds of thousands of dollars to people in Caledonia. Now it is giving the OPP an extra $20 million, reports the Spectator.

The province should stop wasting money. It would be far cheaper, far better and far more just if it just gave the land back.

Six Nations: Province Rewards Racism

The provincial government is giving more money to Caledonia to try and get shoppers into the town, reports the Hamilton Spectator. The town is trying to offset the bad image it has gotten since the Reclamation began.

There are two really big problems with this:

1. That bad image is largely a result of the widespread racism in the town. This includes racist comments made by the Mayor, who was recently reelected, as well as many people who live there. If you have bad press because a whole lot of people in your town are overtly racist and very few people speak out against it you should really be sucking it up, to getting money for it.

2. There are 20,000 people who are Band Members for Six Nations, many of them live within a stone's throw from Caledonia. The vast majority of people from Six Nations (and not to mention their supporters) aren't going to Caledonia any more because of the overt racism in the town.

Oh yeah, don't forget the part about how a lot of the wealth of Ontario was gotten by robing people of Six Nations and the refusal to make any reparations or respect treaties and proclamations. Why is Ontario giving the money to Caledonia when they are stalling Six Nations? The province is rewarding racism because it is racist - plain and simple.

Six Nations: Council House Retaken

Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Allies:- All Welcome to this important
occasion.

Ori:wase

Media Advisory : Communiqué

For Immediate Release

December 29, 2006

Six Nations Haudenosaunee move back into Confederacy Council building

GRAND RIVER TERRITORY OF THE SIX NATIONS- Six Nations Haudenosaunee are pleased to announce that they will celebrate 2007 by moving back into the old Confederacy Council house in Ohsweken at Six Nations.

The Council House, built in 1864 is 140 years old and predates Confederation. The building served as the council house for the Six Nations Confederacy Council until 1924 when the council was ousted by the Canadian government and an elected band council imposed.

On the first day of the New Year Six Nations people will mark a turning point in their collective history by returning the building to the Haudenosaunee Chiefs in a ceremony at the building. The move is being heralded as a peaceful movement to begin the healing process and restore Haudenosaunee identity to Six Nations. All Six Nations people and supporters are welcome to attend.

When: Monday, January 1, 2007

Time: 11 a.m.

Where: Old Six Nations Council house, on Fourth Line in the village of Ohsweken

Speeches will be held beginning at 11 a.m. the current lock will be removed and members of Six Nations who were legally barred from the building during a 1959 attempted restoration will be among the first to enter the building followed by Six Nations chiefs and clanmothers and people.

Read the Hamilton Spectator article

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