A letter from A. Hill -- Oshweken

May 28th, 2007 -- Originally posted at CWUC -- A letter from A. Hill - Oshweken;

In every dispute there are two sides. On each of those two sides it is hoped that one can present a reasonable and justified means for the conflict at hand. In my own personal opinion the Confederacy has been nothing but hypocrites with regards to the fifteen month land claim
dispute on the DCE.

I have lived on Six Nations all of my life and the Caledonia protest has ignited feelings of anger and frustration towards those who are representing our community at the negotiations table. Unfortunately the Six Nations Community as a whole is portrayed very negatively thanks to those Native Protesters at DCE who continuously fulfill many of the stereotypes placed upon native people. I would love to see a Native person with a University education and that speaks clear and proper English to be one of the people interviewed by the press about the land claim issues; however it seems to me that no one with that kind of qualifications wishes to become involved. Big Surprise.

The hypocrisy demonstration by these people of the Confederacy is unbelievable. Caledonia was disrespected as a community the day that the occupation began. It is not any one citizen's fault that the occupation is happening and I am sick of hearing people say that Caledonia citizens need to "calm down".

Common sense implies that to be heard and understood in any given conflict one should present oneself in a respectful and peaceful manner while also providing the evidence required to state the given case. It is completely unnecessary to dig up roads, cut off hydro, deface property, and especially hurt or threaten a member of the O.P.P. The Native Protesters on DCE fail to demonstrate any respect for anyone but their own selected few, and because of this do not deserve any respect from anyone else.

In my opinion the most disgraceful insult demonstrated by the DCE protesters was the day that a hole was cut in the middle of the Canadian flag. I don't care who you are, common sense and respect dictate that if one is residing in Canada then one should respect it. I know that many Six Nations people do not consider themselves a Canadian citizen but I am not one of them. I am proud to be a Canadian. I have a University degree from a Canadian University; I am employed by a Canadian company off-reserve which pays me with Canadian money which I deposit into a Canadian bank. I use this money to purchase nice Canadian things (as well as a house at least 7 miles away from the Grand River, you can bet on that). I can not even imagine the hell that would break loose if any person decided to cut a hole in a "Warrior" flag. Canada is awesome. Canada is a beautiful and multi-cultural country which provides great opportunities for those who choose to embrace them. Canada does not deserve the disrespect that the "Confederacy" shows towards the people of Haldimand County, the Canadian
Government, or even those of Six Nations that are not in support of terrorism.

I would like to recommend to the people of the DCE "Confederacy" that they take their time, energy, and "monetary donations" to look at other problems presented to the "future generations" of Six Nations which they are clearly so worried about. If the real reason for the terrorism occurring at DCE and on other land claim disputes over Canada is to protect and ensure hope for future generations then I have a few other suggestions for the DCE "Confederacy" to address. Please address and find a way to prevent or stop the growing number of drug abusers, crack houses and people that are dying from over-doses on our reservation. Please ensure that our youth are not skipping classes and causing havoc in the outside communities that they are attending high school in, but instead help ensure that they graduate with a diploma and encourage that they get into a post-secondary institution. Please teach our youth that it is not okay to vandalize, burn or steal something that they like or want that does not belong to them. This is wrong regardless of what law one follows. Please education our youth that domestic violence, drunk driving, and the owning or selling of black market firearms is dangerous and illegal. Finally, please stop demonstrating to the youth of Six Nations and the youth of surrounding areas that in order to get what one wants, a simple act of terrorism, seizing, squatting or stealing is an easy way to get it.

The fact that the confederacy still holds control of the DCE is in no way, shape or form a real act of "negotiation". I can't believe the government is still tolerating the garbage occurring with the on-going land dispute on DCE. In fact, I think that the people of Caledonia and Haldimand County deserve acknowledgement for tolerating this outrageous and illegal terrorism occurring in what was once such a beautiful and well-desired place to live. Although I will not speak on behalf of anyone but myself with regards to the terrorism against this country I love and am proud to live in, I will say that Haldimand County has my support 110% of the way through this mess. Here's hoping for a quick resolution.

Ah, but Mr./Mrs. Hill must be racist to have thoughts like this, right?

It is people like A. Hill who I applaud. You call me a racist, but let me tell you I would be proud to have a friend like A. Hill -- one who can think for him/herself and can see the ways of a group of radical, Native terrorists are harmful to the people of both Canada and Six Nations alike -- this is what upsets me, and like-minded people -- NOT the fact that you're Native (but you keep playing the racism card). I hate Bin Laden (yes, HATE. I believe he should die, no courts or trials -- as should anyone that follows him) -- but it has nothing to do with him being Muslim -- I would think the same of him if his skin were white (ya wanna talk about Hitler?).

** As a side note, I sat and had lunch with a Native man while out in Kitchener last week -- what a great conversation! I just happened to be standing next to him at a McDonalds -- he ordered the "healthy" lunch, while I ordered the "grease burger". I joked with him as he ordered after I did and ordered exactly what I was looking at first -- I should have gone the healthy route! Anyway, we sat and ate and talked about land claims and the process that Natives are currently using. You know what -- he too used the word "Terrorist" (especially when speaking about Shawn Brant).

All too often I have been told "to talk to the people" and see what they're really thinking, how THEY feel. Well, you would see that I do just that if you read back through some of my posts -- this is just one more example -- I suggest some Natives do the same.