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Six Nations appeals directly to the Queen
July 17 2006 |
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Her Majesty, I am writing to you with the utmost respect regarding our On gwe ho weh (True people) Territory, Kanenhstaton (The Protected Place) a.k.a. Douglas Creek Lands. Our Nation is in terrible turmoil at the hands of the Canadian Government. The acting officials, Governor General Michelle Jean, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, have shamed and disgraced Our waters are contaminated and are unsafe to drink. In some places we are unable to bathe in the water as it holds so much sulfur that it makes us sick and leaves the color of our white tubs brown. As the filth seeps into the ground, it causes Mother Earth to suffer and when she suffers, we suffer. We become sick with diseases and our skin often breaks out with sores. The pesticides that are being used carries through our women and into our unborn children. Our children suffer the consequences as they are born with deformed limbs. In other Territories there are a high percentage of miscarriages. All these factors serve as genocide against our People. Our past dealings with the outside world have not changed and, in fact, the mistreatment has gotten worse. This is not a Third World Country, nor are we foreigners to this land. We have Treaties made with King George III, with respect to Your people and His intention was, "to protect us from further harm." Because of our Military Alliance, we defeated Your enemy, making us, "Allies to the Crown." This title we earned with great honor. Together we sealed, The Two Row Wampum, The Covenant Chain and the Peace Treaty. These agreements state that "we travel the same river together, each in our own canoes and we will not steer each others’ vessels." Both of our Ancestors have laid out this path for us to honor and respect each other and to govern ourselves accordingly as we practice peace, power and righteousness. In 1924, the government forcefully imposed the illegal Elected Band Council on us, which went against our Inherent Rights. Through this act of betrayal, our Traditional Confederacy Council was ignored. Their intention was and has always been, to banish and do away with us. However, our traditions are very much alive today as they were back then, and we are here with that same spirit. We have taken everything that We were meant to enjoy this land, "As long as the water flows, the grass grows, and the sun shines." Through the land comes peace and harmony. Mother Earth is crying and it is our duty to protect her for when she cries, our people cry. We can no longer tolerate having to place a toxic blanket over our loved ones when we place them into the ground. We have been cheated, robbed and molested of our lands and I am reaching out to You so that You hear our cries. We are trusting, caring and loving People of this Earth and we are born natural defenders of the land for which we should be treated with respect and dealt with in an appropriate manner according to "The Great Law.” We have respected Your people throughout. Fifteen years ago, the shrewd developers, Don and Ron Henning of Henco Industries, Inc., bought a parcel of land along side the Haldimand Tract. Who they purchased this land from is unknown to us and they have never shown us a Title. These developers knew this land was under dispute because three years prior, Henco Industries placed a proposal on the table for discussions with the Six Nations Elected Band Council and our Council never responded to Henco. The Henning brothers took it upon themselves to proceed with a multi-million dollar development investment that would eventually place as many as 50,000 families upon the land. The People of Six Nations have been concerned about where we are going to house our own future generations as we are running out of space. This is unfair and unjust as it suppresses our extended families and their given right to stay with us on our lands. In the meantime, we hold title to this land through Sir Frederick Haldimand and the Royal Proclamation affirms this. We are aware that our Ancestors gave away title to a small portion of land on the tract as gifts and also agreed to lease some of the land for 99 years with stipulations. These agreements have been broken by settlers and yet, we as a People, made no attempt to remove anyone, though the leases have been expired for some time now. On We have served papers addressing our rights to Judge Marshall, the OPP, RCMP, Henco’s lawyer, Michael Bruder and to all officials involved who have taken an oath, "to protect Her Majesty’s interests."” This case is not a criminal matter. This is an International matter that concerns all of us regarding who we are as Six Nations people and what we represent. We have been unwillingly placed in the middle of psychological warfare. Mr. Bruder has threatened to file a lawsuit against the OPP. Judge Marshall threatens to hold the OPP in contempt of Court for not removing our people from our own lands. The OPP came in upon our unarmed people on When the OPP came in upon our people, they placed barricades up so the media, and hence, the world communities, could not witness the savagely brutal attacks against us. They act like terrorists as they inflict terror upon our people. We replaced the barricades with palisades for the safety of the people from any further attacks. This caused major conflict with some of the This has not been an easy ordeal trying to maintain peace while such volatile language and abuse is thrown at us. Nor has it been easy trying to keep our children from becoming just as hateful as the non-natives around us while we continue to make a stand for our birthrights. We stated from the start, "We are peaceful, unified and unarmed," and, "We do NOT declare War." We believe Nya weh (thank you) |