Hazel’s Update. Nov. 16, 2006.
She:kon
On November 14th 2006 an excellent meeting of our “lands side table” was held. Our position, OUR records and documentation of history was put on the table. Confederacy Chief Pete Sky and Sub-Chief Leroy Hill gave oral presentations. They explained our people’s history from the time we received our Law, the process to uphold it, the coming of the Europeans and the present situation. They used several of our original wampum to explain our history and relationship with the Crown.
The “Circle Wampum” is a very old record which is binding on the Nations and the people. The chiefs are on the outer rim of the circle. Everything else - the people, our languages and our beliefs - is inside the circle. The Chiefs are bound by rules and responsibilities. They cannot go outside of it. If our people get lost and pass outside of this circle, the Chiefs are to give guidance for them to return.
The Indian Act is outside of the circle. It takes away from our laws. They explained the roles of each nation, the council process works, the keepers of the eastern and western door and how consensus is reached. There is a process for when something is spoiling the minds of our chiefs and when consensus can't be reached. Throughout, the chiefs represent the wishes of the people. The Tree of Peace is a shelter that provides shade for everyone. Those who want to follow our policies for peace can follow these roots to the tree.
Our wampum used during council is similar to a Mace. At the beginning there were policies for other nations who wanted to be a part of the Great Peace. They were welcomed to take shelter under the tree of peace. The “Five Nations” [Mohawk,
When the RCMP raided Six Nations in 1924, they stole the original mace along with all of our council minutes and records. We didn't get the original mace back for over 60 years. The Crown thought that by stealing our wampum we would be unable to council. The Chiefs made a new one which we have been using ever since. Some of those nations that had taken shelter under the Great Tree turned out to be part of the conspiracy against us. Even though they worked against the Law, they were not able to break that circle. Today our council continues to function.
The Dish with One Spoon Wampum: A long time ago there had been constant conflict amongst the Onkwehonweh. A message came to help us work together in relation to hunting for game. This belt shows how the whole earth is covered in goodness. The white shell represents one dish. The beaver tail indicates that no knife (harshness) was to be used. Everything that sustains us belonged to everyone equally, including the newcomers. We all had responsibilities to protect that dish. The war was settled. The Peacemaker, Dekanawida, came, and provided us with the Law of the Land, the Kaianereh’ko:wa, the Great Law of Peace. Today we continue to share hunting and fishing. We can still go to other areas where there might be salmon, or buffalo or other agriculture. We can still eat from the same dish. This conflicts with the colonist’s laws.
This area became known as the “Beaver Hunting Grounds” because the beaver pelts were the economy of the day. When the Europeans came, we had made a far reaching agreement with many nations on the policy of eating from one dish. The British and the French constantly fought over who would control our trade. The British put their hand over this our area on a map offering to protect it from the far north to the far south. The King had said, "I will put my hand over it and protect it, but forts need to be built with weaponry placed inside in case the French come in". Since our ancestors and the French were at odds, the British needed the help of our warriors. This led to the 1701 agreement. Today, their successors must still protect it.
The Law of the Land was functioning long before the Europeans arrived here. It continues today. Our instructions were to uphold the Law. Instead of protecting the Beaver Hunting Grounds, the British turned it into a “deed”. It was one of the first land scams. Our people knew we cannot give up the land as we hold it for the future unborn generations. Today we still have the same concept of one dish with our land and our resources as Creation had intended.
This concept of the dish interested the British. The four white roots go to all ends of the earth. We applied our ideas of peace and a good mind to the Dutch, French and English. We always wanted to have good friendships between us as equals. They wanted to proclaim us as “son”. We warned them we were equals, as “brothers”, standing at the same level.
The Two Row Wampum and the Covenant Chain: They were to remain in their ship and never try to steer our canoe. The Wooden Shoe people, the Dutch, were the first to make an agreement with us. They recognized the different ways, beliefs, laws, languages and culture between us. We would continue to travel the river of life in two separate ships. Our idea would be tied together with a chain of friendship. The Dutch, English, French and
We preserved this knowledge in our wampum. The Great Law was here for many generations before the arrival of the Europeans. In the past, when there was something to be investigated, the Confederacy Council appointed delegates to look into the issue thoroughly and report back to them. Today this delegation has been mandated to resolve this issue and bring it back to the council fire for sanctioning.
In 1924 our ancestor, Deskaheh, was sanctioned by Council to resolve Six Nations issues. The Crown was uncooperative.
Deskaheh's nephew, Chief Cleveland General, played a video at the meeting. He explained the Crown wanted to lease land from us to build a road of planks to connect Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. It became known as “Plank Road”. Today that road is still a lease and title is still with us. The adjacent lands were to be leased only to the depth of a plough. Anything below that required sanctioning from the Confederacy council. There was to be no liquor sold on that road. Joseph Brant was given some responsibility to deal with some of the land.
After the video, Pete asked Jock to explain Chief General’s comments about Joseph Brant. Jock said that Brant had been given the job of getting the land cleared for agricultural purposes. The money from the leases would be on an ongoing income. The original 4 blocks of Brantford were leased under a 999 year lease. The chiefs had figured under such a lease, the income would continue coming in until the mortgage was up. Brant went beyond his mandate and leased blocks 5 and 6 too. For this and other acts he was deposed by the Confederacy chiefs and warriors in 1805.
Chief General’s understanding of the decisions and records came from the mace. His uncle's father was sitting there. This and the Plank Road issues are very fresh in his mind. Jock explained how the Crown stole our records in 1924 along with our mace which were never returned. Our Confederacy Council puts things “under their pillow” if they don't have consensus from the people. These protocols require that at each council we refresh our minds with the past council records so that things aren't forgotten. This is how our history has been handed down, generation after generation.
Chief Sky explained the relationship between the ship and the canoe. The Crown created a police force. Some matters were turned over such as murder, rape and theft. It was a mutual protection. The crown went beyond that agreement when they sent in the RCMP in 1924 to remove our council and install the government’s Indian Act council. Chief General explained how the “red coats” were suppose to control the Crown’s people, not ours. Now Canada is making it look like our people are lawless and then using their law against us. There is no lawlessness on our side.
The Crown deliberately misconstrued the meaning of "surrender". The Chiefs never sanctioned what the Indian Agent wrote down as a surrender to his friends. They took advantage of our generosity and benevolence. We always understood that the Crown’s responsibility was to look after the squatters. Some friends of the Six Nations agreed to follow the concepts of the Great Law and help with agriculture. There was reference to the Nelles, Youngs and Empire Loyalists. To this day the Six Nations have not given up any land.
The Six Nations had a long range plan. They wanted the non-natives clear the land and remove the stumps in a short term lease for the future use by our people. We gave the Crown the right to protect us from their squatters. When the Crown presented their legal position two weeks ago, they blamed the squatters on us. In fact, the Indian Agent and his colleagues were encouraging squatters to get the land. The Six Nations were requesting the Crown and their police force to protect us from their squatters so that we'd always have land. This is opposite to what was written and what is in our mace.
Our agreement in council is different from the Indian Agent’s report. According to the Beaver Hunting Grounds Treaty of 1701, Blocks 1 - 4 in Brantford is still ours. Roughly 797 years of payments are still to be made to us. Our request to the Crown to uphold the agreement and protect us was falsely written down as a surrender. There is no record that we ever gave up our land. Our law does now allow us to think this way. We have to help preserve our land for the future. What the government representatives are seeing here today is who we are. These wampums are the record of that memory of our policies and what we've done with the land. This is what our ancestors decided for the coming faces. The Crown’s papers can't cancel this out.
In the afternoon more current facts and documents were presented by local historian Rick Hill and Six Nations/Haudenesonne Research Delegate Phil Monture. They provided a detailed account and rebuttal of “Canada’s Position on the Plank Road Lands (including Douglas Creek Estates) prepared by Michael McCulloch, Justice Department, dated November 3rd, 2006.
The men pointed out that many dates, council minutes, documents and correspondence between Six Nations and the Crown were underhanded and double dealt by the Indian Agent at the time. It was all part of a scheme by the Crown to get our lands from us. Rick Hill pointed out that for every conclusion the Crown has, we have published documentation to the contrary. Phil cited the constant notices to squatters on Plank Road from the Crown to vacate our lands. In January 1844 the Governor General ordered that a number of persons who had intruded on Six Nations lands be removed from the tract. Rick Hill stated the Crown cannot produce documented evidence that the Plank Road was ever surrendered. Phil stated that the Plank Road, Hwy #6, continues to be under the jurisdiction of the Six Nations.
Phil tabled a color coded map showing leased lands for which the Six Nations had never been paid. The majority of the town of Caledonia sits on unpaid leased land. In spite of many protests from the Six Nations, the Crown began illegally issuing patents for lands within the town plot of Caledonia.
The Grand River Navigation Company induced the unlawful sale of our lands. They promoted squatters to remain on our land. They falsely told them if they were moved, Six Nations would have to pay for it. Some of the trespassers claimed that the Crown was involved in a scheme to get the land away from Six Nations without paying any compensation. In the 1800's the Six Nations decided to hire lawyers to stop this fraud. Canada passed a law forbidding Natives from hiring lawyers. Six Nations position remains the same, there are no surrender documents.
The Six Nations presented a full and complete history of how the Crown had defrauded us of our lands, how they had usurped the authority of our Traditional Government and imposed their laws on our people violating our agreements. It was a direct violation against Creation. On the 16th of November 2006, the Crown was put on notice that they are expected to uphold the Law of the Land. We, the Onkwehonweh, have always upheld our responsibilities to our lands, our law, and our people.
In Love Light and Peace,
Hazel
Ed. MNN Mohawk Nation News