By Samantha Craggs
The Belleville Intelligencer
Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 10:00
Rachel Volkmann does business about three kilometres from a historic plaque commemorating the landing of the Mohawks to Bay of Quinte shores.
Volkmann, like most on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, is more than aware of the facts on that plaque. The Mohawks arrived on the Bay of Quinte shore on May 22, 1784, one of the First Nations expelled from America for their fidelity to the British Crown.
What Volkmann also knows, but is not on that plaque, is that 925 acres of the land gifted to her people on the east side of Deseronto is now subject to a land claim dispute between the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and the federal government.
Volkmann follows the Mohawk consensus that her community may, and should, go farther in their fight if that’s what it takes to get the land back. That includes more demonstrations, or shutting down a Deseronto-area gravel pit that was closed for a day during the last demonstration.
“It’s a difficult issue to attach your name to,” said Volkmann, who owns a gift shop with native crafts. “I’ve had a lot of friends and acquaintances from places like Belleville asking my opinion on it. (The land claim) is virtually unknown to most people who don’t live here and it looks like some radical movement, and that’s not the case.”
Most Mohawks interviewed here this week agree with what Shawn Brant, the most vocal during two demonstrations held on the disputed land, calls his “mandate.” That mandate includes shutting down Thurlow Aggregates 60 days from last protest, which would be sometime in March.
Years of silence and waiting for negotiations have not worked so far, Volkmann said. The community members who take the lead in land claim issues are well informed and for the most part have the trust of others on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
“I do think the majority of the people here are of the like mind that we’ve always been willing to negotiate,” Volkmann said. “We aren’t the kind of people who want to stir things up just for the sake of stirring them up. The different demonstrations that occur aren’t something we as a community are happy to do or that we get pleasure out of doing. We’re no different than any other organization who wants to protest for something it thinks is right.”
The land claim issue traces back to the early 1990s, when the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte began researching the tract that fell into the hands of John Culbertson, the grandson of celebrated Mohawk soldier John Deserontyn. Despite the protest of chiefs at the time, Culbertson managed to obtain a land grant from the Crown in 1832, then either sold the land or lost it through defaulted mortgages. The official land claim was filed in 1995, but not officially accepted by the government until 2003. It gained attention in October 2006, when the Town of Deseronto held a media event touting a $35-million-plus housing development on the land by Kingston-based developer Intergroup Financing AG.
There have been two demonstrations so far. The first involved a confrontation with the military that has resulted in three charges, including one against Brant. The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs has appointed Sean Kennedy as lead negotiator.
While the demonstrations are misunderstood by many non-natives, it seems to be the best way to get the government’s attention, said Julie Horvath, a Mohawk living in Deseronto. She also supports whatever form the demonstrations need to take to resolve it.
“They say ‘by any means necessary,’ but I wouldn’t like to see it go that far,” Horvath said. “We’re trying to be peaceful about it.”
Another business owner on the reserve, like many, wanted to remain anonymous. She said she was sold on the effort — including shutting down Thurlow Aggregates if necessary — when she attended a community meeting involving band council and the people of Tyendinaga.
“If it was just one person, that would be different,” she said. “But they’re all of the same mind and I’d stand behind whatever they feel needs to be done.”
A Mohawk man working at a nearby smoke shop didn’t support the demonstrations in their current form. He said he preferred the work to be done at higher levels, such as between the government and the band.
“No,” he said when asked if he supported closing the gravel pit. “I’ve worked in construction my whole life, so....”
Volkmann doesn’t foresee a quick resolution, particularly the ultimate one, which is the land being returned. But she does foresee natives becoming increasingly knowledgeable, and wishes non-natives had a better understanding.
“The native people of yesteryear are not the native people of today,” she said. “We’re more educated. We’re in society more than what we’ve ever been. People are no longer just going to say OK. Over time, people will come to realize we’re not different from anyone else. We just want the best for our future generations.”