John Zronik
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Brantford Expositor
Twelve months after Six Nations protesters began their occupation of a disputed 135-acre parcel of land in Caledonia, area residents are feeling frustrated and disillusioned about a lack of resolution.
Government representatives say the residents will have to wait longer.
Last Feb. 28, native protesters moved onto the planned 650-home Douglas Creek Estates subdivision at the southern edge of Caledonia, claiming the land was wrongly taken from Six Nations. The action led to high-level negotiations between natives and government officials, which have continued since May.
As the occupation moves into its second year, people on both sides of the dispute say negotiations have been slow and have yielded few results.
In an interview this week, Marie Trainer, mayor of Haldimand County, which includes the community of Caledonia, said citizens want evidence that talks are moving toward some sort of resolution.
“Myself and the people of Haldimand are upset, concerned and frustrated,” Trainer said. “They feel they’re almost being abandoned because nothing’s moving, nothing’s happening.”
Few words of comfort are offered by Barbara McDougall, lead negotiator for the federal government in talks with Six Nations. During an interview, McDougall couldn’t say how long negotiations might continue.
“I would characterize talks as inching forward as opposed to bursting forward,” McDougall said. “This is going to take a long time.
“There isn’t going to be a great big fireworks display one day and everybody dusts off their hands and goes home.”
While she recognizes Caledonia residents are hungry for information about specific issues being discussed at the negotiating table, McDougall said she has no information to share.
“Until there’s some conclusions, or something has been drawn up, there isn’t really a lot to say,” McDougall said. “I know that’s difficult for people to hear, but if there was something to say, we would say it.”
Confederacy Chief Allen MacNaughton is lead negotiator for Six Nations in the current talks. MacNaughton said in an interview that negotiators are discussing 200 years worth of Six Nations land rights being eroded, so talks will take time.
“I think we’d all like this thing settled in a couple of days, but in reality that’s not going to happen,” MacNaughton said. “With the amount of time it’s taking, I would have hoped the federal government’s learning curve would have been higher.
“I think there’s fear in the federal government. They’re very reluctant to change.”
In December, McDougall said negotiators were working toward establishing a framework to resolve Six Nations land claims.
That framework has yet to be established, but negotiators are getting closer, she said this week. “I want to stress the importance of patience.”
MacNaughton said talks so far have focused on Six Nations claims to land in the Caledonia area.
“We’re trying to keep it focused on Plank Road and Douglas Creek Estates right now,” he said. “Come hell or high water, they don’t want to give that land back. They don’t want to be seen to be giving into protesters.”
He said it’s important Six Nations sticks with the negotiations, whiich he called an improvement on the way government has dealt with natives in the past.
In the coming 12 months, MacNaughton said he would like to see Douglas Creek handed over to Six Nations and talks get underway about other areas under dispute get underway.
He said he would support sharing more information with the public about what’s happening at the negotiating table.
“I think the people on Six Nations will keep this on the front burner — they’re not going to let it go away,” he said. “What you see now is people standing up.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the community unified this much.”
Six Nations Confederacy Chief Arnie General said negotiations are moving too slowly and could take “decades” to complete.
“I can’t see where moving quickly is involved,” General said during an interview. “Maybe as fast as a turtle can walk. In my estimation, it’s not moving fast enough.”
Trainer said the lengthy negotiations are taking an economic toll on Caledonia, which lost 650 homes planned for construction at the occupation site.
The homes, which would have been built during the next five to six years, would have each brought about $2,000 in taxes into municipal coffers annually.
“It’s not just the tax dollars, it’s the loss of money to business,” Trainer said. “A lot of businesses haven’t returned to the amount of business they had before the occupation. It’s hurt us in a lot of ways.”
Coun. Buck Sloat, serving his second term on Haldimand county council, said that, before the occupation began 12 months ago, from 100 to 130 homes were being built each year in Caledoniar. That number is now zero, he said.
“Obviously, development in Caledonia has come to a halt,” Sloat said. “No one is willing to start any development in the area because of ongoing negotiations and uncertainty over where negotiations might lead.
“It’s difficult to put a dollar figure on it, but you know it’s quite considerable.”
Sloat said federal officials are sending “mixed messages” about the state of negotiations with Six Nations. During a recent meeting with Haldimand County officials, federal negotiators explained they were working toward forming a framework for future negotiations, as opposed to solving specific claims issues.
That left Sloat wondering what is being talked about at the table and how long negotiations might continue. He has received no clear answers, but said the federal government should be decisive in working to solve the land claims issue.
“Somebody has to be right and somebody has to be wrong,” Sloat said. “Those that are right are going to have to have the courage to stand up and say, ‘We’re right'.”
McDougall said the process of resolving issues between Six Nations and government will take time.
“This is a problem that has taken 200 years to develop, so it is not something that is going to be solved quickly,” McDougall said. “What we have here is a historic opportunity. The people at the table recognize that.
“We may disagree on a lot of specifics, but, as far as relations around the table, there is a lot of respect.”
But drawn-out negotiations won’t satisfy the people of Caledonia, Sloat said.
“They want some result. They want to get on with their lives. It’s been a devastating year for them.”