Posted By John Paul Zronik
Sept. 12, 2007
Brantford Expositor
Six Nations Haudenosaunee council is setting down rules - and demanding fees - when it comes to development within six miles on either side of the Grand River.
The traditional government of Six Nations, also known as the Confederacy, has implemented a development protocol it says will affect every building project in the Haldimand Tract, the six miles on either side of the river at one time granted to Six Nations.
"This is not about consultation," said Aaron Detlor, a lawyer who helped create the protocol. "This is about every single developer who wants to proceed in a lawful manner following the process that's been set out.
"We are exercising our jurisdiction over the land in a fair and principled manner."
Six Nations elected band council Chief David General on Tuesday called the Haudenosaunee development protocol "outrageous."
"If there's any accommodation or compensation being made, it needs to be made with the governing body of the territory and that, right now, is the Six Nations elected council," General said.
"The only way the Confederacy can change that is to go to the people."
Standards
According to the protocol, any development in the Haldimand Tract must be approved by the Haudenosaunee. Permission will be granted if developments meet environmental standards and developers consent to enter agreements deemed necessary by the Haudenosaunee, including the payment of development fees.
Haudenosaunee council implemented the protocol, created in consultation with chiefs, clan mothers and community members, on Sept. 1. Detlor said the protocol's regulations will help bring clarity to a sometimes confusing situation surrounding Six Nations land claims.
"The development community, like the Haudenosaunee, is looking for solutions," Detlor said. "We are also very aware that our neighbours along the tract need some clarity in their lives."
The protocol outlines how development applications must be filed and says the following information is required from builders:
Four copies of a plan showing the type and location of the development.
The proposed use of the buildings and structures following completion of the development.
The start and completion dates of the development.
Information on grades and elevations of buildings.
Details and a history of a developer's title, including details pertaining to any purported surrenders of the land by the Haudenosaunee.
Drainage details before and after development.
A complete description of the type of fill proposed to be placed or dumped.
According to the protocol, the Haudenosaunee may at its "sole discretion set fees for any of the activities contemplated" in the protocol.
Detlor said the protocol is designed to encourage the "perpetual care and maintenance" of native land and "in many cases, that does involve financial remuneration."
About 50 developers have come forward to the Haudenosaunee with building proposals since a draft form of the protocol was prepared in early June, Detlor said. He said any information about payments made to the Haudenosaunee for development proposals is confidential. Detlor said the new protocol will apply to all land in the Haldimand Tract, but is not limited to that area. He said Six Nations hopes to find a place to grow beyond the tract's boundaries in the lower part of the Grand River watershed.
Developers who fail to inform the Haudenosaunee about developments will be acting in "an unlawful manner," Detlor said.
In developing the protocol, native officials divided the Haldimand Tract into three zones, coloured red, green and yellow. A map showing the zones was provided to The Expositor.
Detlor said the Haudenosaunee will approve minimal development in the red zone, which stretches from Dunnville to north of Brantford. "That's where we suspect the Haudenosaunee will find a place to grow," Detlor said.
The green zone, which stretches from north of Brantford almost to Fergus, is already the site of what Detlor called a "significant intensity of development." He said the Haudenosaunee will be seeking a solution with the province, federal government and municipalities to provide for native jurisdiction over the area.
The protocol's yellow zone, which stretches from south of Fergus to the source of the Grand River, is the least developed of the three zones.
"We have significant interest, but the development (there) is not that significant to date," Detlor said. "We'll be looking for significant input with respect to development, but not as intense as we'd expect in the red zone."
Detlor said the protocol was developed to address environmental concerns, as well as protect Haudenosaunee jurisdiction over its land.
"The first priority is to protect the environment," Detlor said. "There has been a significant failure by different federal and provincial regimes to (do so)."
Detlor said that when the Crown originally recognized Haudenosaunee jurisdiction over the Haldimand Tract, natives moved forward on the basis that the land would provide them with a place to live, as well as an income in the future. Encroaching development over the years meant that did not happen.
With the protocol's implementation, developers will now have to give the same respect to Haudenosaunee regulations they do to provincial and federal laws, Detlor said.
The Haudenosaunee has a plan to "roll out" the protocol in coming weeks, including consultation with the community, developers and municipal governments.