Sept 19, 2007
Brantford Expositor
Anyone looking for a confrontation Tuesday between a city developer and Six Nations protesters was disappointed. The media and neighbours were out in full force on Grand River Avenue to watch work resume on a housing project that two weeks earlier had stopped because of a native protest.
The site next to the Grand River, below Brantford Collegiate Institute, is claimed by Six Nations. On Sept. 4, a small group of protesters blocked machines from constructing four duplexes being developed by former city councillor Mike Quattrociocchi.
The last thing Six Nations needs is a tense confrontation with a small-time developer in front of television cameras, especially when the federal government and the Confederacy at last are discussing settlement offers.
A half-dozen protesters who threatened to disrupt activity at the site on Tuesday afternoon wisely left after talking to Confederacy member Clyde Powless.
The natives' cause took a giant step backward after a Caledonia developer was beaten in a confrontation with native young people at a house under construction. Confederacy leaders apologized and have given the go-ahead for police to arrest trespassers on the site.
Work on another Caledonia subdivision, which was recently occupied, is able to resume after talks between the developers and the Confederacy. This is progress.
Respected Six Nations members Ruby and Floyd Montour made their point two weeks ago that a large part of Brantford is claimed as Six Nations land. Quattrociocchi delayed construction, losing $20,000 in the process, while he met with the Confederacy.
Mike Q. says he was asked to pay more than $50,000 for permission to continue construction. He refused to pay and he resumed work on Tuesday.
Now what? Natives can come in numbers and provoke an incident or they can back off and let Quattrociocchi get on with making a living.
If protesters sit down at the site, city police know what to do. Last November, former mayor Chris Friel and two young men blocked work on the civic square in a dispute over parking for a restaurant. The trio had their few hours of fame sitting on chairs in front of machinery. Finally, police armed with documents told them to leave. The three men complied.
Our advice is for Six Nations is to give Mike Q. a break and to avoid making a mess even messier. Land claims will be resolved at the negotiating table and not through confrontations at building projects.