Nation status is subject to various definitions

NATIVE LAND CLAIMS

July 7, 2008
John Gill
Brantford Expositor

This letter is in response to Mr. Windle's letter dated July 4th, 2008. Mr. Windle is a little sneaky with his wording. He said, "The Mohawks have never been a part of Canada. They are and have always been a distinct and sovereign nation ..." This is true, if you use one of the definitions of nation. One definition states: "a member tribe of an American Indian confederation" or "an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages."

The Mohawks are but one nation of a group of nations known as Six Nations. The Mohawks live on land that is now part of Canada, they don't live in their own separate country (which is another definition of nation).

Mr. Windle should also look at precedent and that INAC considers the land that Six Nations resides on as being Crown land.

From the INAC Land Management Manual: 2.2 The legal framework underlying reserves is that:

a) The underlying legal title to reserves belongs to the federal or provincial Crown, depending on various factors such as the province in which a reserve is found, and how the reserve was created;

b) Pursuant to s. 2 of the Indian Act, reserves are set aside by the Crown in Right of Canada for the use and benefit of a First Nation.