The current Caledonia land dispute came to wide public attention with a demonstration on February 28, 2006 to bring to attention to First Nation land claims in Ontario, Canada, and particularly a claim to land in Caledonia, Ontario, a community within the single-tier municipality of Haldimand County roughly 20 kilometres southwest of Hamilton.
Soon after this demonstration, the demonstrators occupied the land that they had disputed.
The land at the center of this dispute covers 40 hectares being developed by Henco Industries Ltd. for a subdivision known as the Douglas Creek Estates.
The protesters cite a land claim covering 385,000-hectares, known as the Haldimand Tract, that was granted to the Six Nations of the Grand River in 1784, which includes the land in question, as their reason.
Henco, however, argues that land was surrendered in 1841.
The province has remained low-key and directed the need for the federal government to take action to resolve the federal matter.
This conflict is often compared to the Ipperwash Crisis of 1995, where the provincial government of the time has been accused of intervening to encourage the OPP to force natives out of their occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park, in which they killed unarmed protester Dudley George.
Historical background
1784
The British Crown awards a strip of land nearly 20 kilometres wide along the Grand River, from its source to Lake Erie, to the Six Nations. This land totaled about 385,000 hectares in area. This was a thank you to the Six Nations for their support of the Crown during the American Revolution.
1792
Lt.-Gov. John Graves Simcoe reduced the size of the land grant to the Six Nations, now totaling 111,000 hectares.
1796
The Six Nations granted its chief, Joseph Brant, the power of attorney to sell off some of the land and invest the proceeds. The Crown initially opposed the sales but eventually conceded.
1835
The Crown approached the Six Nations about developing Plank Road (now Highway 6) and the surrounding area. The Six Nations agreed to lease half a mile of land on each side for the road, but does not surrender the land. Lt.-Gov. John Colborne agreed to the lease but his successor, Sir Francis Bond Head, did not. After 1845, despite the protests of the Six Nations, Plank Road and surrounding lands were sold to third parties.
1840
The government recommended that a reserve of 8,000 hectares be established on the south side of the Grand River and the rest sold or leased.
1841
On January 18, according to the Crown, the Six Nations council agreed to surrender for sale all the lands outside those set aside for a reserve, on the agreement the government would sell the land and invest the money for them. However, the related document contained only 6 Chief Signatures and did not identify any specific lands. On February 4, and again on July 7, then again two years later in 1843, the Six Nations petitioned against the surrender, saying they only agreed to lease the land. [1]
1843
A petition to the Crown said Six Nations needed a 22,000-hectare reserve and wanted to keep and lease a tier of lots on each side of Plank Road (Highway 6) and several other tracts of land in the Haldimand area. In 1850 the Crown passed a proclamation setting the extent of reserve lands to about 19,000 hectares, which was agreed to by the Six Nations chiefs.
1848
The land comprising the current developement was sold to George Marlot Ryckman for 57 pounds and 10 shillings, a Crown deed was then issued to him.
1924
The Canadian government, under the Indian Act, established an elected government on the reserve.
1992
Henco Industries Ltd. purchased 40 hectares of land for what it would later call the Douglas Creek Estates lands.
1995
Six Nations sues the federal and provincial governments over the land. The developer calls it "an accounting claim" for "all assets which were not received but ought to have been received, managed or held by the Crown for the benefit of the Six Nations."
===2005=== The subdivision plan for Douglas Creek Estates was registered with title to the property guaranteed by the province of Ontario.
Dispute timeline
The following events take place in the year 2006
February 28
The dispute itself started when a group of members from the nearby Six Nations reserve erected tents, a tipi and a wooden building on 40 hectares of land known as the Douglas Creek Estates. Henco Industries, the developer of the land, obtained an injunction on March 10 ordering the protester off the land, but the protester stayed beyond a court ordered deadline.
April 20
The OPP conducted a raid on the protester, arresting 16 people. But later that morning, the protesters returned to the sight in greater numbers. Shortly thereafter, the protesters started a tire fire on Argyle Street, the main road into Caledonia, and also dumped gravel on the road to form a barricade.
April 24
Caledonia residents hold a rally demanding an end to the dispute, with some residents confronting the protesters directly.
April 25
Mayor Marie Trainer gave an interview to the CBC, where she commented that the residents of the town were being hurt economically by the protest and don't have money coming in automatically every month. The protesters took this as an insult, as it insinuated that they are all recipients of provincial welfare. The municipal council acted quickly to distance itself from the Mayor's comments.
April 30
The provincial government appointed former premier David Peterson to help negotiate a settlement in the conflict.
See also
External links
- Six Nations of the Grand River Territory
- CBC timeline of the current dispute
- CBC historical background of the dispute
- Autonomy & Solidarity: Six Nations Caledonia Resource Page
- Six Nations Solidarity page about the dispute
- The First Perspective: Ongoing reports from behind the Native lines at Caledonia
- Canada.com article about the history of the dispute
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