In 1784, Sir Frederick Haldimand of the British Army gave approximately one million acres of land to the Mohawk people in recognition of their support during the American Revolutionary War. However, since then, many of these lands have been taken away from the Mohawk community through legal loopholes and shady government practices. The goal of this article is to discuss how the Mohawk people are working to get back those lands that were given away under the Simcoe Patent of 1793.
The Haldimand Proclamation of 1784
The Haldimand Proclamation is an international document that was created in response to the ratified pledge of 1779. The pledge promised to restore the named three villages to the state that they were in ...
For over three hundred years, the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy have been occupying lands in what is now southern Ontario, alongside the Grand River and the former Brantford Township. While this treaty right has been long established, there are still several ongoing disputes between Six Nations and various provincial municipalities surrounding the question of taxation of Mohawk Indians living on the reserve lands (i.e., tax exemption). This blog post will present both sides of this issue in an effort to provide understanding and insight into this very controversial topic.
A Proposal to End Taxing Grand River Mohawk Indians
The Grand River is the traditional territory of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Haudenosaunee. ...
Mohawks aren’t considered Canadian citizens. This means that they don’t have the right to vote in Canadian, Provincial or Municipal elections, nor do they have the right to run for office. The reason Mohawks aren’t Canadian citizens isn’t because of some secret policy to deny them citizenship, but rather because of a technicality in the treaty and common law that doesn’t consider them to be part of Canada at all. So what does this mean, exactly? Do Mohawks even live in Canada? Did the Haldimand proclamation set apart the lands placing the people and territory outside of the Canadian domain? How does this affect their ability to buy property, travel within Canada, and file taxes?
The 1784 order reads in part “Due to the early attachment of the Mohawks and the loss of their settlements in the American states”, “we have purchased a tract of land, six miles from each side of the Grand River, starting at Lake Erie and extending in that proportion to the head of said river, which them and their posterity shall enjoy forever”
The Mohawk community in “Canada” is home to about 13,000 people and sits astride the US-Canadian border aka “the line”. It is not a part of the United States nor is it a part of Canada, but it is also not quite independent either. It’s a place where the border, in some respects, doesn’t exist, even while it is also a constant presence in people’s daily lives. These boundaries, as well as modern Canadian common law, traces its historical origins to the United Kingdom. The common law of Canada became liable to the independent Mohawk legal order because, although they wrongfully do not recognize the Mohawk nation, in 1869 and again in 1919 the Mohawk nation adopted Prince Arthur as ...
This article was originally published on fourtybee.com, FourtyBee is an outlet to publish aerial photos, videos, and stories about the evolution of drone technology, documenting ongoing land encroachments; residential and commercial development. We capture images, videos and stories from landmarks to people, we research the history of Grand River Country (and beyond) from a Mohawk perspective.
Joseph Brant and the Grand River Mohawks denied Simcoe’s Grant of 1793, as it was made for the province of Upper Canada, named “Six Nations” as the real party in interest to Grand River Mohawk territory and placed the instrument under Canada’s domestic jurisdiction, naming the mohawk as resident subjects and not British allies.
The Grand River Mohawks are set apart as the only named real party in interest of the near million acres of the original Haldimand Proclamation of 1784.
Such Other or Stranger refers to a person who is not a party to a particular transaction. In Kirk v. Morris, 40 Ala. 225 (Ala. 1866), it was observed that the word “stranger” was substituted for the words “or some other person.” However, both were intended to mean the same thing, namely, a person not a party to the suit, who acts for the benefit of the defendant ...
If an adoptee acts badly the Old Ones gave their children another option. When the adopted individual, family, or nation misbehaves they can always be expelled. The People could disown and remove the adoption (…onenkati sakwatka’we nok oni saiiakwarihsi tsi ionkwatekwe’tarakwenh, tahnon kati sewathahisaks ka’niiaonsesewe…).”
"If it wasn't for your people Canada would not be a nation today," said the late-Sylvannus General, last of the old time Mohawk Workers (Kanienkehaka Ratiiotens). He was the brother of Emily C. General and a contemporary of Iroquois founders of the Mohawk Workers and Indian Defense League of America (IDLA) such as Sophie Martin and Clinton Rickard in the early 1900s.
Sylvannus referred to an event that took place between the Queen of England and the Mohawk People in Brantford, Ontario on October 1, 1869. On this day at the Mohawk Chapel in Brantford the Iroquois People (Wisk Nihohnnowentsiake) made Canada legal.
Here's how Canada became a nation as Sylvannus General said.
Indigenous peoples have always been a part of the virtual community since the internet's inception. The internet's first day was a revolution for sharing new and old ideas, and it helped to bridge the gap between many cultures. Not only has the internet facilitated the formation of friendships, but it has also enabled the same types of colonial practices that Indigenous people have faced in the real world.
Cyber colonialism is a real threat to the free flow of ideas from a specific cultural perspective, in part due to the complexities of indigenous communities obtaining virtual dominion or challenging Top Level Country Domains assigned to recognized members (eg .ca .us .au .nz etc:.). Since the dawn of the internet, colonial ...
Motivation and inspiration are two words that are often used interchangeably. However, there is a fundamental difference, and understanding this difference makes a whole lot of difference in the quality of your life.
Motivation is based on lack
Motivation is what you feel when you hit the bottom. Or when you hear a motivational speaker talk about how he doubled his income by practicing his success principles. It’s based on lack. You seek out something you don’t possess. That is, your thinking mind seeks out what it thinks missing in you.
So when you are motivated, you are driven to work hard. For a while, this is great. But soon, you run out of gas. The stress of pressuring yourself ...
People need safe drinking water and decent housing. Most of all, Six Nations needs a fair share.
Throughout the last century, Southern Ontario has seen urban and suburban growth on a scale rivaled by a few other centers. Our conurbation, the Golden Horseshoe, holds a quarter of the alien population and is the sixth densest area like it in North America.
Throughout the explosive growth of the last few decades, nearly every community in Southern Ontario has exploded in a wave of suburbanization, which I shouldn’t need to get too deep into here. I also shouldn’t need to get into the obvious harm it causes.
The point I want to address is one has been left out. As these occupied ...
The general election for Ontarians in 2022 will take place on June 2, 2022. The provincial elections are wrapping up, and the victorious challengers are to be sworn in as the 43rd Legislature of Ontario.
Most Indigenous communities have their own governmental structures, which might be delegitimized by voting in Canada's political system. Whether or not we engage, the Crown's fiduciary obligations to Indigenous nations remain unaffected.
Go out and vote if you can reconcile yourself to participating in the Canadian system and feeling like you're making a difference. Nobody, not even other Indigenous people, should instruct others on what to do.
In the last election cycle, a letter written by lawyer Pam Palmater summed up her feelings about participation ...
