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Caledonia Dispute - Background History

Deep roots in land claims
The origins of the native claims and protests in Caledonia are found as far back as the American Revolutionary War.



Hamilton Spectator File Image

Joseph Brant -- Thayendanegea -- in about 1805, in a painting by William Berczy. It was the loyalty of Brant and the Mohawks to the British in the Revolutionary War that led to the Haldimand Proclamation.








Like many First Nations issues, the problems at Douglas Creek in Caledonia have deep roots. Before we can hope to understand what seems to be an ill-conceived fiasco, it must first be necessary to examine the history of the Six Nations people.

The best introduction to that history is The Valley of the Six Nations by McMaster University historian Charles M. Johnston. Published as a part of the Champlain Society's Ontario Series, The Valley of the Six Nations is a carefully edited collection of documents relating to the history of the Six Nations people from the time of their settling the Haldimand Tract in 1784 to the surrender of the land to the authority of the Crown in 1841. The Valley of the Six Nations has been a staple on reading lists for Canadian history courses since it was first published in 1964.

It sheds light on the current problems and also on the issues that many of us find so upsetting about First Nations land claims. In many ways the story of the settlement of the Six Nations in the so-called Haldimand Tract along the Grand River resonates with some of the critical themes of Canadian history: settlement; the clash of cultures between the Europeans and the Aboriginal People; the clashes between French and English; and worries over American expansionism. At the heart of the story is one of our very own local heroes, Joseph Brant -- or, his Mohawk name, Thayendanegea.


Read the rest of this Hamilton Spectator article here.

posted by Annamarie at 3:27 AM