verbena-19

"Trip of 3500 miles begins with first step" - Six Nations

A TRIP OF 3,500 MILES BEGINS WITH THE FIRST STEP & A GOOD MAP. ONTARIO PREPARING TO RETURN SOME LAND TO SIX NATIONS --- ???


MNN. May 20th 2006. Something has happened! Is this the first step on a path away from colonialism? A very slender document has emerged because of the Six Nations Indigenous people’s reclamation of our land [near Caledonia Ontario]. The first page is very plain. It only says “Compendium of Commitments, Ontario and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Six Nations Council, May 10, 2006”. Inside there are only 4 pages, but they say a lot. It might be one of the most ‘weighty’ documents ever produced in the history of Ontario, Canada - or even the United Nations.

It contains only three short letters. The first is from David Ramsey, the Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs. He confirmed Ontario’s intention to return the “Burtch lands” near Brantford to the Six Nations. The second is also from David Ramsey. It confirmed Ontario’s commitment to provide funding for an assessment of the Douglas Creek lands by a licensed archaeologist chosen by the Six Nations. The third is from Ben Levin, the Deputy Minister of Education. It confirmed Ontario’s willingness to address Six Nations’ concerns about the school curriculum.

What does this all mean? It’s too early to tell for sure. The cops are still surrounding the reclamation site with their guns pointed at peaceful unarmed Six Nations defenders, our friends and allies. They act as if we don’t have a right to stand on our land. The corporate media are still into muck-raking, demonizing and rabble rousing. They want a fight. They want blood. They want the KKK. It’s obvious that the old colonial paradigm has not been exorcised.

Even some of the most reasonable people remain under the spell of old demons - still afraid to take the high “Red Road”. What are they afraid they might find if they went our way? Screaming tomahawk-wielding vampires? The charred remains of a cigar store Indian? The ghost of machine-gunned babies swaddled in guilt? Better wear armor! Bring the pepper spray! Are some worried that what was done to us will come to haunt them? Are some adverse to novelty and change?

The foundation for the guilt is real. They have nothing to fear but themselves. Anyway, they have no choice. Changes are acomin’! We will never go back to being lied to, abused, disdained, marginalized and robbed. We demand decent treatment as equal human beings! Ontario’s commitments show just how easy it is to find a solution to the “Caledonia crisis”. Return the stolen property! Tell the truth. Pay your debts. Pawn your guns. Don’t even bother sending your itchy trigger fingers to Afghanistan. They don’t want them over there either. There must be a loony bin somewhere for them.

Bury your guns and think of something nice to bring to the People’s picnic. Spend the money on education. Practice respect for the ancestors. Cooperate with your neighbors. It’s no big deal. That’s what the May 10th initiative shows. If Ontario doesn’t succumb to an attack of vertigo and fall off the path towards freedom, it should declare a national holiday – maybe an international holiday, “International Indigenous Reparation Day!” How does that sound?

Simplicity is what makes the path ahead so potentially brilliant.

Canada has to start respecting the true nation-to-nation relationship. It would mean educating the future generations about the Guswentha, the Two Row Wampum, the treaty that originally governed international relations here on Turtle Island. The Two Row is the most brilliant piece of foreign policy ever developed. It would mean chipping the rust off the old Covenant Chain, linking arms to revive old agreements and polishing a bright new future.

There’s a lot of work to do. Polluted land and waters to clean, rotten relationships to repair and dung to throw into the compost heap. Most of it is pretty straightforward.

For example, what should be done for the Henning brothers, the developers who bought stolen land and were given title by Ontario? They want Ontario to buy the land from them and then give it back to us. Answer: Ontario can’t buy the land. It’s ours already! The Hennings don’t have anything to sell! How do they like getting ripped off? They can sue Ontario for misrepresentation and fraud. Ontario has to stop handing out bogus titles.


Question: What about the “deposition” of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy by a Canadian Order in Council in 1924?

Answer: Nothing needs to be done. The “order in council” throwing out our government was illegal. It’s a nullity. So is their Indian Act band council. Ontario is already dealing with the Confederacy Council instead of with the Indian Act band council. This is a huge step forward on the road to legality.


Question: What about the rest of the stolen property?

Answer: Give it all back to the rightful owners. Ontario is already preparing to give back little bits and pieces. Keep it coming. Six Nations has to put a moratorium on all construction and development on the entire Haldimand Tract any and on all of our lands. Nothing can be done without our permission.


Question: Will the people of Caledonia have a voice on the Haudenosaunee Council?

Answer: No. They don’t have clan mothers. They are not members of the Haudenosaunee. They have their own system and can speak through their own representatives. If they think their government misrepresents them, they should work for reform. If they want to know how to make everyone equal and valued, they might want to try out our constitution as a model, the Kaianereh’ko:wa, the Great Law of Peace. This may help them to deconstruct colonial cultural practices so they can build something new. The Kaianereh’ko:wa is the most brilliant social contract ever developed. Everyone in the world knows that. It is the basis of ‘true’ democracy. Wampum 2 provides that if their minds are clean and they agree to follow the wishes of the people of the Confederacy, they may sit with us under the shade of the tree and follow the ‘Great Peace’.


Question: Is this a reaffirmation of the Two Row Wampum? There are heavy layers of rust to chip off the Covenant Chain and a lot of work needs to be done before the polishing is complete.

Answer: It’s a different kind of doing for those who are used to colonial power politics. Using heavily armed police to disturb the peace of a quiet rural area shows that the “might makes right’ mentality is still a going concern. Still, Ontario has finally begun to deal with the ‘People’. This is the legal way under the Kaianereh’ko:wa. This is a chance for Ontario to set an example for Canada, and for Canada to set an example for other governments of the world in their relationships with Indigenous peoples. This will turn around how Canada helped to enslave Indigenous people worldwide after Deskaheh went to the League of Nations to apply for Six Nation membership.


Canada has a great human rights reputation that is not deserved. It got this reputation by lying, cheating, stealing and stepping on people’s moccasined feet. It passed laws declaring we weren’t “persons” to carry out their massive theft of Turtle Island. It usurped our constitutional jurisdiction over ourselves and our lands violating their own constitution. It was illegal for us to get help to stop the ‘genocide’. It extinguished 99% of our people, crushed our governments and tore our few surviving families apart. We hope a turning point is being reached. How can we trust them when the guns are still on us?

Ontario and Canada don’t have any choice. The international community is watching them. We’ve taken it to the United Nations. Our people have vowed not to back down. Now that the truth has started to come out, many Canadians and people in other countries are standing with us. People do not want to live with colonial guns pointed at us. We do not want to be corporate slaves. We want to live in freedom and equality as guaranteed by the Charter of the United Nations.

We are at a crossroads. Most people want to go in a new direction. Nobody is happy with the way corporate interests have corrupted governments which have spread the disease of putting “I” before “we”. It’s not necessary to ruin the environment to fuel the insane greed of a few megalomaniacs. The time has come to put our feet back on the ground and work together.

Are we being over anxious? Are we being too naïve? Is it too much to think that people can behave like responsible adults? Ontario’s May 10 initiative says, “maybe not!” The reclamation action we took at Six Nations is only the beginning and there’s no turning back.


Kahentinetha Horn

MNN Mohawk Nation News
www.mohawknationnews.com

posted by Annamarie at 11:43 PM