[IPSM] Mass rally to hear Caledonia's anger

[shelly]

Mass rally to hear Caledonia's anger
       
      Sheryl Nadler, the Hamilton Spectator 
      Ontario's Aboriginal Affairs minister said he is 'working to bring down the barricades as fast as possible.'
     
       
      Kaz Novak, the Hamilton Spectator 
      Warrior Michael Laughing is among the native activists.
     
       
      Sheryl Nadler, the Hamilton Spectator 
      A supporter of the natives tries to stay warm at the barricade.
     
     
By Paul Legall and Paul Morse
The Hamilton Spectator
CALEDONIA (Apr 24, 2006) 
Caledonia residents have been invited to a mass rally tonight to air their anger and frustration over the occupation of Douglas Creek Estates, which goes into its ninth week.

Tensions among rain-soaked native blockaders settled down yesterday after a false report of another police raid sent occupiers scrambling for their barricades just before dawn.

But some Caledonia residents worry tonight's rally may inflame townsfolk, who feel caught in the middle.

"Of course there are people (upset) at the whole situation and that's going to continue," said Mark Watson, who lives next to the occupied site.

Watson criticized Mayor Marie Trainer and councillors for not taking a lead in helping to defuse tensions after last week's predawn raid by police, and for refusing to attend the rally.

"Leaders are supposed to stand in front of their people, take a chance and confront the issue, not back away from it."

Watson said residents in the neighbourhood next to the occupied site took it upon themselves to de-escalate tensions after Thursday morning's raid, when police arrested 16 people.

"We wanted to bring back a little civility to our own neighbourhood. I don't care about the big picture right now."

He said residents approached natives and asked them to stop racing through their neighbourhood on all-terrain vehicles. "The natives wanted to work with us, they don't want to scare us," he said.

Haldimand County council met in emergency session behind closed doors yesterday for an update on negotiations.

Trainer said she hoped "level heads and common sense prevail" at tonight's rally.

She said Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsey called her early yesterday. "He said the province is working to bring down the barricades as fast as possible on Highway 6 and Argyle Street, and that it was a priority for everyone, including the protesters."

Negotiations between native leaders, provincial and federal governments and the subdivision developer were put on hold yesterday after almost 24 hours of talks over two days.

Ramsey said a deal to end the standoff isn't imminent, but he's optimistic about reaching a negotiated resolution based on the progress so far.

Native spokesperson Hazel Hill said no talks were held yesterday because the aboriginals' confederacy council was holding its own meetings.

But the developer on the contested piece of land says it is on the verge of going bankrupt and needs a resolution soon.

In a press statement yesterday, Henco Industries pressed the provincial government to provide "immediate interim funding" to keep the company solvent.

"We are extremely frustrated with the slow pace of negotiations," the firm said in its statement. "We are particularly upset that no compensation has come to us from the province ... We will very soon be bankrupt."

One suggestion repeatedly put forth by the Six Nations has been a government buyout of Henco's development.

About 1,000 people are expected to attend the meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. in front of the municipal office at 282 Argyle St., less than a kilometre from the protest site.

Ken Hewitt, a local businessman and minor hockey coach, handed out leaflets Saturday afternoon inviting concerned citizens to the function, which will be the second public meeting dealing with the standoff.

"Come out and show your support for our community," the leaflet stated.

Why?

"To voice our anger, frustration and disappointment with our government and its abandonment of our community, our safety, our businesses, our property values and our rights as Canadian citizens," the document added.

Meanwhile, the Six Nations Confederacy chiefs believe they've achieved an important step toward a peaceful resolution with the appointment of an independent federal negotiator on the weekend.

Mohawk Chief Allen MacNaughton announced the breakthrough at a press conference Saturday afternoon after 18 hours of negotiations with government officials and the developer, Henco Industries, at a secret Burlington location.

He said the talks had been long and fruitful although there were still significant issues to settle.

"We obtained an independent federal negotiator. It was necessary because the people at the table didn't have the latitude to resolve the situation," he told reporters as he stood in front of a barricade and makeshift shelter blocking through traffic on Argyle Street.

The barricade is about 200 metres from the entrance of Douglas Creek Estates and was erected Thursday after the OPP raided the site and arrested 16 occupants for contempt of court.

Native activists, including warriors from other nations, were able to drive the heavily armed officers off the 40-acre survey and regain control of the property, which has 10 homes in various stages of construction. Describing the action as a land reclamation, natives say the land was originally deeded to them by the British crown and is still part of Six Nations territory. Henco Industries, however, claims it has a clear title to the tract.

Angered by the police action, the protesters also cut down power poles to construct a barrier across the Highway 6 bypass, burned tires on public roads and torched an old wooden bridge near the Six Nations reserve.

They allegedly looted a house in Douglas Creek Estates that Henco Industries was using as a business office. In a press release last week, the Henning brothers, who own the company, said they lost business records, office equipment and other property.

Don Henning, who hasn't been allowed on the survey, told a Toronto newspaper he learned about the looting when it was broadcast live on television. The Spectator tried unsuccessfully to get a reaction from the protesters about these allegations.

In its release yesterday, Henco said "our offices have been raided and its contents removed, so we can only assume that all our corporate records have been destroyed."

MacNaughton said the removal of the traffic barriers was among the issues that are being discussed behind closed doors as well as "disengagement" from the occupation site.

He told reporters he received assurances from the OPP and the RCMP, both have officers in the area, they weren't planning to stage another raid.

MacNaughton said he's proud of the protesters for "keeping the peace" during the "cooling down period" after the raid. He said there are always "a few incidents" in situations such as this and is hopeful a peaceful resolution can be achieved.

Before the press conference, he met with hundreds of protesters at the site to report on the progress of the negotiations. Except for members of the native media, reporters were not allowed past the barricade. But loud cheers and honking horns could be heard as MacNaughton and other traditional chiefs addressed the crowd.

Leroy Hill, a Cayuga sub-chief, said the protesters applauded their approval when asked whether they still wanted the traditional chiefs to represent them at the bargaining table. The Six Nations elected band council had passed a motion earlier in the week granting the Confederacy chiefs the authority to negotiate land claims.

Hill also called for a peaceful resolution.

"We are people of peace ... The law the creator gave us ... was to be peaceful, supportive and respectful," he said.

CKRZ-FM is Six Nations' CNN
     

It has reserve's ear on the crisis
By Wade Hemsworth
The Hamilton Spectator
OHSWEKEN (Apr 24, 2006) 
In these times of trouble at Six Nations, a small radio station is speaking with a big voice.

CKRZ-FM, colloquially known as "Rez FM," has become a critical source of live information for the residents of Six Nations and interested listeners beyond.

It plays everywhere on the reserve -- in pickup trucks and tobacco huts, restaurants and offices. The crisis over the occupation at Douglas Creek Estates has made CKRZ the CNN of Six Nations.

Official communiques and breaking developments in the crisis are often heard there first. Six Nations has a cable station and two weekly newspapers that cover the community well, said CKRZ's Diane Keye, but the immediacy of radio has given the station a special role in the current crisis.

"It's unfortunate that it takes an event like this, but it affirms that this community needs this radio station and we need to be here," said Keye, who is acting executive director.

At best, the community-based, non-profit station (100.3 on the dial) reaches 50 kilometres from Ohsweken with its 250-watt transmitter. But streaming Internet audio (www.ckrz.com) takes it to listeners well beyond southern Ontario.

>From far and near, they have been listening especially intently since police moved in on protesters occupying the construction site of a residential subdivision at the south end of Caledonia.

Ever since Thursday morning when the OPP went in, the station has been staffing the occupation site full-time and will continue to do so as long as the situation remains tense.

Despite the protesters' on-again, off-again relationship with the non-native media, CKRZ has kept communications open with all its sources.

It's no small task for a small outfit with just 10 staff and about 30 volunteers, but covering the crisis is critical to the station's mandate of reflecting native life through music, information and education.

"We're professional. We're trying to get the information out," Keye said. "If you want to get our perspective, tune us in."

Since Thursday, announcers and reporters have frequently been breaking into regular programming with updates on the movements of police, announcements from native politicians and other developments.

CKRZ operates from a bright storefront headquarters in the Iroquois Village Centre.

The operation has the feel of a university radio station: informal but earnest, not slick, but sincere. The station is on the air 24 hours, with 20 hours of live broadcasting and recorded programming between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Regular programming features traditional and modern native music mingled with non-native music that ranges from bluegrass to rap, interspersed with current affairs. Twice a day, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., there are native language lessons.

On Sunday evenings, the station earns its keep with radio bingo, where the caller reads numbers in Cayuga, Mohawk and English and listeners play along with tickets they buy at the station itself or stores on the reserve. Between the bingo and some commercials, the station supports itself, after starting up on federal grants.

CKRZ studiously avoids aligning itself with either the elected band council or the confederacy of hereditary chiefs -- the two major political factions on the reserve.

Bring on the 'fearless leaders'
     

By Jan Doll,Caledonia
The Hamilton Spectator
(Apr 24, 2006) 
My father and his brother came over from Scotland with $2 in their pockets. They came with a trade and started work the next day. My father, mother, two brothers and myself have studied and worked every day since.

We have never been on assistance whatsoever and it's been hard. But we established happy, healthy lives.

The Hennings, whose subdivision is in dispute, built my house. I did not know this family until I moved here to Caledonia. I know the Hennings now because they are huge contributors to our community.

They have built and donated land for baseball and soccer, they coach hockey, volunteer at the schools and are major contributors to any organization in need in the community.

They have always been honest, reliable, skilled, enthusiastic business men and women, even 15 years after my initial dealings with them. I am appalled that our fearless leaders in Ottawa have not visited the Douglas Creek Estates site.

Access to Caledonia is easy through the Hamilton airport; it's a direct flight and they could be home in time for dinner. I'll even pay for the flight. Oh yeah, I already do.

Does Ottawa not realize this is a national issue? Is Ipperwash scaring the sense out of justice? Whoever settles this issue will go down in history.

Governments passing the buck
     

By Michelle Hruschka, Hamilton
The Hamilton Spectator
(Apr 24, 2006) 
Re: "'Everybody's watching;' Six Nations residents blame all levels of government for not stepping forward and resolving land claims" (April 21)

I find it appalling and frightening that the governments, both provincial and federal, can use the police to intimidate those who are trying to stand up for their rights.

It just goes to show how sociopathic the system really is.

The politicians should be working with the native protesters in trying to arrive at a peaceful solution.

They should not be passing the buck. The land initially belonged to the natives, as they were here first, not white men.

The government has taken away so much from the native people in this country.

The natives have a right to stand up and fight for what they believe in.

And there should be no interference from the police.

But then what can one really expect from a government that allows this type of inhuman aggression for no reason at all, except that they are weak and afraid.

Why don't we stand with the natives?
     

By Sue Mcentee, Dundas
The Hamilton Spectator
(Apr 24, 2006) 
Re: 'Angry clash; Natives, townspeople in a faceoff after police arrests spark fires, anger' (April 21)

I cannot for the life of me understand why the people of Caledonia are not standing alongside the natives in protest.

Have we not seen enough buildings and strip malls going up all over the place? We do not have any green space left, not to mention the toll it takes on what wildlife we have left.

As for the almighty white man with the money, whom we have justified to go in and build as he pleases, it boils down to greed and profit, nothing more.

Throughout history the natives have been locked away and slaughtered when they stood up for something. I am inclined to believe them when they say it is native land.

I am ashamed to be of the white race. Wake up people -- regardless of the shade of our skin, we need to stand against this government which has all our money. And we all know money is power.

If this comes to a native uprising, my vote would go to the natives.

Burtch property has escaped attention
     

By Tom Gawrylash, Ancaster
The Hamilton Spectator
(Apr 24, 2006) 
I understand why the protest is going on in Caledonia. But I also question why the lands for sale at the former 540 acre Burtch Correctional Centre in Brantford have not been protested in the last four years.

This property is within six miles of the Grand River and right next door to the Six Nations Reserve at the end of the Indian Line.

It has buildings, a powerhouse, a mess hall, sportsfields, three airport runways, a farm and a school.

Oh, I forgot -- there is nothing to disrupt that is being built on the property yet.

I'd better find out which government is selling the property so I can get ready to pay, through my already rising tax dollars, for the property damage that will be done by protesters

April 23, 2006 

            Caledonia split widens by the hour
            Mutual understanding among the many victims of the native protest 
      By THANE BURNETT, TORONTO SUN

      CALEDONIA -- The blockades are not the only barriers here. 

      There are many other divides, which cut through Caledonia with a depth and breadth the nearby, fast-moving Grand River can only weakly try to compete with. 

      The standoff with rogue native leaders and their followers, who have taken over the Douglas Creek Estates in a showdown watched internationally, may seem like a clear enough battle of wills -- a test of right and might between those standing on one side of the piles of gravel, burning tires, wood and metal and those waiting just outside. 

      But if you spend any time walking the neutral zone -- or even down the main street of what's usually a gentle and easy-going Ontario town -- the many rifts become obvious. 

      And, despite yesterday's good news that some progress has been made in the groundwork of negotiations, there are a million ways to lose your footing -- along with a mutual understanding which has existed here for generations. 

      The town's people are suddenly nervous and divided. 

      Many natives and non-natives -- friends for eons -- stand toe to toe. 

      The public and the police are at odds. 

      Journalists and those they've been sent to report about, exist in a very uneasy symbiosis. 

      The Canadian nation and the First Nations share another crisis. Ottawa and the provincial government point fingers. 

      There's a power struggle between hereditary and elected band leaders. 

      And the ranks of the native protesters themselves -- those pure in their convictions and those who just want a reason to pillage and fight -- are constantly being pulled, tested and pried apart. 

      Even in the calmest moments, the ground can split wide open. 

      "I want $5,000 cash," a middle-aged, female protester suddenly yells at nearby media. "You take my picture, I want money. Call your editors now. Get me money." 

      She stands leaning over the blockade of the main highway -- a makeshift tent village and protesters visible just over her tense shoulders. Some seem to be going in and out of the few subdivision homes which went up before the protest. 

      GRAZING CATTLE 

      The quiet press corp stand like grazing cattle in front of the woman, because they -- we -- have no other place to go. 

      "You make millions off pictures of us -- I want some of that money," the woman continues in her rage. 

      Grabbing a large Mohawk flag -- which, except for the OPP insignia, is the most popular symbol in these parts -- the woman adds: "Everything is for sale. This flag is for sale." 

      The flash of her tirade only attracts the cameras, and the apparent frustration of more sensible protest leaders, who don't want hers to be the rabid message Canadians take from an occupation that has lasted more than 50 days. 

      The media is suddenly herded back away from her, and protest leaders move in to calm her down. 

      Despite the tension, there's a great deal of effort in keeping things calm. 

      It's involved natives talking to the children of local families, including Kathy Maher's kids, who live right next door to one barricade, telling them not to be afraid -- a speech apparently not given to locals by the OPP. 

      As a line of police cruisers creates a sieve of a yellow-tape police line -- which protesters casually walk over and under to get to the nearby Tim Hortons -- a local man pulls up in his own car. 

      The province's police force is a disgrace, he yells at the officers, who simply stand and absorb the abuse deep into bullet proof vests and unflinching stares. 

      Many here are angry that after moving in on the disputed land to make arrests last Thursday, the OPP -- outmanned and outplanned -- lost the day and any momentum to protesters. 

      The frustration of locals has only grown with major roads being blocked off by the protesters, who move freely while townspeople are diverted at every turn. 

      Some area businesses no longer open for the day. Others close early. 

      Children ride buses, instead of being allowed to walk. 

      A few nights ago, several members of the Hells Angels rode up to the barriers, to rev their engines in an apparent sign of kinship. 

      In an area which heralds the Six Nations reserve on tourism material -- where few can recall true social unrest -- the town's foundation is being tested. 

      "I don't want to see people hurt, and I don't want to see the town divided," says Mike Pettigrew, as he stands inside his Caledonia Bait Shop. 

      With many of his customers -- his friends -- coming from the nearby Six Nations reserve, he explains: "If they are owed something (for land claims), then pay up. That's only fair. But if not, then get off that property." 

      The disputed area rests on a section of land known as the Haldimand tract -- 988,000 acres handed to natives by the British for help against the Americans during the U.S. War of Independence. 

      A part of the tract was sold to non-natives in the 1800s, but Six Nations researchers say it was only a lease. A lawsuit against Ottawa, launched by the local band council, challenges management of that land, which tracks on both sides of the Grand. 

      That river runs fast now with sucker fish, just across the street from Pettigrew's bait shop. 

      In an action of their own, a rebel group -- largely led by native women and culturally powerful clan mothers who do not recognize the authority of the band council -- took over the small, half-finished subdivision in February. 

      GOOD FAITH 

      And, despite the anger of the town, confusion of the local owners who bought the development in good faith, and the ire of the OPP, the tough activists have only gained ground since. 

      "Canada tribes fight off eviction," BBC News trumpeted on their Internet site. 

      Bait-seller Pettigrew was recently walking through town with an old friend, who is a native. 

      They passed a group of locals, who fumed about "those Indians taking over land." Pettigrew worries about the scars left on his town. 

      In a local barbershop, a longtime resident wishes for a tractor, to smash the blockade. 

      But the barber -- neither man wants his name used, for fear of being drawn into the fight -- keeps a list of 23 land claims filed by natives since 1980. 

      Only one of them has been settled, he points out. 

      Ottawa and the province have dragged their feet so often, it's not clear what may be a legitimate claim and what is not, the barber continues, challenging the angry client in the chair. 

      At the blockade, protester Clyde Powless -- a tall, lean, calm leader who often speaks for the group -- stands circled by media, trying to convey a message of peace. 

      "We're not looking to evict no one," he says. 

      "Our land is disappearing too fast. We're just trying to save some of it. 

      "Put yourself in my moccasins," he continues. 

      But the ground opens up and swallows that quaint hope. 

      With injured OPP officers, and protesters angry over rough treatment during Thursday's arrests, the questions are all about what weapons those behind the barricades now have. 

      Only sticks and stones, says one frustrated native leader, who is so incensed by the constant questions about weapons, she walks out of the press briefing -- held on the dead centre line of what was one of the main highways in this region. 

      Hazel Hill, another leader in the protest, says Canadians may have the wrong idea of who fills their ranks. 

      "There are young men, mothers and grandmothers ... We have students and people who run businesses," says Hill, who owns a gift basket shop. 

      But, in another great divide, just behind her, self-proclaimed warriors with bandanas covering faces wield axe handles. 

      In truth, most of the strength has come, not from these toughs who have dominated newspaper fronts, but rather from women clan elders. 

      But no one here is sure just what they want or how everyone will agree on what is offered. 

      FINAL SAY 

      Janie Jamieson promises everyone will have a final say. A 34-year-old mom, she was one of the native women who first organized the campaign, noting: "It's been a traumatic learning experience. The government are pros at this. We aren't." 

      As an OPP plane circles again overhead, she points off to the distance, outlining how many police vans may sit hidden -- armed to the teeth. But the message, once again, gets momentarily swallowed by cracks running everywhere. 

      She makes a quick comment about her children, and a 17-year-old stepson she only recently buried. 

      "Was that a suicide?" a journalist asks. 

      The ground once again opens up. Jamieson, in shock and incensed, asks: "Why would you assume that?" 

      She continues, but the momentum of the interview seems lost in a wide chasm of insult and injury. 

      Another fault running on already shaking ground. 

Protester 'born into this fight' 
Randy Richmond 
London Free Press 
Saturday, April 22, 2006 

The lone native protester waving a red and gold flag on the Mill Road overpass on Highway 401 refuses to give his name and talks in analogies. 

"They're opening the book," he says of drivers honking in support. 

"This is my book," he says, pointing to the flag. "You can't judge a book by its cover. Open the book and read it." 

Take his photograph. Sure. Get the words -- Oneida Special Forces, front and centre on his T-shirt -- down correctly in a notebook. 

His name, though, is not important. 

"I'm not out for myself," he says. 

He arrived early yesterday morning, the flag tied to a stick, and began waving at motorists on Canada's busiest highway two hours away from Caledonia. 

The flag shows a native man surrounded by points in many directions, like a sun crown. 

"The flag doesn't mean warriors. It is our unity flag. All these points symbolize the directions of our unity," says the highway protester. 

"I am supporting my brothers in Caledonia." 

Natives did not and do not seek violence in their protests over their rights, he says. 

"You guys came to Canada to our open arms, not crossed arms." 

But, he says, the natives cannot keep letting their land drift away into housing subdivisions and playgrounds for whites. 

Of Caledonia, he says, "We are going after one little piece of land. " 

There was a deal to sell the land back in the 1840s, he is reminded. 

There could not have been a deal, he replies. "Our people are not allowed to sell the land. We can't sell it. We can't own it ourselves." 

He agrees the situation in Caledonia, the situation between natives and the rest of Canada in general, is complex and messy. What is the answer? he is asked. 

He touches his chest with one hand, then spreads it out toward the interviewer. 

"Just like this. Just you and me talking. We are not fighting." 

His protest -- this battle in Caledonia -- is not an isolated flareup that will fade away. 

"I was born into this fight because I was born on a reserve. I will spend the rest of my life doing this. My son, he is 12. He will have to continue the fight."

           
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