September
3, 2003
HAUDENOSAUNEE CONFEDERACY CONTINUES TO OCCUPY RED HILL VALLEY
CURRENT
SITUATION: At the Greenhill site, picketers successfully
held off construction crews from August 5 until August 15
when a temporary injunction to both construction and picketing
was issued by the court. Meanwhile, a roundhouse and sacred
fire was established by representatives of the Haudenosaunee
Confederacy on August 10. The Haudenosaunee have continued
occupying the valley (they did not leave on August 15) and
they have no intentions of leaving until the issue is resolved.
BACKGROUND
ON THE HAUDENOSAUNEE AND THE MISSISSAUGAS: In Ontario
there are some 150 Aboriginal Reserve Communities, which
can be grouped into just two language families: the Anishinabeg
(also known as Algonkian or Ojibway) and the Ogwehoweh (also
known as Iroquoian, spoken by the Six Nations of the Seneca,
Oneida, Cayuga, Mohawk, Onondaga, and Tuscarora). The traditional
Confederacy of the Six Nations people is known as the Haudenosaunee
confederacy. Haudenosaunee literally means "people
of the longhouse".
The
land of present-day Hamilton was purchased by the British
Crown in 1784 from the Mississauga nation (an Ojibway or
Anishinabeg group). Being a strategic location at the head
of Lake Ontario, the Hamilton area is part of the traditional
territory of both the Mississauga people and the Haudenosaunee
(or Six Nations) people. The Mississaugas of the New Credit
and the Six Nations of the Grand River have Reserve territories
side-by-side, just a half-hour drive from Hamilton, and
the histories of the relationships between these two nations
are long and complex.
ABORIGINAL
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE RED HILL VALLEY: Representatives
of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy have expressed concerns
about building an expressway in the Red Hill valley for
years, so they are not newcomers to this issue. Norm Jacobs,
who died on the weekend and was buried at Onondaga longhouse
yesterday, was involved for years in trying to protect the
Red Hill valley, as a member of the Haudenosaunee Environmental
Task Force.
Defining
Aboriginal rights is something that the Canadian legal system
has struggled with for years. The 1997 Delgamuukw decision
of the Supreme Court of Canada has been an important moment
in determining the nature and extent of Aboriginal rights
and title in Canada. In this decision, Justice Lamer provided
the first clear, definitive legal definition of Aboriginal
title. Aboriginal title has its legal source in prior occupation
of the land. Aboriginal title is held communally, not by
any one member of an Aboriginal Nation. Although Aboriginal
title is a right in land, and not tied to any particular
'Aboriginal use', there is an inherent limit on the possible
uses that can be made of the land: "... if a group
claims a special bond with the land because of its ceremonial
or cultural significance, it may not use the land in such
a way as to destroy that relationship". (In the case
of the Red Hill valley, the ceremonial or cultural significance
is due in large part to the fact that Aboriginal people
are buried in the valley). Finally, Aboriginal title may
be infringed on by either provincial or federal governments
if the infringement satisfies a compelling legislative objective,
including for example the "development of agriculture,
forestry, mining, hydroelectric power, ... general economic
development, ...the protection of the environment or endangered
species, the building of infrastructure, and so on. If there
is to be an infringement on Aboriginal title the government
must recognize its fiduciary relationship with Aboriginal
people, and ensure that there is as little infringement
as possible, that fair compensation is made available and
that the Aboriginal group has been consulted.
The
City of Hamilton had initiated discussions with Six Nations
band council, currently headed by Roberta Jamieson. (The
band council system was forcibly imposed on the Six Nations
people in 1920 by the Canadian federal government). Roberta
Jamieson issued a statement on August 13th indicating her
support for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in halting construction
in the Red Hill valley. On August 30th, the Haudenosaunee
Confederacy struck a negotiating committee to initiate discussions
with Hamilton City Council, but any meetings are on hold
until the ten day mourning period for Norm Jacobs has passed.
NEXT
STEPS: The Haudenosaunee are not named in the injunction
application, but it would appear to apply to them (it includes
"persons unknown"). The Haudenosaunee do not plan
to represent themselves regarding the injunction when it
comes to court on September 5, because they do not consider
that the provincial court has jurisdiction over Aboriginal
issues. If the City has a legal victory in court for the
injunction and tries to evict the Haudenosaunee from the
roundhouse and the sacred fire in the Red Hill valley, the
Haudenosaunee plan is to stand firm in a non-violent way,
and they will not be moved.
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