When the snow melted away a few weeks ago, you got an opportunity to view the problems with small load dumping, animal carcass dumping, and even the fast-food packaging accumulated along the ditches and shoulders.
While this is not a problem exclusive to the Tract, nor the Grand River, This is where this particular story is taking place.
Christian Giles Photo Credit Yakowennahskats
29-year-old Christian Giles, accompanied by his mother, took the opportunity to tackle the trash head-on on his day off. He had already filled four trash bags when I caught up to him on Newport road in Brant county.
He was very humble and wasn’t doing this for accolades or attention. Giles reports this isn’t the first time he has taken on this task, but also, it is something that he just decided to do.
In a world where people often say that they don’t have the time, It was refreshing to meet someone who made the time to clean our Mother Earth.
OHSWEKEN – An investigation into medical care received by Indians at the Lady Willingdon Hospital here is being sought by the elected council of the Six Nations Indians.
Written complaints, which were read at Thursday night’s council meeting, concerning doctors at the hospital, spurred the council to action. Members will meet with John A. Charlton, MP for Brant-Haldimand, on Saturday.
Council members will demand that Dr. Charlton take the written complaints to the Department of National Health and Welfare in Ottawa and ask for an immediate investigation.
“We’ve heard verbal complaints about the hospital for years,” Chief Councillor George VanEvery said, “but this is the first time we’ve ever received written complaints. I feel it’s time for action.”
An attempt was made to have the complaints about the hospital’s three doctors – Dr. Tom Chiang, hospital supervisor, Dr. Ludwig Upenicks and Dr. Michael Dobrinoff – tabled until hospital authorities could be present. The motion was defeated.
Mr. VanEvery said he had asked hospital officials to attend the meeting.
“I received a letter saying Dr. Chiang had a previous engagement but would be pleased to meet with us at a later date at the hospital,” Mr. VanEvery said. “I then called M.C. Haw, assistant hospital administrator, and he refused to attend this meeting.
“They won’t even come and meet with us here. I’ll never go down there for a meeting.”
Councillor Fred Hill said it would be useless to attend a meeting at the hospital.
“You won’t get any place down there,” he said. “If you want action you have to go to the members of Parliament.”
Mr. Hill said a thorough investigation should be conducted.
“They treated me for flu when I had typhoid fever,” he said. “They insisted I had flu but when I didn’t get better I went to a Brantford doctor and he said I had typhoid fever and slapped me into hospital.”
Mrs. George Jamieson, a woman councillor, suggested a check be made to find out what qualifications the doctors hold.
Hugh Smith, welfare administrator on the reserve, said he thought his baby girl might have died had he followed instructions given his wife by a reserve doctor. Mr. Smith said his wife took the child to a doctor last Saturday and the doctor told her the baby had a congested chest cold. The reserve doctor suggested a treatment and told Mrs. Smith to return with the child in three days.
“I wasn’t satisfied,” Mr. Smith said. “I called a doctor in Brantford and he said my little girl was suffering from bronchial pneumonia. She’s been in Brantford General Hospital since Saturday.”
Three letters read to council followed a similar line.
Herman Styres wrote that a reservation doctor told him a cut in his daughter’s leg wasn’t serious. The leg swelled considerably, he said, but the doctor insisted there was nothing to worry about.
A Brantford doctor treated the girl for blood poisoning.
Mrs. Verna Jamieson said officials at Lady Willingdon Hospital told her that her daughter was suffering from a congested throat. It turned out the little girl had tubercular meningitis. She has been confined to the Hamilton Sanatorium since last October, the mother stated.
Mrs. Rodger Smith wrote: “I watched my infant song fail before my eyes.” She said one of the reserve hospital doctors insisted the boy was not seriously ill.
After two months she took the baby to a Brantford physician, who diagnosed the illness as tetany, a disease which creates spasms which weaken the body.
The 6,000 Indians who have their homes in the Grand River Country are sitting on a volcano.
And it is one which could explode without warning.
Behind what some outsiders regard as the incredible happenings of the last two days on the Six Nations Reserve, 25 miles from Hamilton, a dangerous situation is smouldering.
This is recognized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who are waiting for “a tribal showdown” at any time between the elective and hereditary councils.
It could, said Inspector H.C. Forbes, result in mob violence.
“IT’S OUR JOB to see that this doesn’t happen,” declared the officer commanding the London subdivision, who has moved on to the reservation to take personal charge of the Ohsweken detachment.
If and when such a fracas did come, armed Mounties would probably have to act as “referees”.
So far it has been a bloodless revolution. Some 1,000 supporters of the Confederacy, ignoring RCMP warnings that they were breaking the law, tore down the doors of the council house and reinstalled the hereditary chiefs in power.
BUT the elected councillors, who slipped out of a back door 10 minutes before the building was broken into, have the support of hundreds of Indians who favor the democratic system of internal government introduced in 1924.
This faction has so far voiced no protest. To the Mounties, it is an ominous silence.
It is believed that the elective system’s supporters – of which there are at least 700 – may soon hold a mass meeting to indicate their rejection of the hereditary council.
If the two groups clashed, it is hard to predict what would happen, observers say.
IN THE MEANTIME, the RCMP will continue to recognize the elected council as the legal governing body on the reservation.
But the Confederacy has proclaimed itself the territory’s “only government.”
For the hereditary chiefs are seriously applying every word of their proclamation of independence, which outlawed the RCMP as the law enforcement agency at Ohsweken.
Supported by at least 1,000 men, women and children – and maybe more – the Confederacy is showing disregard for Canada and its laws.
“If one of our people should break the law, we will arrest and try him,” said 26-year-old Irvin Logan, who has been named “Chief of the Iroquois Police.”
IT WAS YOUNG MEN such as Irvine Logan who were responsible for the overthrow of the elective system.
Several hundred of these “warriors” suddenly gave active support to the 50 old hereditary chiefs, who had been plotting to regain power for 35 years – and the revolution was accomplished.
The 80 men and women in the Iroquois Police Force are identified by black-and-white IP armbands, and each has been issued with a “deputy’s warrant.”
Their first arrest was that of two visiting Indians from Buffalo who had been involved in an auto accident.
FOLLOWING a brief imprisonment in the cellar of the council house and trial by the chiefs, the Indians were freed on condition that they paid all damages.
So far as the Iroquois Police are concerned, the two Indians have been punished for their “crime”. They are considered outside the white man’s justice.
Nevertheless, the RCMP have investigated the accident.
Word reached the RCMP that the Confederacy was planning to open a safe, containing documents and several hundred dollars, in the council house.
MOUNTIES MOVED in on the building to warn the chiefs that such a move was illegal, but their way was barred by Iroquois Police.
“THE MOUNTIES wouldn’t dare touch any of our people,” declared Irvin Logan. “Just let them try…”
Before 1924, the Indians had their own police force. Now, they maintain, they have it again.
“Police Chief” Logan said that the law would be carried out in the traditional manner of his people. All offenders would by tried by the council of chiefs, who would impose fines of imprisonment.
BUT, in accordance with a time-honored agreement, any Indians committing the crimes of murder, rape, theft or forgery would be handed over to the RCMP for trial by a white man’s court.
“The sooner the Mounties leave this reservation the better,” declared Irvine Logan. “They are trespassers here, and they are not wanted.”
A long time ago when the Creator placed us upon Mother Earth, each family was asked to go out of the village and tell about the animal they have witnessed. When they reported what they saw, that became the “clan” of your family.
The women who are our life-givers were given the important responsibility of carrying on the clans and the citizenship of the Haudenosaunee. At Onondaga, there are nine “clans” which are; wolf, turtle, beaver, snipe, heron, deer, eel, bear, and hawk. Only an Onondaga woman can provide Onondaga children. Only an Onondaga woman of the turtle clan can provide Onondaga turtle clan children, etc. Therefore, children are very proud of their clans as it automatically gives them a link to their female ancestors back to the beginning of our people.
Yakowennahskats
The clan system lives throughout the Haudenosaunee. People of your clan but of different nations are still considered to be part of your family. This is important when you travel through the different nations of the Haudenosaunee. You know that there are people willing to welcome you to their lands as being part of their family.
The role of clans also plays a part in marriage. When a young person looks to marry, they look to individuals from other clans. Even if you are not of “blood relations’ ‘, they are a part of your clan family. Since clan members no longer all live in one longhouse, mothers, grandmothers, and aunts watch to make sure that it’s a good match.
Yakowennahskats
Our clan system is also important in our way of life. When you are in need of help in tough times such as sickness or death, it is the duty of the members of the other clans to help. The Creator gave us this method of helping each other to make sure that we care for one another to make us strong which has helped us survive as a people for countless centuries. We look to our relations in the other clans for help.
This post can be found on the Onondaga Nation website.
At the beginning of the time when people came to be on earth, there was a world high above where we now stand. This land was so high that it was not visible from the earth. It is not known how long the Sky World was there, nor how it got there. It has always been accepted that the Sky World always was an everlasting form of existence. Perhaps this is the start of how the Rotinonhsyonni showed respect for the teachings of the ancestors. Trusting perhaps mixed with some wonder but with no question, has been a long tradition.
In the Sky World there stood a tree that grew at the very center of this celestial world. On this tree grew every fruit. The sky people were permitted to eat freely from the tree. They were also warned not to bring harm to this tree which was a great source of nurturance for the people. They were also warned that they were not to touch the roots in case it would cause harm to the tree.
In the Sky, World lived a young chief and his wife. The chief’s wife was pregnant and as with many expectant women; she began to have strange cravings. She had cravings for certain kinds of plants or certain kinds of meats. She sometimes insisted on very specific blends of plants for seasonings or teas. She often sent her husband on many journeys to help fulfill her cravings.
Her husband was a humble person. He was rather kind and gentle and easily taken advantage of, especially by her. But he would go without argument or question and try with much difficulty to please his wife. His wife…on the other hand… was at times a bit unpleasant and hard to please.
One day she had a new craving, a very unique and unexplainable craving. She approached him with some hesitation but in the end, she had no problem asking him, as he always did what she asked. You see she craved a drink made from the roots of the great tree.
She asked him some questions: Do you love me?… Will you always love me?… Do you think cravings are natural when carrying a child, …your child?… Would you still love me if I asked to go on another journey?…
Her husband, who loved her dearly, listened as she explained her particular dilemma. She told him of her nausea and how their unborn child was kicking, probably with the same craving. The husband did quietly hold much uncertainty in his heart. But she sent her husband anyway, to retrieve the roots to make the drink that she craved.
The husband was very concerned about her odd request. He knew that they were not to touch anything on the tree except for the fruit that it would bear. He walked with much hesitation. He considered all of the consequences that such actions could
have on him, his wife, their unborn child and the people. He walked toward the tree, but become increasingly despondent regarding his wife’s request.
Sadly, he decided that he could not fulfill her request, however he continued to walk. It is not known for sure if he continued to walk to the tree or if he wandered to another path to where his existence would forever remain unknown.
The woman waited a long time for her husband to return. She waited so long that she became impatient. She paced the lodge complaining that he wasn’t back yet. She continued to pace and complain. How could he take so long, even though I am carrying his child?
After what seemed like a very long time her impatience caused her to go looking for her husband. She searched all over the Sky World for him. After searching for him for a very long time she finally decided to go to the great tree to retrieve the roots for herself.
She arrived at the tree. She decided that although her husband was supposed to go for the roots, he didn’t return, therefore she would have to make the drink herself. She approached the tree and examined the area, which would best suit her needs. Her pregnant state caused her to use much care when bending to gather the roots for her drink.
She knelt beside the tree digging for the roots, which she desired. She dug with her hands but in order to reach the roots of the tree, she had to pick some smaller plants, which were in her way. She held on to the small plants with one hand and continued to dig with the other. As she leaned over she heard a sound. Unsure of what she heard, she bent over further. As her curiosity grew, she leaned in even further. It seemed to be the same sound that water makes when running, like a river.
Throughout time storytellers have varied in what next happened. Some expressed that from her curiosity she leaned too far over she simply fell. Others say her husband, out of anger, snuck up on her and pushed her through a hole under where she was digging. Still, other variations of the story say that another family member or another type of natural force, perhaps a wind caused her fall. It may have been an accident or it may have been an act of frustration from a family member, possibly even her husband, but within the next moments, she found herself passing through a hole at the base of the great tree.
Borrowed from Elizabeth Doxstater, Mohawk storyteller and revised by Sakoieta’ Wakathahahión:ni, Mohawk – Wolf Clan Knowledge Keeper
The Superior Court of Ontario tore a page directly from the colonial playbook and granted yet another injunction in a local Land back case. The Injunction was granted midmonth against Onkwehonwe, asserting the land defence responsibility within their territory.
This Injunction also included several key members of various Friends of Arrowdale support groups who were notified via email. The members have been pivotal in speaking out against the development with the 14-million dollar proceeds going towards the remaining approximately 100-million dollars needed to actually build affordable housing in a mystery location.
Historically this approach had proven to be an effective recourse for cities attempting to sell off what they erroneously perceive as their assets.
Just stopping short of a race-based anti-protest Bylaw, The City of Brantford successfully secured a permanent injunction against Haudenosaunee and Haudenosaunee Development Institute. Granted to prevent intentional interferance or causing irreparable harm to the growth and development of the City.
A 2014 ruling gave developers the confidence to ignore buyer beware warnings on Onkwehonwe land. It has supported Ontario’s Places to Grow Act plan and relased the federal government from having to stop the provincial development before a land claim potentially requires return of unused land parcels.
It is only one way to manipulate the legal system when Onkwehonwe remind the Corporation of the City of Brantford’s attempts to overlook past due accounts.
Brantford has been openly critical of Onkwehonwe actions to halt the unsustainable developments sprawl outright. Yet to turn that critical eye towards themselves other than performative actions like hiring an Indigenous Affairs Officer has been elusive.
Injunctions are granted without representation of any of the named individuals present. Certainly without any legal representation of the accused.-A huge issue within the legal system allows one party’s allegations to effectively silence another party. Potentially even making very public and charatcher damagaing announcments on megaphones like what happened at Arrowdale one source confirmed.
It has an almost arbitrary authority to empower law enforcement to contain and criminalize people by securing vague geographical boundaries and broad powers of removal, often indefinitely.
Mr and Ms Doe of these blanket orders allow anyone to be swept into the parameters of the injunction, thus methodically removing any possible interference in development plans. Its completely favourable for the Municipality and its stakeholders.
Change?
It’s a tactic that has worked in the past but times are changing. Just last week, a judge found in favour of Skyler Williams of 1492 land back lane and dismissed the permanent injunction granted by a judge…. who made it clear that Williams was persona non grata in his courtroom.
The appalling misuse of the legal tools for a country and province that prides itself on the rule of law. Despite bending the same law for financial benefits is the real problem here.
Who will be delivering the customary wampum that will put an end to this madnesss to these renegades municipalities?
