Showing posts with label Hazel Hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hazel Hill. Show all posts

Sunday, December 31, 2006

December 26th Update from Grand River

The following from Hazel Hill, at the Six Nations Reclamation Site just outside Caledonia:

Greetings!

It has been a few weeks since I last updated everyone and I have had
people e-mailing wondering what is happening.

Before I begin, I need to ask that those of you who forward and post this to your blogs, PLEASE do not change it.  I have had radio stations slandering me, discrediting me, only to find out that they had been duped and someone had sent them a "so-called update",  that had been drastically changed painting me out to be a racist etc.  I write what I SEE,  and while it may not be journalistically or grammatically correct, it is MY thoughts and MY feelings.  The message is being received and understood by everyone else who reads them, so there is no need to change them.  Perhaps this would also account for the Crown representatives who have been complaining about my updates to our Haudenesonne delegates.  They do not like my updates and are concerned that they could be construed as coming from the "negotiations".  So as a matter of clarification, when I update the people, which IS what my job is, I update based on looking at things from the Eagles perspective.   It is not from a politicians perspective, and it is not from the Chiefs or delegates perspective.  It is  from the perspective of one who can bring herself away from the table of discussions and look onto the situation and look beyond the words that are being said, and look at the actions of the Crown and from that, put on paper the words from my heart and from my instincts, of  what is really going on.  So for the federal government to have made issue with my updates, not just once, but several times, tells me that I AM DOING MY JOB!  One thing I made clear at the beginning of my attending the meetings is that I report to the PEOPLE.  There is no such thing as confidentiality when it comes to the  Haudenesonne.  Our people counsel in honesty and openness and that is how we will continue.  For us to state otherwise, will only lend to question what it is that we have to hide.  I report to the Clanmothers and Chiefs on what I am doing, and answer any questions that they have, and I will continue to do so.  My obligation is to the People, and to keep them informed.  These updates are for all of the Haudenesonne who are spread across Turtle Island and cannot attend meetings or council to be updated.  They are for the millions of Onkwehonweh across the world who are reading and watching and counting on the Haudenesonne to uphold their responsiblities to Creation in order to help bring about Justice for all the Onkwehonweh.  More importantly, my updates are for the Creator.  To do what I believe is what is the highest good of ALL concerned.  Not in the interest of any individual or Nation.  This is about the PEACE that was intended for ALL.  I have been put on this earth to answer only to the Creator and to do the job that he set me on this earth to do.  It is not for any one to question, it is between me and the Creator, and while some may not appreciate my perspective or my thoughts, OH WELL, cause I am not here to please anyone either.

Having said that, the first thing I have to take issue with, IS the Federal representatives reason for taking issue with my updates.  Their concern was with my use of the word Genocide and how I refer to their actions as "the continuance of the genocidal practices of the Crown".  Well, HELLLLOOOO!   Spot it you got it I say.  Perhaps they took issue with the fact that it is the TRUTH, and while they might not like it, it is a FACT.  One of their legal representatives is apparently Jewish and felt that my use of the word was inappropriate becuase of the suffering of the Jews at the hands of Hitler.  Well as a matter of clarification, Hitler studied the Onkwehonweh and while I have been told that he liked how our people lived and how our law worked, he also seen how Western Civilization treated the Onkwehonweh, and he modelled the treatment of the Jews after THAT and so YES!, Geneocide is an ugly word, but no one people can take ownership of the word, and those that do, need to study a bit more of where it comes from and how it even became a word in the english dictionary in the first place.  It came from the treatment of the Onkwehonweh by those who invaded our homelands and tried to wipe us out for their own benefit and gain.  So as far as I'm concerned, the Crown IS continuing with its genocidal practices because of its insistance on thinking it has some sort of governance over our people, which they do not; and by their refusal to uphold the Treaties to which their ancestors swore to, which they are obligated to do.  You can't just have it your way.  They want us to acknowledge all of the agreements and treaties that benefit their people, but the moment we remind them that that Silver Covenant Chain can rattle in both directions, they close their eyes and ears.  Well, our people are tired of it, and we are not going to tolerate it any longer.  The Crown needs to ensure that the representatives that they send to the table to talk, are one's that have the ability to make a decision, not one's that are there to bide time while they try to figure out a way to get out of it.  Barbara McDougal herself told Teka reporter Jim Windell that she is not there to negotiate or make decisions.  So again, what is it that the taxpayers are paying these big dollars for???????????  For the last ten months they have been dancing around and talking about everything BUT the issue at hand.  The Land.  We've talked about blockades, fences, buffer zones, governance, 4-wheelers, flashing lights and flags.  When are we going to get to the heart of everything.  You stole our land, we've proven it.  What is there to negotiate?  We took it back and there is nothing to talk about other then when are you giving the rest back.   Or do we have to come and take that too?    When have you ever seen a car thief negotiate with the owner over when and how to give it back.  This whole process is ridculous!  All I know is that the People are getting tired of being led down the garden path once again and in July when the barricades came down, we gave our delegates a few months to deal with it.  It has been well past a few months and it is time that the Crown representatives remembered that the delegates that have been chosen to sit at the table with them are exactly that, delegates.  I have heard our delegates remind the Crown representatives that they can only hold the people back for so long.  I know that the PEOPLE are definitely not happy about the apparent lack of good will on the part of the Crown, and if the people so choose, we may have to send in more convincing delegates to get the message across.

And talk about messages.  Gary McHale has been on a campaign to prove that there is a two-tiered justice system when it comes to the Native people and he has finally proven himself right.  He is a walking talking evidence of the two tiered justice that exists within Canada's so called democracy and its treatment of native people.    He has been weebling in and out of the reclamation situation by holding marches, demonstrations, and setting up his web page campaign to try and undermine our people's position, and to get out his propoganda.  His latest venture was using the Canadian Troops with his flag campaign.  Well, he got what he wanted.  He proved that there IS a two-tiered justice.  Gary was arrested and released WITHOUT condition.  Every single "Native" person that was arrested with respect to the reclamation of OUR lands near Caledonia, had the condition "not to return to Douglas Creek" as part of their release.  If the Crown's agents of the Courts really wanted Gary McHale to go away and stop interfering in what is NONE OF HIS BUSINESS, they could have easily directed him with the same conditions as our people have been given.  Stay away from Douglas Creek.  I guess the Crown doesn't want him to stay away because with the Gary McHales of the world, there is no guarantee of PEACE,  and he has been given a "get out of jail free card" to allow him the freedom to continue to manipulate and undermine the Peace by instigating trouble.  Good job Gary, thanks for proving our point.

Along side of Gary McHale are the homeowners who claim that the "Native's from the Site" broke into their home and vandalized it.  They have Mayor Trainer of Caledonia and MP Toby Barrett going on national television, and in their house of commons blaming our people for the vandalism and continuing with their claims that there is no peace within Caledonia, and that they are constantly being terrorized.  It does'nt take a genious to figure out that perhaps there is some dirty pool going on with this so-called break in.  First of all, if there was truly a break-in and vandalism, WHY would you compromise the evidence by inviting CH TV Channel 11 in to take footage, and have half the neighbourhood in there trapsing through and eliminating  ny chance of the police being able to do a thorough investigation because you've compromised the crime scene.  Also, if it was one of our people from the site,  there should be alot of mud in the crime scene and foot prints leading to and from the house as they claim the 'individuals' ran out the back when they got home and went into the reclamation site.  Our men did our own invesitation and can clearly see there were no footprints leading to or from the house from the site, and for all of those who came to the site when the homeowners had the media and their supporters there claiming the natives had broken in, calling us names and holding signs that read "Peaceful People my Ass", everyone who was on the site had their shoe sizes enhanced by a couple of sizes from the mud that caked on their shoes from walking in the field next to the house,  so don't tell me that anyone from the site did this.  It was a staged set up, and poorly done I might add.  They're either stupid or think we are.  Our people are fully prepared to co-operate with the police to ensure that this is investigated thoroughly because we know it wasn't any of our people from the site, and we know a set up when we see one.  This is the same crap that was pulled in Kanesetake during 1990 trying to use the media as a negotiating tool and to play out their political bs at the expense of the Onkwehonweh.  In this particular case, it has been alleged that the homeowners want to be bought out and the government won't answer to their demands for an outrageous amount of money.  It is also been alleged that the three times they claim that the "natives from the site" stole their Canadian flag off of their lawn,  they were seen by police removing the flag itself, and then calling in a false police report.  I think that the politicians who are supporting these slanderous accusations against our people need to think about who and what they are supporting (unless they are part of the plan) because at this point, perhaps we should go ahead and jump into the boat and into their court system with charges of slander against our people and sue them for everything they got, including their homes that are sitting on land that already belongs to us.  The only terroristic action that is happening near Kanesthaton, is that brought on when the instigators from outside try to come in and insite trouble, or when the politicians who think they are doing something for their people, continue with their lied filled campaigns based on slanderous gossip and  who are both supported and allowed to report it as facts by irresponsible news media.  So, a message from our people, go ahead and continue with your plots of deception, keep on trying to prove to the world that we are an evil people as your latest blog "faces of evil" tried to imply, because when you live and answer to the Creator, you live without fear.  We have nothing to hide.  We have simply stated the facts.  The land is ours.  The road which you hang your flags on is ours.  The business which you are claiming millions of dollars of losses on, is a result of the racism and hatred shown against our people that has caused our people not to shop in your stores anymore.  It is not a result of barricades and it isn't based on fear from the outside townspeople coming in to shop, because they continue to come to Six Nations.  It is your own doing.  It is your mayors doing.  It is because you did not understand or respect the fact that the Haudenesonne,  whom you want the army brought in to eliminate, are the very people who supported and kept your business running by our spending our money in your community.

I also wanted to touch on the whole "faces of evil" thing.  There was a recent blog which was allegedly started by the same individual from London Ontario who supports Gary McHale and who apparently scanned different pictures of our people and our supporters to create a little video depicting so-called "faces of evil".  I didn't get to watch it because by the time I tried to view it, it had been shut down.  But the whole thing about our people being evil was started a few months ago within our own community by the elected chief and his political advisor after the band council voted to stop paying the salary of this particular legal advisor and took him out of his position. ( Note however, that the individual is still out there speaking on behalf of the Six Nations, and still wanders around the band administration building as any other employee even though he supposedly was taken off payroll........what gives!? )   It was an attempt at a smear campaign to undermine the position of the people at Kanehstaton, it was done out of anger to try and get our people to stop supporting the site, and somehow try to stop the movement of the people at forcing the crown to deal with our only true government, the Haudenesonne.  The people, through our traditional council.  As a matter of fact, it was implied that our traditional council was evil.  It was an ill fated attempt to smear some of the people who supported us financially.  It was and continues to be used as a tool by those who want to discredit the Haudenesonne in order to perpetuate the fraud of the crown in its insistance at dealing with the illegal entity known as the elected band council.  I understand that there was something out there with my own name attached to it, that an individual was calling me evil.  I don't know because I didn't read it, I was only told about it.  It doesn't matter.  What matters is that it is right in line with what has been prophescized.  That we, the Haudenesonne,  would be called evil.  That we would referred to as the "666" which apparently one of the article's was referring to the "6-6-6 Nations".  I have been told by many elders in the past, that this time would come,  and that those who truly work for the Creator would clearly be separated from those that don't.  I guess that time is now, and those individuals are showing themselves.

Finally,  I want to talk about this holiday season in particular and how deeply it has effected me.  For many years, I have struggled with Christmas, and have tried to teach my children the truth about this season, and how I see it.  That for the Christian people, it is a time to celebrate Christs birth, and to enjoy Peace on Earth.  And yet, for the Onkwehonweh, this is something that we are suppose to live our life by.  Every day.  Not just one day of the year.  Just like many of the other Christian/Calendar holidays.  Mothers Day, Fathers Day etc. Why would you only honour your mother and father on one day of the year.  So why do we only acknowledge this person, Christ, who gave his life for your sins, only one day of the year. In our teachings, He was known as the Peacemaker, and the Kaienerekowah, this Great Law,  is the Law or Message of Peace that he brought to help us to live our life by. It is symbolized by the Great White Pine Tree with an Eagle sitting at the top.

I'll share with you this story I was told and then I will explain why.  I was told that when the Peacemaker came and our people accepted the Peace, He then told us that He was going to go across the great big waters and deliver this same message to the people over there.  He left instructions for our people to cut a notch out of the Great White Pine every day, and if one day that Pine was to bleed, we would know that those people did not accept the Peace and that they had killed Him.  So every day, our people cut the notch out of the tree, and finally, there came a day when that Pine did bleed.  Our people were angry and set out to build a big raft and were going to go across those great waters and kill the people that had killed our Peacemaker.  But while they were building this raft, the Peacemaker returned to them in spirit and told them not to go across to kill those people. He reminded them of the Peace that we had accepted.  He showed them the holes in his hands and feet, and the crown of thorns on his head and he warned our people that there would come a time when those people would come across the waters to our homelands and it was up to us if we welcomed them and helped them.  He also warned our people to beware of the man carrying the black book.

This is something that has never left my mind.  It was not the book itself that he warned us of.  It was the man who carried the black book, and just like anything written, it can be changed and manipulated to control people. And like everything else in the battle of good vs. evil, right handed twin vs. left handed twin, everything that was good that the right handed twin did, the left handed twin has to undermine.  So too has this message of Peace been undermined.  This celebration of Peace, that was given to all people,  was never intended to be commercialized, nor was it intended only to be acknowledged only one day out of the year.  The Eagle, representing the Onkwehonweh who have the responsiblity to uphold that peace,  that rests on top of the Great Tree;  was replaced by the Star of David, and the Message of Peace has been replaced by commercialization and the giving of presents.  It has become something that is used to further the stress and hardship of the people by putting pressure on parents to go into debt to buy presents for their children based on what?!  On Peace?  No wonder statistics show that Christmas time has the highest rate of suicide because we are buying into the fraud and continue to teach our children this fraud.  So when I was on my way home from town on Christmas Eve with my daughter, and I had just hung up the phone with my husband who was at the site at Kanehstaton, and I was thinking of the people at the site, who weren't at home with their families enjoying foods and celebrations, but who were there on that site maintaining our position and upholding the Law that Creator gave to us, my tears began to fall.  When she asked if I was ok, I told her how I felt.  How hypocritical I felt because how I know that this whole Christmas Season is just a fisaude, and that those people who were at the site were doing exactly what the Creator intended for us to do and what we are obligated to do and how this Peace that we speak of isn't suppose to be only acknowledged one day of the year, and that it isn't about presents, and that even though my tree at home has an Eagle on it rather than a Star, am I truly upholding what the Creator intended by continuing that fisaude.  I cried alot of tears that night.  But my tears were not for the people at the site,  they were for the rest of us.  Again, just MY thoughts.  And while everyone at Kanehstaton knows my heart and my spirit is with them even when I can't be, I want to acknowledge all of them who are staying on the site full time, and I want the rest of the world to know that those individuals have my deepest respect because of their committment and dedication to the Onkwehonweh, to our Sovereignty, to the Kaierenekowah and to the Creator.

I am truly inspired by you all!
Nya Weh Kowah!

For now, that is it for my update.  I was asked to give some thought about the new year, and perhaps share some of what I envision for the Onkwehowehonweh.  What I envision is a time of change for the Onkwehonweh.  I can see the Unity and Peace growing and the Haudenesonne slowly taking back their responsiblities and rightful place in the Governance of the People, and I see the People, knowing it is OUR responsiblity, making sure that this is what happens.  I see the Crown finally recognizing that it is the People who are the government and that they can continue to try and manipulate individuals and the elective system, but they will never manipulate nor dictate to the Onkwehonweh. I know for myself, and in speaking with some of the women who are part of the "negotiations" both band council as well as traditional, we are committed to having more community meetings and updating the people so they are more directly involved with what is going on.

My biggest message is to all of our supporters.  For it is with all of you that recognition must be given.  When I stood with the Women & Clanmothers in that circle and we sent out the message to re-kindle the Fire of Peace back in April,  and I look at how far our message of Peace has reached, and how truly amazing times that we are in and what an impact that this is having on the World,  It is all of you that we have to thank.  So Nya Weh Kowah to all of you who accepted that Peace and who share that Message with others.  Nya Weh to all of those who have supported Kanehstaton through your financial donations, through your encouraging words, and through your prayers.  All of you are greatly appreciated and thought of in our prayers as well.

In Love, Light and Peace,


Hazel



Thursday, December 07, 2006

December 7th Update from Grand River

The following update from Hazel Hill from the Six Nations reclamation site just outside of Caledonia:


Good Morning from Grand River.  I know everyone has been wondering what is happening with negotiations and our land reclamation of Kanonhstaton.

Since I last wrote after our November 14th Lands Side Table, there has been no meetings so nothing really to report.  Unfortunately, we had another death in one of our Clanmothers family's and so our meetings that were scheduled for the end of November were cancelled.  They have been re-scheduled to December 13th and 14th and we will see then how the Crown responds to our presentation of our documents and historical evidence as provided through our Wampum and Oral History at our last meeting.  

Clearly the Crown has found itself in a dilemma since we have presented the TRUTH.  They know for a FACT that the title for Plank Road (also known as Argyle Street and formerly #6 Highway) itself still rests with the Six Nations/Haudenesonne, they cannot contest this.  They also know that the so-called land surrender that they are resting their entire case on is merely minutes of a council meeting with no order in council to support it, and no legal grounds to support it. they also know that the Indian agent at the time who was drafting these fraudulent surrenders, was also the individual who was translating them to the Six Nations, and who clearly was telling the Chiefs one thing, and then recording it as something else.  This is not a new practice.  Our Chiefs pointed out several times in history how this was done, including the Nanfan Treaty, the Simcoe Deed, many areas that the Crown, when realizing that they still were'nt satisified with our generosity and good-will, needed to not only take more of our lands, but to create their own patents so that they could take ownership of them.  This is no more valid then as it would be today, and yet the Crowns Legal Advisors have told them that they have a valid surrender.  Most of their principal negotiators continue to mislead the people of Caledonia telling them that they have a presented a bill of sale for the lands and that the Six Nations will not get it back.  The politicians of today are speaking with the same forked tongue as the Indian agents back then did. They do not know how to speak the truth.  They cannot look their people in the eye and tell them that their ancestors lied cheated and stole to get what they have today, and they cannot tell them that their True Landlords are the very people who have been treated with such disrespect, racial discrimination and have been the victim of many hate crimes and antagonistic behaviours since the land reclamation began in February.        

You know, one of the things I forgot to tell you about from our last meeting was one of the most significant events since we've begun.  Our people decided to see what the crown representatives would do when put in the same situation our people were in during the 1800's.  Jock had put together a document written in the Cayuga Language that outlined our presentation that day.  He stood and read this document to the Crown representatives in the traditional language, and then he translated it into english for them.  He also asked them to sign this document to verify that they had heard this presentation today.  None of the Crown representatives would sign.  At that point Jock then thanked them for proving our point.  

Our ancestors were faced with this throughout our history, with Crown representatives being the ones who not only drafted the documents, but also translated it, having the opportunity to give false information to our people.  The difference being is our people trusted the Crown, and this is where we went wrong.  They were continually being scammed and mislead, and the evidence was clearly represented that day because what was written and what was handed down orally through our history was not the same thing.  After he thanked them for proving that point, Federal Representative Ron Doering put "His X Mark" on the paper.  While again, he did so only after being shown that this was how they frauded our people.  It would be very easy for anyone to put an "X" mark there, and for us to write down who it was and what their role was.  As a matter of fact, that is what we intended to do to show them how we can see through the veil of deception of the past.  Jock told them, we were going to get you to put your "X" mark there and we would give you an Indian Name to describe who you are.  He also told them that we could have written that you just signed all of Canada back to our people, and you have no way of knowing because it is not your language of understanding.  Just as it wasn't our ancestors language of understanding and again, our ancestors trusted your people. Today we know better. This is one of the reasons why I've always said, and quoted Pope John Paul II, it’s not the LAW, it's only paper.    

Today, we are faced with having to deal with all of this.  However, many things have progressed and continue to progress.  At last Chiefs Council meeting there were at least six development companies that have come to our Traditional Council in hopes of finding a way to begin consulting with the Landowners as opposed to the Crown.  Interestingly enough, each of those developers have stated that the Crown representatives continue to mislead them.  In this case every single one of them mentioned that the lead provincial negotiator Jane Stewart continues to tell them that they need only to consult with the band council.  I guess the Crown hasn't clearly understood what is happening in our community as well as across the country and the world with respect to the Onkwehonweh.  The PEOPLE have said they have had enough.  We are no longer going to tolerate the Crowns interference in our governance.  The band council does not represent the people.  Please understand that it is not the individual people within that system who are at fault, they have been mislead into believing this is the government because this is what the Crown, and its corporation of Canada has set up.  It is the system itself that has been developed to do exactly what it has done, to undermine the authority of our traditional government, our people, for one thing; but also to assimilate our people into canadian society so that the crown will never have to answer to its crimes.  This is why the people have stood and will not back down.  It is not a personal attack against the Elected Chief, or the elected councillors,  nor is it an attack against any of our other brothers and sisters who have been forced into a system to try and help their people.  It was a set up.  It was part of the genocidal practice of the Crown.  Well, again, our people have turned that negative into a positive.  The Chiefs Council has invited representatives from across Canada to join us for a meeting on December 9th.  All of the Chiefs of Ontario as well as the AFN have been invited to come to meet with the Traditional Council.  All of our territories and people are invited to attend.  The purpose of this meeting is to explain the very same wampum and history as was explained to the Crown.  Only in this instance, to show how that relationship worked with the other Nations, how they fall under the shelter of that Great Tree, and how today that can be worked out so that the Haudenesonne Council, the Original League of Nations, will have its rightful place again, and carry the voice and concerns of the Onkwehonweh to the Crown.  This is the way it was, and this is the way it should be.  We had an opportunity to look at minutes of the council meeting from 1870.  Many of our people traveled to Six Nations at that time to counsel.  There were representatives there from Rama, St. Francis, Muncey, Alderville, Chippewas of the Thames, Oneidas of  Muncey, Sarnia, Lake of Two Mountains, St. Regis, Caughnawanga, Saugeen, Cape Croker, Walpole Island, Rice Lake, Sauble, Kettle Point, Bay of Quinte, Snake Island, Mississauga of the New Credit, Moravians of Thames as  well as Six Nations.  What is happening today is exactly why the Crown brought in the Indian Act in the first place.  To prevent the Haudenesonne from doing its job.  So, this meeting on December 9th, 2006 is like a continuance of our counsel from June 10th 1870.  We've been slightly interrupted for over a hundred and fifty years, but again, as was pointed out to the Crown, our Traditional Council has continued, uninterrupted, and nothing the Crown has done, nor can do, will ever cancel that out.  This is something that was given to us by the Creator, and this is what the people continue to uphold.

I guess, while there are going to be many who say that our Confederacy Council cannot work with the band council, it is this very issue of governance that our people must begin to put their minds to.  To figure out how we can help our people who have been taken outside of that circle, and bring them back in.  Again, we can say that they have done so willingly, and that they have no voice.  From my perspective, just like when our children were stolen and put in residential schools, or when our children were beaten and strapped for speaking their own language, or how we were forced into their education and religions, and how today when our people are criminalized for trying to defend the future of our people and our homelands.  It was all part of the overall plan to get rid of the "Indian Problem".    When the Peacemaker came and reminded us of the Great Law, he also gave us the mechanism to work together in Unity & Peace.  This was the Five Nations Confederacy.  The Original League of Nations.  It is very much alive today, as it was the day it was given.  Anything we are faced with can be resolved through the Great Law, and through the Confederacy Council.  We need only take up our responsibility to it and uphold what was given to us.  This is how we can bring the other councils in, they can come under the Confederacy and support the Confederacy in carrying the voice of all of the Onkwehonweh to the Crown.  We must stand United and we must stand Strong.  This is all part of the prophecies and it is also what the Crown has been trying to prevent from happening for many generations.  

This is also why they continue to use tactics such as instigators like Gary McHale to come in and hopefully create a situation that will divert the people from our path.  Last weekend they had the nerve to use the Canadian Troops as an excuse to try and create such a situation.  They claim they wanted to hang ribbons and flags up in support of the troops in Afganistan.  They had the television media there even before they got there with their flags, waiting in anticipation and hoping our people from the site would come out and try to stop them or fight with them. They did not anticipate that we would simply inform the OPP to deal with their people, and that again, we have been respectful.  we have our flags flying on the site and in front of the site.  we could go into the town of Caledonia and fly them, because as i've said, we've proven that the road itself is still ours, and that most of the town is still ours too, but we have respected the people and have maintained our presence on and near the reclamation site.  We only ask that the same respect be shown in return.  We do not have a problem with them hanging their flags anywhere outside the proximity of the site, it was being veiwed as it was intended, to try and instigate a fight.  When the OPP prevented them from hanging the flags across the road from the site there was much anger at the fact that they should be able to hang their canadian flag on canadian soil.  I understand and respect this.  However, it is questionable whether there is any land within Turtle Island that they can claim as Canadian soil, and in this particular case, again, the road itself we have already proven is within the Six Nations jurisdiction and we were within our rights to ask them to respect that.  Interestingly enough, when they did go down just past 6th line to hang their flags in support of the troops, (still in our jurisdiction but we gave them permission to hang them there) the television camermen didn't follow them.  Again, they were there only to make sure they caught on tv any violence that they were hoping would erupt.  Shame on those who used the troops in that way!  

There are many things going through my mind and things I would like to share, but at this point, I will close with one last message.  I want all of you to keep in mind December 17th 2006.  It appears that since the Crown has been put in the position of having to address the issue of the theft of our lands and resources, at having been put in the position of answering to the crimes they have committed, we are going to be faced with continued attempts of instigation and potential violence. Gary McHale is again planning another rally.  I've been told he has the help of a woman (sorry I don't know her name off hand), but she is like the president of a white supremist group.  Again they are hoping to bring violence to our people at Kanonhstaton. I would like all of you to bring your minds to PEACE on that day, and offer your sacred tobacco or medicine to help support us in upholding the LAWS OF CREATION. According to the star map, December 17th is directly under the Temple of Taurus, and Orions Belt which is representative of the Peacemaker.  The Temple of Taurus is our Rosetta Stone.  It is our Great Law.  It is who we are and how we connect to the Peacemaker.   These are things our people have forgotten, but it is how our ancestors knew when to do things, just like they know when to begin the midwinter ceremonies and our other ceremonies.  Through the Stars.  It IS OUR MAP in Creation. But, the Crown has learned this too.   Throughout history the Crown has used the stars just as our ancestors did, to sanction their continued use and abuse of our people and the Great Law.  This is how they have been able to keep our people down and under their thumb for so long. They have kept us in spiritual bondage.  They use our own people and our medicines to do this. This is what the People have been fighting and this is what the Women and Clanmothers stopped the day they went onto our lands to stop development, and this is what the Men have been standing and protecting.  And this is what today, we have to continue to stop.  Today, we need to bring all of our minds together to do this. All of the Onkwehonweh must stand before the Creator and acknowledge the Law that was given to us, we need to acknowledge our responsibilities to Creation, and acknoweldge our duty to uphold and protect the Law that He provided.  That is what I would like each of you to do everyday, and specifically on December 17th.   We need only to let Creation know we are standing strong and doing our best, and Creation will respond.

That's all I have to say for now.  Nya Weh!

In Love, Light and Peace,
Hazel



Saturday, September 23, 2006

September 22nd Update from Hazel Hill

Well, did everyone get to watch the 2nd part of the show 'Indian Summer, the Oka Crisis' which aired tonight on CBC. I am so emotional right now and my thoughts are everywhere I don't know where to begin. Watching them come out of the pines and the brutality used against our people who were only doing exactly what we have all been doing or trying to do, and that is to uphold our Law, and protect the future of our people. I cried so hard it made me sick. Sick to know that nothing, in the last 16 years has changed in the thinking of the canadian government. Nothing in their attitude toward the original people of this land. The force they used then is the same force they used on April 20th when they came in to Kanonhstaton. They beat people, they had weapons drawn, and they had no care of whether or not we were entitled and justified in our stand.

I think the trauma of being tackled and kicked and kneed by the police on April 20th has finally surfaced. I had the opportunity to speak at Guelph University a couple of nights ago, and recounting what had happened on the day of the raid; and then watching the Oka movie tonight brought out all of that mixed emotional baggage I've been carrying around since then. What do you do with those emotions but let them go, and gain strength in knowing that the power that they give to each and everyone of us by their actions will be what defeats them. I didn't recall the date when the people came out of the pines in 1990, but when I noticed the date tonight when watching the show, and realized that the appeals court date is September 26th, it resounded deep within the pit of my stomach and the date echoed throughout my mind like the ripples from a rock being dropped in the lake.

Co-incidence? Who knows. Perhaps another attempt at utilizing certain dates in history in the hopes of re-creating an outcome that absolves them from having to take any responsibility for their actions. They never resolved anything then, and they have no intention of resolving anything now.

I am filled with such an unbelieveable anger at the ignorance of this so-called country of Canada and the treatment of our people that I am left with an emptiness and numbness inside. They have no remorse because they continue with the same practices today. They would rather kill us than look at what they have done to the very people who welcomed them, fed them, and who supported their very existance since their arrival. Why is it they can't see that the lands which they built their country, the resources that financed their empire, and the freedom that they enjoy today, was built on the backs of the Onkwehonweh, our ancestors. They call us criminals and terrorists and yet they forget that they are the decendants of people who were considered criminals and diseased and were sent to this continent because they were unwelcomed in their own. They are afraid to look in the mirror because they cannot handle the truth of what is staring back at them.

Today, we sit at a table and we talk, we negotiate, about trivial things like the return of a bobcat, about the noise and lights that bother our caledonia neighbours, about police buffer zones, and relationship building; and always, always it is about their needs and in the best interest of their people who are now occupying stolen lands. Since 1784 when the land was granted through the Haldimand in one hand, they stole it and gave it away from the other. Even the so called Indian Agents at the time who were suppose to be looking out for the interests of the Six Nations, were looking out solely for the interests of the squatters and their compensation of improvements that they made to the land. It is exactly the same policy they are working with today.

Never mind the fact that we didn't ask them to improve anything. We didn't ask them to come and squat on our land, and honestly, we don't give two squats on whether or not they've been compensated for it. They don't give two hoots about what they did to our people, the frauds they committed or the negligence and downright theft of the lands, our trust monies and our resources. It is and always will be what is best for, and how it serves them. Not once have they ever considered how their genocidal and assimilation practices have effected our people. Not once in their manipulative ways of frauding away our lands did they consider the effects that it would have on our environment, on our hunting and fishing and our respect and relationship with the land. Today they want us to consider our neighbours on how the land will be used and how it will effect them. Did they ever give consideration to our people when they stole our lands, built their towns and townships and left us boxed in on a little 'reserve'. Did they ask us before they stripped the earth of our trees and polluted our rivers with their industrial waste? Do they ask us as they continually develop lands that they know they have no title to. And yet they want us to consult with and work together with the people of caledonia before we even plant a tree at Kanonhstaton. They want us to bring down the flags because some people don't like the looks of them, or they find them offensive. I guess when they bring down all of their canadian flags flying around our country we may consider it. I don't know if they've learned anything or not over the past several decades. I know they hoped that by now we would have been good little Indians and succumbed to the ways of the white man because afterall, they were the dominate and better race. They had to save us from our heathenistic ways, even ordering fumigation of our community hall after any of our gatherings and ceremonies. They had to beat our children out of using our language because it was for our own good. Why, they even had to steal our children and place them in residential schools so their ministers could rape our young women and educate us to their ways to make us a better people. They had to use their guns and force to bring in their Indian Act because it would help us to govern ourselves in a way that was more appropriate and more civilized than the Kaienerekowah, the law given to us by the Creator. They had to save us from our spiritual practices because they were considered evil.

Today, that word is still being used by some when referring to our Confederacy Council and the Onkwehonweh. We are an evil people because we dare to resist colonialism and oppression. We dare to hold on to the original teachings and Law that supercedes any man made laws. We dare to uphold our obligation and responsibility that was given to us not only for our own good, but also for the good of all of Creation, including all of the other races of the world. We are an evil people because we dare to resist the Indian Act and the imposition of foreign laws by our modern day indian agents. If upholding and respecting the oldest and purest law of peace and light and love makes us evil, then I guess that is what we are.

That Indian Act is still their trump card because they're hoping that that is what will continue to divide our people. It has been working since 1924, and they are counting on that to hold true. They are counting on us to get tired of the stall tactics that they use at the negotiations. They are hoping that if they wait long enough, we'll turn on each other and this will all go away. But I have faith in the people of Six Nations. I have faith that our people will realize that this fight is not between the Confederacy and the Band Council. This is about centuries of spiritual, mental, emotional and physical abuse and manipulation. It is about the arrogance and downright superioristic attitude of a race of people who abandoned the very Peace that we are trying to protect, who turned their back on their Messenger and hung him on a cross; all for a semblance of power and righteousness. Not in the spirit of which it was intended, but in the means of dominance and control and monetary gain.

They take innocent men and women and create armies and invade other countries all in the name of Peace. They have not learned that all of the riches of the world will never give them the peace that is suppose to come from within. I am asking all of the Six Nations people and our supporters to remember and look to that Peace that is within. Remember that if we continue to walk the path that the Creator set us on this earth to do, to uphold and respect the Peace with each other as we were instructed, and to remember those 5 arrows that He bound together as ONE in UNITY; that we will succeed in our duties of protecting the future for our generations to come, and we will have honoured the Creator in doing so. It does not matter if you support the elective system or confederacy council. If you go to church or follow the traditions of the longhouse. It doesn't matter if you're Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Oneido or Onondaga, Tuscarora or any of the other Nations who have taken shelter under the umbrella of that great tree. As Onkwehonweh we have a responsibility that cannot be left to our children or our grandchildren to deal with. We are the original united nations, the keepers of Peace, and we must continue to inflict peacein whatever we do. Having said all that, I only have one thing left to say, Peace on you Canada!

Hazel



Sunday, September 17, 2006

September 16th Update from Hazel Hill

I received this update from Hazel Hill on September 16th. As i sometimes do, i have taken the liberty to add a few paragraph breaks in the text for readability:

Sago from Grand River.  Today was our 200th day on the Land Reclamation of Kanonhstaton.  

Interestingly enough, it was also the day that CBC aired Part 1 of the movie "Indian Summer, the Oka Crisis".  To say the least, it was definitely a good reminder of how things work for our people.  It brought to surface all of the feelings we've all been having for the last 200 days right up to the forefront again.  There is alot of similarities in what happened in 1990 to what's happening today and it is hard to watch to say the least.  Watching this first part leaves me wondering what's going to happen.  There is no question that our people have learned from the past.  The question really is, has the government of Canada?  I know that our people never forget, and seeing the backdoor meetings of the government officials, watching the treatment of our people by the SQ, and witnessing the racist behaviours of the people in Chatequay are not much different than what's happening today.  It really makes you think about what really is going on.  The resolve of the people is no different.  The focus of title and jurisdiction and the Sovereignty of the Haudenesaunee is forefront in the minds of all who have made this stance.

We have our delegates meeting with representatives of the Crown and they are meeting in good faith, but it does bring to question whether or not the Crown has a real understanding of the enormity of this reclamation, and the support of the Onkwehonweh around the world.  At the last meeting of the main table I requested that each of the parties involved in the negotiation process watch this movie.  I asked because from our perspective we knew that the tactics of the government of canada and the similarities of the negotiation process haven't changed much.  I wanted them to understand that to our people, the land is as important as the air we breathe.  We are part of the land.  There is no separation.

We have gone through the demands of removing the barricades and we have gone through the backpeddling of the government on promises made, and then changed or broken to suit their needs.  We are continually being met with demands of disengagement when we ultimately know that when we walk away from the land, they will walk away from the table.  It does not take a genious to figure out that our Confederacy representatives are at the table because of our reclamation. It also doesn't take a genious to figure out that all the while they are negotiating with our Chiefs and delegated representatives of the people, that behind closed doors they are making simulataneous deals with individuals of the illegal entity known as the band council and are strategizing on how to get our people off the land so that they can go back to working with the party they created as an arm of the federal government.  

Elected Chief Dave General has made it clear that he does not support the reclamation and ultimately does not support the people. He continually pushes the land exploration process that the government of canada has designed that does nothing to have the land returned to our people, does nothing to recognize or hold accountable the Crown for the theft, nor does it address the underlying title and jurisdiction; but instead offers minimal monetary compensation that secures nothing for the future generations.  

Now mind you, not all of the band councillors are party to this deceit.  Some of them are working just as hard and have recognized the need to have the Confederacy deal with the long out-standing theft of our land and the misappropriation of our trust because they recognize that they are the only ones who can represent our treaties and our sovereignty.  This is something that our people have waited over 80 years to be able to deal with.  Not with the interference of the Crown, but within the Six Nations ourselves.  It is the governance of Six Nations.  

The initial meeting to begin that process will happen tomorrow morning.  We will begin the long process of hashing out and undoing the mess that was created by the undeniable interference of the Crown in our internal affairs.  From my perspective, there is no doubt that the only true government of the Haudenesaunee lies within the Great Law, and that is with the people.  The avenue from which the Confederacy Council takes it's direction.  The band council is and always will be an administrative body.   That should be it's only function. It mimics canada's parliament and does not truly represent the people.  It is the people within Six Nations who have to make that position loud and clear.  It is not for Ottawa to decide.  

Recently I was given documentation from someone who's uncle had kept for years.  It was a declaration of resistance by the people at Six Nations against the illegal imposition and invasion of the Imperial Government of Great Britain in their attempt to impose foreign made laws upon us.  This document and petition was dated in July of 1923 and had the signatures of 100's of our people.  It was definitely a voice stronger and larger than the 9 or so signatures of people who the crown used to bring in their Indian Act council in 1924.  It really makes it clear that back then, just as now, the crown will use a minority of people who they can manipulate or buy to suit their needs.  

Today, we have to show the crown that their interference in our side of the Two Row will no longer be tolerated.  We have international recognition for our Sovereignty as a Nation and must utilize that recognition and demand the Crown uphold it's responsibilites not only to the treaties but also in its responsibility of having created the situation we are in today.    

As far as whats been happening at the site, things have been relatively quiet.  There have been a few incidents of individuals from the Caledonia Citizens Alliance trying to create violence by taking down signs along the roadway in front of the site, and trying to come into the site on the pretense of having a picnic and in the spirit of peace, in the meantime being intoxicated and ultimately looking for a fight. Their latest move was a letter written to Premier McGuinty requesting permission to have a 20,000 person rally on the land at Kanonhstaton on October 15th.  Their reasoning?  "The Indians have had use of the land for 6 months, we're entitled to 1 day".  They've invited Jane Stewart, the lead Provincial negotiator to partake in their plans, but we have been told that she declined because of her involvement in the peaceful negotiation process.  

It would be good if the canadian government reminded the CCA that the land at Kanonhstaton is not public land.  It is being held in trust by the Province at this time, yes, but it has been reclaimed by the people of Six Nations.  

We have remained peaceful, in spite of the gossip and rumours pegging us as terrorists, and we will continue our unarmed reclamation of our land while this process continues.  The whole issue of lights and noise, atv's, fireworks and police buffer zones continues to take precedence over the land at the table, even though we have respected the concerns of our Caledonia neighbours months ago, and even created a buffer zone well in excess of 100'  which our people have respected, but the government fails to recognize.  They want it in writing.  Well, we all heard how that plan works.  Continually demand further encroachments of police lines until they have you boxed in.  Wasn't that Bourassa's plan in 1990?  Whichever government rep it was, we're not buying into it.  The 100' buffer zone exists.  All the Crown has to do is remind the individuals within caledonia who haven't respected it.  

The OPP have told the government that it is a policing issue.  They  have also re affirmed our position that we have been most respectful of boundaries, there are no incidents of loud noises, atv's driving around all night, or lights being shone in windows.  The only threat of violence is coming from the CCA.  It could be just another of those government tactics to justify an invasion, or it could be individuals who don't have an understanding or respect for the truth.  Whatever and whoever it is, the onus is on the crown to deal with it.  It is clearly on their side of the wampum and if nothing else has been learned to date, our delegates have been consistent in reminding the crown exactly how that Two Row is suppose to work.  

Today CCA representative Jim Smith and a few others held a protest against the OPP and what their terming as a "two-teared" justice system. I don't know if they meant 'two-tiered' but again I have to admit, Jim Smith is absolutely right.  That justice system that he refers to is two-tiered and biased.  The only people being charged are from Six Nations, inspite of overwhelming evidence and facts clearly indicating that the violence and openly admitted possible use of weapons as a resolve, is coming from within the CCA.   I think 1 Caledonian compared to over 50 or more from Six Nations has been charged so I guess Jim's claim's that the Onkwehonweh have been receiving 'special treatment' are true to a certain degree.  It's just that, that treatment of the Onkwehonweh, is nothing new, special, nor is it surprising.  It just is.

It would  be good if some of the people who truly believe in justice, who truly want to see racism and violations of human rights be stopped, and who truly believe in a peaceful resolution process; begin calling Jane Stewart, Dalton McGuinty, Stephen Harper, Barbara McDougal and Jim Prentice just to name a few, and demand that the idiotness of the 20,000 person rally be stopped immediately to prevent a possibly volatile situation, and that the Federal Government pull up its briches and begin taking an active role in this resolution process and stop passing everything off over to the Province.  As duly representatives of the Crown, and as recently pointed out to me, representatives of Her Majesty's Privy Council, it is not a choice, it is an obligation.    

In Peace, Love and Light,
Hazel  



Saturday, September 09, 2006

September 7th Update from Hazel Hill

Good Morning from Grand River.  The sun has just peaked over the tree line and the world is looking beautiful and serene.  Inside my house everyone is busy getting ready for school and work.  Bus schedules are getting used to and the need of school fee's for art, drama, science, music etc. is being discussed while lunches are being prepared.  That little glance outside is a gentle reminder, and helps bring about the balance inside of me, for the sometime chaos we feel in life.   But that is the type of chaos we would never do without.  The simplist things in life that might at times feel like chaos, but they are exactly what and who makes this life worthwhile.  Our children, and the time that we get to spend with them.  The time that while we may think we're teaching them all the valuable lessons in life, they are in fact teaching us.  As I watch them go off to school and think about the sacrifices even they are making for the future of our people, I am filled with pride but also sorrow.  How much of 'our' time has been taken away for meetings and interviews and time spent on site.  In the end when we talk about it, we can all agree that we would have it no other way.

Yes, school is back in and all of the concerns about the school nearest the reclamation site have been voiced, from parents who feel threatened by our presence, to others who claim the terrorism and violence has put the fear of life into their children.  But when the school bell rings, and the silence echoes through the site and school yard, i have to wonder what exactly is there to fear.  I was always told the only thing to fear, is fear itself..........and of course the boogey man.  I never once thought that I was going to be the boogey man!   The fact of the matter is, the boogey man is being created in the minds of a few who, like when we were children, let their imaginations get the better of them, start telling their friends the made up stories in their head, they in turn tell their friends, who tell their friends, and so on until pretty soon the story is has now become quite a tale and is presented as factual and posted on their blog site.  What makes it worse, is people also report to newspapers as if it were facts and rather than check it out or try to verify it, the papers run it!  We had our side table talks interrupted on Tuesday because the minister was 'scrummed' with gossip about the school yard fence that was being built having been halted because the workers were threatened by the people on the site.  But action on the site spoke a different story.  The workers were busy cementing in the posts, police were on hand watching the work progress, and our security went over to verify that none of the workers had been bothered and to make sure everything was ok.   The newspaper who printed the story about work being stopped obviously didn't go and gather the facts, they printed what was going to sell their papers.  And that has been what we've been dealing with since the reclamation began.  No matter how we try to get the truth from our perspective out there, we are overwhelmed with gossip, rumours and fairy tales about how the poor people of Caledonia have had enough of the noise, lights and visibility of those 'terrorists' or 'occupiers' at the site. Gossip and rumours. These are the things that hamper our daily lives.  But it is also what has plagued the actual Truth about the reclamation from being printed, and unfortunately,  it is also what that the three panel of judges will be looking at when it is determined whether or not the appeal should be granted.  And that my friends, is exactly what is being counted on.  If the judges squash the appeal because of whats being printed, then the negotiation process has in effect been stopped, and it is only a matter of time before the opp or whatever armed force is ordered to remove us from our land.

   I want to take a minute to share a bit of what hasn't been printed and what is really going on.  Last Thursday, Ministers Ramsay and Prentice released a joint letter, through the media, to Chief Alan MacNaughton and our Confederacy Council demanding that the atv's stop, the noise stop, the fireworks stop and the lights stop at the site.  It was a political tactic to gain votes, but it was also a tactic to give the impression to the rest of the world watching that this is actually what is happening on the site, continuously!  First of all, the men and women's council at Kanonhstaton have already reduced patrols, have been respectful of neighbours, have pretty much respected and addressed every concern that is brought to our attention by the OPP or the provincial and federal reps at the negotiating table and we do so immediately.  We have counselled over many issues, and have even had to ask some of our own people who have violated that peace to remove themselves from the site.  We are doing our best to conduct ourselves in accordance of the Kaienerekowah.  But what happens when our concerns are put to the other side.  Who brings those people to task?  Since the release of the ministers letter which in effect threatens the peaceful negotiation process on Thursday, we have been on a continual yellow alert.  Friday night we received a telephone call from the OPP advising us that two busloads of non-supporters were headed our way from Hamilton.  Caledonia residents were shooting off fireworks randomly, and people began gathering at the Canadian Tire plaza and Tim Hortons again.   Saturday night it was pretty much the same with a report of 40 or more carloads of people threatening similar action.  An Onkwehonweh couple who stopped in at Tim Hortons for an evening cup of tea which they were trying to enjoy in their vehicle, had a woman with a video camera in their face presumably to get 'evidence' that they were somehow threatening their lives by being there, and another Onkwehonweh woman who was trying to enjoy a meal in Ancaster overheard a conversation of another non-native party who mentioned 'give me 15 good men and there won't be an Indian problem and I have my alibi because my wife will verify that I was home all evening'.   Around the same time, the Globe and Mail runs a story in which Caledonia resident Steven Tong was quoted as saying that he has his gun out with the safety off, ready to use it on the protestors at the site.  Meantime, Mayor Trainer is on national televsion stating that two women from Haldimand Township come into her office making a similar statement about the use of weapons if the government isn't going to remove the people from the site, they will.  Exactly who is threatening the safety of the people not only on the site, but also the children that they claim to be protecting and the people in their neighbourhood. And again, who is taking these people to task for their threats.  The threat of violence is real, but it is not coming from the people on the site.  The ministers who jointly made the demands of our confederacy council had better take a look in their own backyard and get that message out to their own people including MP's such as Toby Barrett who I understand was right amongst the people who were gathering on the week-end to take matters into their own hands.  

  Which brings me to a request from Kanonhstaton.  We're asking all of you who are supporting the PEACEful negotiation process, to bombard all of your MP's offices, the Ministers' offices, the Prime Minsters office, the lead negotiators Jane Stewart and Barbara McDougal, and any and all government offices including the Governor General and the Queen, with letters demanding that these threats of violence by Caledonia citizens and their supporters be addressed, and that Canada uphold their responsibilities to the Treaties that have been handed them through the Crown.  The reclamation of our land and all of the fraudulent land transfers and sales of  Onkwehonweh land will only be addressed if the people of Canada and all of our world wide support demand that Canada take responsibility for its' actions.  We didn't create the situation, we are only trying to rectify it, for our children and future generations.  We have taken action and have re-claimed land that is rightfully ours.  We are there in Peace, and have been since February 28th.  Now that the Crown has finally recognized and agreed that the land at Kanonhstaton is in fact on the table and needs to be addressed, they also need to hear from their constituents that so too is the honour of the Crown.  Will Canada allow the hatred and violent displays of racisim of its citizens to continue and possibly create another Ipperwash, or will it use the lessons of the past to ensure that the violence stops and admit to their citizens that it is through their own actions and abuse of assumed power that we are in this situation today.

In Peace, Love and Light,
Hazel