Six Nations claim: Lost lands

· On Oct. 25, 1784, Sir Frederick Haldimand, the Captain General and Governor-in-Chief for Upper Canada, signed a deed for land in what would later become southern Ontario for the Five Nations. [Later Tuscarora joined to create the Six Nations.] The Haldimand deed assigned land "six miles deep" on both sides of the Grand River from its source in south-central Ontario to its mouth at Lake Erie. The Haldimand Tract originally covered 955,000 acres.

· The land grant was made as compensation for the loss of the six-million-acre homeland taken by the United States in the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York after the American War of Independence. The Five Nations (Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Cayuga and Onondaga) had fought on the British side in the Revolutionary War, which led to the creation of the United States in 1776. The land was a reward for Five Nations' loyalty to the Crown and a gesture of appreciation for the military support offered voluntarily by the Indigenous peoples in defense of the realm.

· Shortly after the Haldimand Proclamation was made, John Graves Simcoe, Governor General of Upper Canada, issued the Simcoe Patent that limited the Haldimand Tract to 275,000 acres, of the original 955,000 acres, for the exclusive use of the Six Nations. That meant the other 720,000 acres would be leased, surrendered or sold.

· About 302,000 acres were mortgaged for 999 years to create an annual source of income for the care and maintenance of the Six Nations. It's been only 122 years since the proclamation.

· Another 49,800 acres were mortgaged for a similar length of time and a similar purpose. Under the current process, where the federal Crown decides which land claims against it are acceptable and which are not, the Crown accepts as valid the claim of only 30,800 acres of this transaction. The remaining 19,000 acres of Six Nations' land are lost forever with no compensation.

· An additional 112,689 acres were surrendered by Six Nations for sale. Proceeds were to be accounted for and invested by the Indian Department and a Crown-appointed trustee for the benefit of Six Nations.

· 19,180 acres (including the Port Dover Plank Road lands, which are involved in the current dispute) were leased for short-terms. They were 21-year leases with seven-year renewals.

· In all, Six Nations lost at least 125,000 acres without a full record provided by the Crown.

Lost monies
(Examples of investments by the Crown using Six Nations' funds:)

· 1834: $4,000 used to offset government's debt. There is no record of repayment.

· 1845: $14,717.58 was used to offset government's debt. Again, with no record of repayment.

· 1851: $8,000 used by municipal council of Haldimand. No repayment is recorded.

· 1847: $1,000 was transferred to Law Society of Upper Canada. No repayment recorded.

· Additional loans, with no repayment recorded, to McGill University, the City of Toronto, Simcoe District Council, Public Works Canada and additional Crown debts. Six Nations' research suggests a number of large public projects were funded with money from their trust accounts, without repayment.

Legislated repression
In 1907, Six Nations hired lawyer A.G. Chisholm to pursue the Grand River Navigation Company for improper use of Six Nations' monies. This company ran shipping traffic up and down the Grand River but eventually went broke. It accessed Six Nations' funds held in trust by the Crown without Six Nations' permission. The Crown interceded against Six Nations' attempts to pursue legal means of redress and stalled until it passed Section 141 of the 1927 Indian Act. That amendment made it illegal for anyone to hire a lawyer, create a fund or provide money to a First Nation to pursue a claim. That Canadian law stayed in effect until the section was repealed in 1951. Since the Crown acknowledged an obligation to recognize claims, Six Nations has filed 29. Just one, the CNR settlement, has been finalized with 250 acres returned to the territory. Another 28 claims, recognized by the Crown as legitimate, remain. And more may be filed.