CANADIAN POLITICS:

BRANTFORD LAND CLAIMS- THE TRUTH BEHIND THE HEADLINES:

Over the past few years the land claims of the Mohawk First Nation residing near Brantford Ontario have been in the news frequently as the Province of Ontario and the Six nation's community have faced off repeatedly. This coming Thursday, May 15, there will be a public lecture in Brantford putting forth what has often been obscured by the fireworks, the truth behind the claims. If you live down that way try and catch it. here's the announcement from the Autonomy and Solidarity site.

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Brantford land claims - the true history behind the headlines
What: An informative lecture and Q&A time with 30 year veteran of Six Nations land claims research Phil Monture and other leaned special guests.

When: Thursday, May 15, 2008, beginning at 7 pm.

Where: At the BCI Auditorium, Brant Ave. Brantford.
Why: Without the truth, it will be impossible to understand why Six Nations are blocking development in Brant/Brant County and elsewhere.

DID YOU KNOW:
*Did you know that more than 50% of the present Six Nations land and resources disputes registered with Canada involve Brantford or Brant County?
*Did you know there are dozens more yet to be filed?
*Did you know that since 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada has ordered the federal and provincial governments of Canada as well as municipalities and developers to engage in meaningful consultation and accommodation with First Nations where contested land land claims or treaty rights are concerned?
*Did you know that the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 recognized and affirms Aboriginal Rights and Treaties?
*Did you know that only 807 acres of Brantford is accounted for, and most of that has yet to be paid to the people of Six Nations?
*Don’t believe it? Come and hear the real truth behind the settlement of Brant County and the expansionism policies of today’s City Hall.
*Find out where is the Johnson Settlement is; Eagles Nest; Burtch Tract; Onondaga Township; Martin’s Tract; Oxbow; Oneida Township; Grand River Navigation Co. Tow Path; the Nathan Gage Tract; the original Brantford Town Plot, and many more important areas of Brant County in need of settlement of 200 years of historic claims of ownership by the Crown, Canada, Ontario and Brantford.
Background:
TRUE is a growing Brantford based citizens group, seeking knowledge, justice and understanding of our responsibilities towards our Six Nations neighbours, according to the Two Row Wampum Treaty.

“The Truth is a hard thing that gets even harder with every year it is kept bound and gagged in a dark room, away from the eyes of decent people,” says Marilyn Vegso and Jim Windle, cofounders of TRUE (Two Row Understanding through Education). “That is why we began this series of lectures designed to reveal the real truth and gain a Six Nations perspective on the historical relationship Brantford has had with its Six Nations neighbours over the past 200 years.”

Previous TRUE lectures covered the two Row Wampum Treaty and it’s significance today, and Kevin Annett’s revelations of Residential School murders of thousands of Native children in Canada’s Secret Holocaust.

“This movement is growing as more and more non-Native people begin to hear the truth and are as appalled as we were when we discovered the history we weren’t taught in school,” says Vegso. “It is incumbent upon us to acknowledge what our government has done and to make it right. That’s our responsibility under the Two-Row.”

With all the talk and headlines about how Six Nations protection against the development of contested Six Nations’ land, TRUE has cut to the chase and is hosting what could be one of the most important and informative meeting of their series to date.

Brantford land claims - the true history behind the headlines with 30 year Six Nations land claims researcher Phil Monture and present Six Nations lands and resources manager, lawyer, and researcher Lonny Bomberry, along with other recognized Six Nations’ historians.

Monture has dedicated his entire life to finding the truth behind what has become Canada’s most pressing domestic issue. The wanton theft of Indian lands and resources is creating a formula for disaster which can be avoided, if we have the courage to face the truth and do something about it.

This meeting is guaranteed to be an bitter and inconvenient pill to swallow for most, but until we are cured of our short sighted arrogance, addiction to tax dollars, and the destruction of irreplaceable farm lands, we are on a collision course with not only the original people protectors of the land, but with nature herself.