On July 3, the Haudenosaunee of the Grand
River held a Land Back Lane Unity Concert at
Kanonhstaton to celebrate their win in another
battle in defence of their treaty and hereditary
rights. The concert was held after Foxgate
Developments announced on July 1 that it was
abandoning its project to build a 25-acre
subdivision of some 200 homes on lands of the
Haudenosaunee of the Grand River. William Liske,
chief legal officer for Lesani Homes, which
along with Ballanty Homes are partners in
Foxgate, informed that "after a full year, it
has become evident that the court orders (two
injunctions, banning the land defenders from the
property) will neither be honoured or enforced."
Foxgate remains adamant that it owns the land on
the basis of the "land title system" which is
not recognized by the sovereign Haudenosaunee
people who have fought for more than 200 years
to protect and steward the land for themselves
and for future generations.
For more than 350 days the land defenders
occupied the Foxgate Developments building site,
naming it 1492 Land Back Lane, and held their
ground against the Canadian state, its police
and courts and upheld the treaty and hereditary
rights to their lands and sovereignty. More than
256 charges have been laid by police against the
land defenders and their allies and the cost of
policing the Indigenous fighters has been in
excess of $16 million.
The Trudeau government which was duty-bound to
intervene to assist the Haudenosaunee in their
just struggle instead turned a blind eye when
the Ford Government in Ontario unleashed the
police and the courts to intimidate and
criminalize the land defenders. It has also come
to light that the Canadian Security Intelligence
Service has been monitoring the land defenders
as "a potential threat to national security."
The cowardly Trudeau Liberals refused to meet
with the Haudenosaunee so that a political
solution could be worked out.
The firm stand of the land defenders forced
Foxgate Developments to cancel the project.
Kanonhstaton where the Land Back Lane Unity
Concert was held on July 3, is the former
"Douglas Creek Estate" lands which the land
defenders and their allies, including
steelworkers from USW Local 1005, successfully
reclaimed in 2006. The news of this "win number
two" was met with great enthusiasm by the more
than 200 people who attended the concert.
Ironworker Skyler Williams, a participant in
the 2006 battle and spokesperson for the land
defenders at 1492, welcomed everyone to the Land
Back Lane concert. He pointed out that the broad
financial, political and other support and
solidarity of workers and allies across the
country, and the firm conviction of the land
defenders had resulted in victory. He thanked
everyone for their support and pointed out that
while this is "a victory that we are celebrating
today," the battle continues. Williams had
pointed out to the local press earlier that
without the consent of the Haudenosaunee, any
development project will be met with resistance.
He called the victories, in 2006 and now in
2021, "incremental wins" in a "generational
struggle" for Indigenous rights and said that
the work is only beginning. "This is the very
foot of the mountain," he said.
During the almost one year that the land
defenders have reclaimed Land Back Lane, they
have planted a small orchard and built cabins
for accommodation. When they heard the news that
215 children's remains had been found in
unmarked graves on the grounds of the Kamloops
Residential School, the land defenders planted
three white pines to honour them and dedicated
their orchard to future generations.
The Land Back Lane Unity Concert featured
internationally renowned Indigenous musicians
such as Tom Wilson and Blaine Bomberry and
spoken word artists Kahsenniyo Williams, Layla
Black and others who stood firmly with the land
defenders and affirmed their continued support
in the battles to come.
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 8 - August 1, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/M510086.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
