Two Row Times, August 19, 2020

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THE SPIRIT OF ALL NATIONS WEDNESDAY August 19th, 2020 | www.tworowtimes.com | 519-900-5535 | Grand River Territory | FREE

Elected Council issues public apology to Police STAFF REPORT

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OHSWEKEN — Six Nations of the Grand River elected leadership issued a public apology to Steve Williams, Six Nations Police Commissioner and are backtracking on a call for his resignation. On June 24, SNGREC sent a notice to media and published a public statement on their social media accounts — calling for the immediate resignation of the Police Commissioner. “We want to ensure accountability and transparency and make it clear that there can be no conflict of interest, or perceived or otherwise in such important roles,” said the statement. “As we move forward, it is important that we have the trust of the community that we will make difficult decisions in order to develop and build stronger services in our community.” Williams said he was stunned by the public call for his resignation and said there was no reason Wherever you are, given by the elected council we’re here. explaining why he should resign. Talk. Text. Chat. all across Ontario. OnNow August 12 SNGREC issued a public apology to Williams saying, “The Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council sincerely

apologizes to Steve Williams for publicly calling for his resignation as Six Nations Police Commission Chair. Mr. Williams is a well-respected member of our community, with a long and diverse record of service to the community, including as a former Elected Chief. The Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council values Mr. Williams’s abundance of experience, knowledge and commitment to serving the community’s needs and interests. In particular, we look forward to working closely and collaboratively with Mr. Williams and his colleagues on the Police Commission as we embark together on a governance review of the Six Nations Police Service in order to better meet the community’s policing needs. In that spirit of collaboration, the Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council has agreed to donate $10,000.00 in Mr. Williams’s name to a charitable organization of his choice.” Members of the Six Nations community openly criticized the situation on the SNGREC Facebook page, saying the public call for Williams resignation was irresponsible and has now resulted in community money being spent on legal fees and apology donations.

Day 30 at Landback Lane STAFF REPORT

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In a August 18th Facebook update Skyler Williams an unofficial spokesperson for the McKenzie Road camp says that they have been discussing opening the roadways. The land defenders have dubbed their encampment "Landback Lane." "Thirty days later and we have managed to remain. Thanks to a huge part of our community stepping forward to say police violence will not be tolerated against ur people. Today the police pressure is focused on the roads that cross our lands. Decisions need to be made that

A game of lacrosse was held at Landback Lane on the weekend. Activists and land defenders have been occupying the site since mid-July. PHOTO SKYLER WILLIAMS FACEBOOK PAGE

respect everybody’s ideas on a path forward. Decisions are hard with a gun pointed at your people’s head, after rubber bullets rang passed their ears. We need this to be a rallying cry for unity and consensus building. Our building pushes on and our roof materials are on the way this afternoon.

Camp was hit hard by wind and rain yesterday, but we are here with no plans of leaving. People continue to add to our legal and build funds. I must send a big thank you to those that have donated. If you would like to donate, we have a gofundme or etransfer is landback6nations@gmail.com."

a.m. on Tuesday morning. A passerby reported that there was a person believed to be inside the building. That person was located and safely got out of the house. In a statement SNP said that a second person was believe to be inside the resident — however a search turned up no further people in the home. The second person believed to be inside the burning home was later located at a different

location. The Chief’s home suffered major fire and smoke damage. OPP and the Ontario Fire Marshall were on scene throughout most of Tuesday investigating the cause of the fire. Anyone with information can contact Six Nations Police at 519445-2811 or contact CRIME STOPPERS 1-800222-8477 (TIPS) or www. crimestoppers-brant.ca

Police investigating the cause of fire at home on Sixth Line STAFF REPORT

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OHSWEKEN — The home of Six Nations Elected Chief Mark Hill was engulfed in flames Tuesday morning. Now Six Nations Police say they are investigating with the Ontario Fire Marshall into the cause of the fire. Police said in a statement the house fire was reported at around 8:23

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