Two Row Times, March 15, 2023

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Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council still not agreeing to cleaning up raw sewage spill from Hamilton waterway Province

looks to appeal new deadline

NAHNDA GARLOW nahnda@tworowtimes.com

TWO ROW TIMES

HAMILTON — The city of Hamilton was given an accelerated deadline to clean up the sewage sediment sitting at the bottom of Chedoke Creek — and is now appealing to the province for more time, in part due to delays by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council.

Ontario initially granted Hamilton until December 2023 to finish dredging the creek but has now rolled that date up and says Hamilton now has until the end of August 2023 to clean up the waterway.

A total of 24 billion litres of raw sewage spilled into the creek, over a period of four years. The spill was kept quiet by Hamilton City Council and was revealed by a 2019 Hamilton Spectator investigation. That spill led to Ontario ordering the city to clean up the mess.

Now, Hamilton City Council says they won’t meet the new August deadline and in a closed Special Council meeting March 9, voted 6-5 to submit an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

In a statement, Hamilton said while they are

ready to do the work they “cannot guarantee that the in-water portion of the dredging work is achievable by the revised deadline”.

In part, the city’s Water Director Nick Winters, says that deadline extension request is needed due to an inability to reach an environmental monitoring agreement between Hamilton and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council. Winters says additional factors such as weather, staffing and other things outside of the city’s control make

the new August deadline unachievable.

Work was tentatively set to begin again in July 2023 to be complete by the end of October.

Six Nations, Mississaugas of the Credit, the HCCC and the Huron-Wendat Nation are all required to provide environmental monitors to the project in order for the city of Hamilton to acquire the needed permits to begin work.

Six Nations Elected Chief Mark Hill said he was disappointed to hear that Hamilton was unable

to meet the new deadline to get the contamination removed from Chedoke Creek.

“Six Nations wants to see this important environmental cleanup project begin without any further delays. That is why Six Nations is in talks with both Hamilton and Ontario officials, hoping to bring them together with a good mind to agree on a speedy timeline to cleanup our common environment,” said Hill in an emailed statement to TRT “Six Nations consultations officials investigated Ham-

ilton’s proposed sewage spill cleanup plan months ago and strongly approved the project, so we should no longer allow the tactics of a few unaccountable individuals to derail our responsibility to the environment.”

Mississaugas of the Credit Chief Gimaa Laforme said “Our greatest concern is the impact to Mother Earth, and we appreciate the City understanding the obligation First Nations have as the original owners and stewards of the lands

HCCC member Roger Silversmith spoke to reporters at a press conference in 2022, saying the hereditary leaders had "no idea" why Six Nations elected Chief Mark Hill sent a letter to local muncipalities informing them the elected council is the only entity legally able to represent Six Nations band members. Two months prior, Silversmith and nine others directed the Haudenosaunee Development Institute to launch a legal fight declaring the HCCC at Grand River the governement of all Haudenosaunee people, remove the elected council from the Six Nations land claim case -- and have the HCCC named the sole beneficiary of all financial compensation.

Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council still not agreeing to cleaning up raw sewage spill from Hamilton waterway

and waters. Given our Environmental Monitoring Agreement, and that the City of Hamilton is covered by the Between the Lakes Treaty (No. 3) signed between the Missisaugas of the Credit and the Crown, we believe there should not be any delays and to begin discussions with the MCFN as soon as possible.”

Last year, in October 2022, Hamilton disclosed that while the province of Ontario was requiring them to work with the surrounding First Nations communities to clean up the creek — the HCCC was not willing to enter into environmental monitoring agreements in the same capacity as the other First Nations. Instead, the HCCC’s chosen representative, Aaron Detlor, via the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, demanded over $350,000 from Hamilton and wanted the city to change development protocols that would see all construction in the city need to be approved by the hereditary chiefs of Six

Nations.

That was something that Winters says the city of Hamilton was not willing to do, and did not have the capacity to offer even if it did want to.

As a result, HDI was reported to have sent protesters to the worksite to obstruct workers and equipment, making an unsafe work environment for those brought in to clean up the creek. As a result the cleanup efforts were halted.

Detlor outlined in emails to the city that HDI needed capacity funding from the city of Hamilton to cover costs of 39 individuals placed “on standby” at a cost of $15,000 a day totalling an additional $585,000.

Winters told reporters that he had contact with Detlor on March 7 to discuss the proposed environmental monitoring agreement Hamilton was proposing to the HCCC — an agreement that lays out the same terms that are involved in the monitoring agreements with three First Nations communities: Mississaugas of the

Credit First Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River and the Huron-Wendat Nation.

Winters says Detlor had “concerns” about the proposed agreements but says that Detlor did not outline what those concerns were and did not commit to a meeting date to discuss them.

“As a public servant working at the municipal level its a challenging situation for us to navigate. Because we do see the requirement on an ongoing project-by-project basis given to us that we engage with, in this area, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Huron-Wendat Nation, the Six Nations of the Grand River as well as with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy through their representatives the HDI. And that’s anytime we issue an environmental assessment and get a notice to proceed from the province that will be identified in the direction to the city with regards to what engagement, what parties with the indigenous nations to engage with,” said

Winters.

Winters says that both the province of Ontario and Hamilton City Council have directed their staff to work with HDI as one of four entities entitled to putting environmental monitors on the creek cleanup — along with several other projects happening in the city.

“The other challenge that we have here in Hamilton and specifically on this project is we have direction from our city council that was received last September to work towards environmental monitoring agreements with those same four entities. And as staff its our role and responsibility to follow that direction that is directed by city council,” said Winters.

To date Winters says that none of the financial demands from Detlor have been paid by the city of Hamilton regarding the Chedoke Creek cleanup — but says that there have been several previous agreements between Hamilton and the HDI on other projects where there has been a financial

component.

The HDI, its directors, its numbered provincial corporation and financial management corporation are currently being sued by Six Nations band members pursing a class action lawsuit alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and oppression - both claims which have been acknowledged as having merit by Justice R.A. Lococo. That case was headed to court on March 10 but was rescheduled to later this month.

Additionally — Six Nations Elected Chief Mark Hill sent a letter in July 2022 alerting municipalities along the Grand River tract that Six Nations elected council is the only entity legally entitled to represent the interests of Six Nations band members.

That letter sent municipalities looking to Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford for clarification on who they should be talking to when it comes to Six Nations — the elected council or the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The Minister did not

answer questions posed to him by press about that issue at a recent green energy project announcement on Six Nations.

Haldimand County sought clarification from the Minister at the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association where they were met with no response.

In late February, Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi-Ann Brady also raised the issue in the Ontario Legislature, asking Minister Rickford for clarification.

Rickford said that he is working with the community’s elected leadership on a communications protocol that will establish clarity — and that he is aligned with Six Nations Elected Chief Mark Hill’s declaration that who speaks for the Six Nations people is not an issue that should be determined by external governments but is an internal governance issue that needs to be resolved at the community level by the people of Six Nations.

Hereditary chiefs have not been briefed on risks to plants, wildlife during delays cleaning Chedoke Creek

NAHNDA GARLOW nahnda@tworowtimes.com

HAMILTON – The city of Hamilton’s water director says no one from Hamilton has been given the opportunity to explain to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council the risks and growing negative impacts on the natural world around Chedoke Creek if the project is delayed any longer..

In an interview with Two Row Times, Nick Winters, water director for the city of Hamilton says he does not believe the chiefs have been briefed on the current state of the waterway at all..

“It’s been very challenging to get into any conversations about the project and the real goals and what is being done to protect the species that are there,” said Winters.

Winters says he has not been given an opportunity, nor have city ecologists studying the waterway, had the chance to explain

to Six Nations hereditary chiefs the nature of the contamination present in the creek, or to explain how it will be cleaned and the risks involved in further delays to cleaning it up.

“Anytime you are trying to reach the Confederacy, even if you are contacting other members of the HDI, you get steered back to Aaron Detlor,” said Winters.

“You tend to get challenged with the same responses all the time which is that ‘you haven’t consulted’, ‘we have concerns from a treaty rights perspective’ but then when you try to engage and ask what the concerns are there you don’t get anything back.”

Winters explained that the critical damage comes from the sewage spilled, which is now a layer of nutrient rich sediment sitting at the bottom of the creek. That sediment has high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus – two nutrients that are throwing off the normal and natural balance of that waterway.

High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus can create a system where dangerous algae blooms begin to grow and deplete the waters of oxygen, creating a domino effect and further degradation to the entire ecosystem.

“Velocity of flow through the creek brings nutrients out, and when they become biologically available algae grows and that can cause oxygen depletion. That can have impacts on all manner of wildlife: fish, turtles, or other organisms,” said Winters.

Winters explained that Chedoke Creek flows into Cootes Paradise, which is home to the largest natural fish hatchery in the Great Lakes area.

“The longer an ecosystem experiences challenges such as increased nutrient loadings, it can change the balance of that ecosystem,” said Winters. “If there is an ongoing history of proliferation of excess algae growth, which leads to oxygen depletion, then native species can decide that this is not a

Six Nations releases land claim case documents

STAFF REPORT editor@tworowtimes.com

TWO ROW TIMES

OHSWEKEN — All of the materials filed to date in the Six Nations land claim litigation have now been posted online.

The website went live Friday evening. The materials include all the claims, responses, history and supporting materials submitted by Six Nations of the Grand River, Haudenosaunee Development Institute and the Six Nations Men’s Fire.

The Mississaugas of the Credit have also approached the courts as interveners but their materials are not on the website currently.

The posting of materials was a part of the courts directions regarding the case.

The land claim was

launched in 1995 by the elected council of the Six Nations reserve. It was put into abeyance, on a hold, during the negotiations following the 2006 land reclamation in Caledonia but was restarted after the elected council withdrew from those talks.

The HDI applied last fall as an intervener and is asking the courts to remove the elected council and name the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council the only party to be compensated in the claim and says the compensation is due to all Haudenosaunee people and not just the descendants of the Grand River Six Nations people.

The Men’s Fire filed to oppose the HDI claim that it speaks on behalf of all Haudenosaunee in North America. The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation say they

healthy environment.”

Degraded ecosystems can promote invasive species, like carp, in low oxygen.

“Carp stir up the bottom of the creek beds in the lake which causes other issues with sunlight to penetrate the water. It starts to displace and change the ecosystem even more,” says Winters.

Winters says there is risk that native fish would become replaced by non native species in systems of low oxygen.

He says part of the challenge with the Chedoke Creek waterway is that there are multiple factors affecting the integrity of the water – including runoff from Highway 403 and a nearby closed off landfill that has documented ammonia leachate affecting the creek. The creek also continues to receive periodic sewer overflow.

This he says makes it hard to pin down what the impacts of the nutrient rich sediment is versus the impacts of all the other issues there. Winters says

the city has implemented multiple environmental assessments at the Creek to look at options to how they can best protect Chedoke Creek and the plants and animals that call that area home.

Chedoke Creek holds 10,000 years of Iroquoian history. It is in an area known as Princess Point – one of the most ancient Indigenous gathering places and one of the most archaeologically significant areas in North America, with evidence showing it area was occupied by the Iroquois people as far back as 8000 BC all the way up to the 1650s.

Archeological studies in the 1970s revealed evidence in the area of the beginnings of maize agriculture and palisaded agricultural areas along with some of the earliest known evidence of longhouse-style living spaces.

The same traditional pathways and medicine fields that were used 10,000 years ago by the Iroquois people are still in the area, making the

Chedoke Creek ecosystem one of the oldest known and living ecosystems in Ontario, connected to one of the oldest documented findings of Iroquoian culture on-record.

This ancient ecosystem is now at risk.

Winters says the ecological evidence of contamination is starting to show. Hamilton’s ecological studies of the creek have reported the water changing from a green to brown water color. There is a decline in desirable fish species and a noted lack of biodiversity at the site. While Winters says it is extremely difficult for anyone to say what the biggest factor is in impacting those changes – if there are more delays and if clean up work cannot begin, the negative impacts could be prolific.

Winters says that further environmental assessments still need to be done on the area, and the province and Hamilton city council still say they require HDI to engage on that work.

are not pursuing financial compensation or to challenge the Six Nations entitlement to be compensated — but rather want to ensure their history is properly represented in the courts.

Lawyers for the SNGR told TRT that it is important to note the land claim will not restore lands or change governance structures or rights to any side in particular, regardless of the outcome. It is entirely a financial compensation claim at the end of the trial.

The proceedings to hear the HDI and Men’s Fire applications to intervene will be heard on Six Nations at the Gathering Place by the Grand on May 8-10, 2023.

The website is https:// sngrlitigation.com/

HDI audit from 2022 leaves more questions than answers

By Donna Duric and Nahnda Garlow

For the first time in years, the financial statements from the Haudenosaunee Development Institute are publicly available onlineand the numbers presented leave more questions than answers.

The audit became available last Friday when a massive document dump went live online after court filings were made available to the public relating to Six Nations of the Grand River’s land claim lawsuit against the Crown.

HDIs audited financial statements were a part of their response to the claims by the Men’s Fire, and the elected council that they are not financially transparent with the things they are doing on behalf of Six Nations, and now, as they claim — the entire Haudenosaunee world.

Financial statements, audited by KPMG, were included in an affidavit submitted by HDI finance officer Rick Saul. Those statements show the HDI/

HCCC financial picture is broken into four entities — 2438543 Ontario Inc, a federal corporation named Ogwawihsta Dedwasnye, HDI and the HCCC.

A total of $6.4 million in revenue was shown by HDI for 2021/2022. Saul says both the numbered company and Ogwawista collect funds from various engagement agreements the chiefs have and HDI bill those corporations to fund its accounting.

Only the accounts for HDI are included in Saul’s affidavit.

Some of the more serious revelations in the financial statements include a note that the Ogwawista corporation has paid unnamed “delegates of the Council” identified as either the HCCC Secretary Leroy “Jock” Hill or Ogwawista’s Directors — Aaron Detlor, Brian Doolittle and Kelly MacNaughton — as delegates. For 2022, one of those delegates was paid $130,000.

The Haudenosaunee Resource Centre, run by

HCCC Secretary Leroy “Jock” Hill, didn’t bring in any revenue but $261,162 was spent on salaries and benefits. Another $69,000 was also paid out in consulting and professional fees for the HRC.

The HDI says it received about $1 million in land lease revenue last year $527,000 of that went to “community language and cultural development”. Those dollars in part went to a language daycare run by HCCC Secretary Leroy “Jock” Hill — marking another spot in the financials where money flowed to Hill.

The report shows that HDI spent $338,176 setting up a “Toronto East” HDI office - with $161,412 going toward legal expenses and business development for that office. Another $113,318 went toward professional fees.

There are no details on which lawyer, legal team or firm received those funds.

HDI itself spent over $1 million in legal fees last year and $266,000 in consulting and professional

fees. It’s not specified who received those fees.

The HDI received $150,000 from the Joint Stewardship Board (a partnership with the City of Hamilton regarding the environmental protection of the Red Hill Valley) and spent $90,000 of that on salaries, benefits and contract fees. It’s not know for who.

The HDI also brought in an additional $247,250 for “pipeline monitoring” and spent $137,567 of that on salaries and benefits. The HDI also received $72,000 from farming the former Burtch lands.

The HDI brought in just over $6.4 million in revenue and spent just over $5.6 million by March 31, 2022, leaving them with a surplus of just over $811,000, according to their financial statements.

The money allocated to the HCCC, a body of 100 chiefs and clan mothers that collectively represent the Haudenosaunee hereditary government — totalled just $25,992 — about $260 bucks a person.

Saul’s affidavit reveals the HDI held a workshop in Brantford in November 2022 to discuss the financial statements with Chiefs and Clanmothers.

Saul says it is HDIs policy to leave the communications to the public about the HDI financials up to individual chiefs and clanmothers.

No capacity funding was allocated in the statements for clan families to facilitate distributing audit information or holding meetings to discuss the financials.

No funding was allocated for training for chiefs and clan mothers during the year.

Saul says it is not the practice of the HDI to post the audited financial statements online and that there is not a requirement under Haudenosaunee law, Ontario law or Canadian law requiring the HDI disclose financials publicly.

This is the root of the lack of transparency and accountability echoed in both the Six Nations of the Grand River elected

council and the Men’s Fire’s resistance to the HDIs participation in the Six Nations land claim.

Elected councils in Canada representing the interests of band members for any reserve community are held to disclosure standards set out in the First Nations Financial Transparency Act — ordering public disclosure of all funds paid to elected chiefs and councillors in a 120 day period. Non-compliance to those standards results in a financial hold on funding to that community.

HDI has never been required to disclose any financials to the public, despite acting as a representative for the Six Nations band list in it’s financial transactions with developers, municipalities and organizations.

The reports did not show any insurance costs for HDI, the HCCC or any of its corporate officers — leaving the personal liability risks to chiefs, clan mothers, HDI and any of its corporate officers unknown.

Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation mourns child’s life lost to trailer fire

put out the blaze and subsequently found a 10-year-old on the scene, deceased.

be a very challenging time and it is important to know we are not alone.

The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and surrounding communities are mourning the tragic loss of a 10-year-old child, who lost their life in an overnight fire Monday.

Crisis supports are being offered to the community as they deal with the loss and MCFN held a sacred fire last night.

Local fire crews responded to the blaze around 1:53 a.m. early Monday morning at a home on Mississauga Road (First Line Road) on the border with the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve territory.

Firefighters were met with a camping trailer fully engulfed in fire, according to a press release from Haldimand OPP.

Six Nations Fire, Six Nations Paramedics, and Haldimand Country Fire

Six other people, including two adults and four other children, were able to escape.

The Haldimand County OPP Crime Unit, the Office of the Fire Marshall, along with the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, are continuing to investigate this incident.

Victim Services of Haldimand-Norfolk-New Credit were engaged and are assisting family members and the victims involved in this incident.

Six Nations crisis teams are also offering support at this time.

Chief Stacey Laforme posted a message of condolence on his Facebook page.

“As we say baamaapii to a young one, offer our prayers to the family and remember all those that have gone before, it can

A fire has been started in front of the council house (on the MCFN reserve) if you wish to stop by to offer your thoughts and prayers.”

Six Nations Elected Chief Mark Hill also offered his condolences.

“Our community grieves with you through this sad and difficult time,” said Chief Hill. “Six Nations of the Grand River is here to support the Mississaugas of the Credit in any way we can.”

Six Nations Fire had responded immediately and attacked the fire but jurisdiction for the subsequent investigation was immediately handed over to Haldimand Fire and OPP.

MCFN said in a statement they are asking for the community’s and family’s privacy at this time.

19 APR THE CIRCLE INDIGENOUS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND

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FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

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All Tickets: Pay-What-You-Can including FREE

A gathering of Indigenous singersongwriters taking turns sharing their songs and the stories behind them in a “raw as originally written,” unplugged concert. Get tickets at firstontariopac.ca or call 905-688-0722.

Warriors exist, and the People’s Fire ever burning is the centre of the Haudenosaunee world

the newspaper yet.

As a part of my job, I regularly have to read official documents and cross reference sources to make sure that the facts are straight. Usually that is really boring work.

But this week, the bulk of the Six Nations land claim litigation documents were publicly posted for everyone to see which has been the complete opposite of boring. And some of the facts need to be checked.

Simultaneously, two projects with potential impacts to areas that have archeological evidence of being anciently tied to our ancestors — development by Sifton properties at the historic Davisville site north of Brantford, and the delayed cleanup of the Chedoke Creek raw sewage contamination near Princess Point — are both hitting significant stages in their progress.

As an editor — my eyes are trained to notice patterns and errors. Albeit sometimes I miss the odd spelling mistake. I joke with my team that is an intentional act connected to the teachings I received as a beadwork artist, leaving a misplaced letter on the page as an honour to the Creator.

Keeping on top of the local news stories means that I am also in contact with sources from a diverse collection of Indigenous folks from across the Haudenosaunee world, from many different backgrounds and perspectives, who are keeping me updated to ongoing developments that are not necessarily hitting

But before I was a newspaper editor, I was a Warrior. I was raised by a family full of Warriors and grew up in a community that was founded by Warriors.

When the Oka standoff took place I was a little girl. I watched my father and his cousins, among them one of our strongest Warrior voices — Dick Hill — work with the people at Six Nations to gather supplies to sustain the people who were behind the barricades making a stand.

That summer of 1990, our whole family pitched in. Day after day, my mother would haul all her fifty-eleven children in my dad’s construction van down to the Six Nations Community Hall. We would collect diapers, food and clothing for the people who were trapped behind the military barriers as they defended the land against a luxury development overtop the burial grounds of their ancestors.

My father was a part of a group of men who would then take those donations and make deliveries to the site and bring relief and support to the people making a stand.

When land developers wanted to deforest the Oxbow along the Grand River and threaten the integrity of that land — I watched my father and other Warriors and activists stop those developers.

When I was in high school I stood up at the Glebe alongside my father, asserting our land rights beside all the other Six Nations Warriors of the day.

I watched my father prepare agendas and carry piles of notes around when he was the secretary of the

HCCC. This was a job that was carried by our aunt Emily General. Our uncle was Deskaheh Levi General, and Emily came beside him in his advocacy, crossing the Atlantic by ship as part of a deputation sent to convey to the British monarch the oppression the people of Six Nations were feeling.

As a child, I sat with Emily her around the kitchen table snapping green beans, peeling potatoes or drinking tea. Actually, she preferred a cup of plain hot water. She would tell stories and we would listen. She was the teacher of so many on our territory and my idol. On Six Nations, we all grew up hearing the story of how she refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown to be a teacher to her own people. Something she was eventually fired for.

I spent countless nights sitting around the wood stove at my parents house meeting with visitors and family who were working together to restore the Dehatgahtos family clan structure. I’ve watched my father throughout the course of my entire life progress through his growth as a Warrior, as a land defender, and as a student learning the language. I watched him join with others on a similar path — standing up and speaking out for what is right and good and fair and honest. I watched them all rely on oral history, diplomacy and wisdom to navigate internal struggles at the traditional political level to advance and grow and restore justice to our Haudenosaunee foundation.

Together, multiple families including my own and other Warrior families,

came together as part of the Confederacy to articulate the Haudenosaunee eight points of jurisdiction. An assertion of what rightfully belongs to all Haudenosaunee people.

I am aware that my experience as a Haudenosaunee woman growing up raised with the gift of access to my relatives and our traditions is both a privilege, and similarly not stand-alone or unique. I am one of many who grew up this way. This is the story of the transfer of tradition from father to daughter, mother to son, aunty to nephew and tota to grandchild across the Warrior families of the entire Haudenosaunee world.

The Warriors who were not given the privilege of being surrounded by family teachings in childhood are double veterans. They had to fight like hell against colonial odds in a war of personal reclamation in order to get those teachings, and now carry those responsibilities.

It doesn’t matter if the lesson came from your tota, or someone else’s — the passage of our traditions from generation to generation is how we nurture the love among us and grow within the Teiotiokwaonhaston: The Circle Wampum. Where there is a natural born person among the families of the Circle, there is always a place for them within it. That is what is means to be Haudenosaunee — all our relations.

At the centre of the Hiawatha belt, there is a heart. This is the substance of the People’s Fire, which the Great Law says shall be a fire ever burning.

The love among us is our Power — we are part of a Confederacy of united and

distinct nations — Warrior families sitting together beneath the Ever-growing Tree — choosing Peace and using a Good Mind to build a better tomorrow for the coming faces.

When the land reclamation took place in 2006, both my husband and I pitched a tent and slept in the mud for months — taking a stand against development of land that was under claim.

Warriors from the north, south, east and west converged at Six Nations as a People’s Fire. After the OPP raids on April 20, I stayed at HQ, washing mud from the floors as the men from everywhere gathered together in the basement and held a council — a Men’s Fire. They heard one another out, passed perspectives across the fire and determined how they would protect the lands and the people protecting those lands.

I watched the women come together and sat beside the clan mothers and our elders at Women’s Fire discussions. I was appointed to serve as a runner for my own clan mother during those days. A responsibility I carried out for the remainder of that year.

My husband and I captured video footage during that act of reclamation and interviewed countless Warriors and elders, learning from them more about the other Haudenosaunee communities histories and their struggles to uphold our common traditions, the Great Law and examining with one another what it means to be a Warrior.

I have burned in my memory, images of people’s faces, their handles, the meals we shared and

the ceremonies we put through with other Warriors on the land to make our stand. I was with the people when they danced Ostowagowa together under the open sky. Something that was seen as a controversial act and condemned at the time by some of the more orthodox believers of the longhouse religion.

But we, the Warriors, did it. We put that ceremony through — together. Willingly unified in our diverse backgrounds.

I stayed at DCE with my husband for over a year until the summer of 2007. That was when things began to formalize between the hereditary chiefs, elected council, Canada and Ontario to progress toward negotiations to settle various land claims. It was here that the Haudenosaunee Development Institute was envisioned, and later created by a small collective of people involved in those talks — without the Warriors.

Which is a cruel irony because without the Warriors, there would be no Haudenosaunee Development Institute.

Without the Warriors there would be no Six Nations community at all, or no Canada for that matter. All of our grandfathers were the Warriors. They were the men called on by the British as desperately needed allies. It was our grandfathers who fought alongside the Crown in the American Revolution, again in the War of 1812 and again during the Rebellions of Upper Canada in 1837.

The hereditary chiefs were never the holders of our collective treaty rights. That is a colonial top-down

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

NAHNDA GARLOW nahnda@tworowtimes.com

approach to governance. Under our traditions — the people that belong to the families are the treaty rights holders. And make no mistake — the Warriors uphold the treaties — paying the cost throughout history with their blood and the wilful laying down of their lives in battle.

I am talking about more than Oka. More than Caledonia. The acts of the Haudenosaunee Warriors defended the islands in the Grand River in the early 1990s. Sanctioned by the Confederacy Chiefs, Warriors stood against a sewer line crossing the Grand River. They stood up and protected the ancient Iro-

quois and Mohawk-Mississaugas village of Davisville, again with the knowledge of the Confederacy Chiefs in the mid 2010s. Oneida Warriors travelled to defend at Ipperwash when OPP were surrounding the park. Mohawk Warriors stood at Gustafson Lake. There were deputations sent to Elsipogtog. They fasted alongside Theresa Spence in Ottawa. They stood in Tyendinaga at the Shannonville River to protect fishing rights and in another instance to draw attention to the problem of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. My own family sent a Warrior to help at Standing Rock and Wet’su’weten,

again, known, sanctioned, acknowledged by the Confederacy Chiefs.

These are the Warriors. These are our people and they are not disposable. These are not models posing for pictures in front of news cameras with flint and feathers on their heads, threatening protests if companies don’t sign agreements with HDI.

These are the Warriors. These are the people we send out to stand up. The people we worry about day in and day out — families sitting back at home, wringing hands that they will return unharmed.

These are the Warriors that we stand beside, after the battle is through, as

they pull themselves back together again from the physical and psychological wounds they sustain on the front lines.

As I found myself rifling through the 2500 sheets of paper that make up the motion records of the various interveners responding to HDI asking a court to name them sole recipients of the financial compensation expected in the Six Nations land claim — I was caught speechless by the submission by HDIs Haudenosaunee Law expert Richard Hill.

After all of the instances the HCCC has relied on the Warriors to defend the land and make a stand — here comes HDI with more

paperwork, claiming Warriors do not exist under Haudenosaunee law, that the Peacemaker did away with the Warriors and that the version of the Great Law the Warriors follow is “rejected” by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs.

Through the “sanctioned” voice of the HDI — one man among us has been hired as an expert to claim and our Men’s, Women’s and People’s Fires don’t exist — contradicting the oral traditions, known history and political structures of our ancestors.

It is a sad statement and not a true description of our living history. This is erasure. Which is a depressing return coming

from the HCCC, who just months earlier accused the elected council of the same thing.

Revisionist history has taken over the HCCC. When I shared the HDIs sentiments of Warrior non-existence and rejected Great Laws with the Warriors that I know, they were not shocked.

Hope among the people for the HCCC and it’s HDI is fading. And the cost for this new Haudenosaunee world order has been the price of the people — whose birthright and connection to the land is now being held at ransom and trafficked to any developer, municipality or organization that “needs” a permit.

SN eyes on-demand ride-sharing

By Donna Duric

The best public transportation for a rural community like Six Nations is an on-demand ride-sharing system, Six Nations Public Works has found.

A transportation study revealed that a ride-sharing type app, where residents would book a ride and other residents headed in the same direction would be picked up along the way, makes the most sense for a community the size of Six Nations.

Stephanie Burnham, a Six Nations community member who works with Dillon Consulting, the firm hired to conduct the transit study, said public transportation is much-needed in the community.

“I think we can all agree that it’s an important service that is needed in our community,” said Burnham.

The study results took into account feedback from a community survey conducted last fall.

Dennis Kar, a transit planner from Dillon Consulting, says public transit is important for a number

of reasons: it helps support independent living for seniors and people with disabilities; it helps increase access to job opportunities and access to education and skills training, and improves the safety of people who are traveling.

“Where there’s no transit system in place, there’s a loss of accessibility for seniors and youth who are unable to drive, and members who are unable to afford vehicles,” said Kar.

It can also impact mental health from social isolation, contribute to higher rates of unemployment, and increase high-risk behaviours like hitchhiking, he said.

The majority of survey respondents said they’d be likely to use a public transit service on Six Nations, with about 16 per cent of respondents saying they didn’t have access to a vehicle at all.

The survey also identified how expensive it is to pay for a taxi.

A ride-sharing program would be cheaper for residents, the study concluded.

The study identified how often people leave the

reserve and what the main destinations are, both on and off-reserve.

The village of Ohsweken, and its medical facilities, is a main destination for most on-reserve travel.

Off-reserve, Brantford and Hamilton are popular destinations, with grocery trips being a large reason people travel off the reserve.

Walmart and Limeridge Mall in Hamilton are popular destinations, and the Brantford GO station and Lynden Park Mall were cited as popular destinations in those nearby cities.

The on-demand service would require a mobile app to book a ride, with recommendations to book a ride at least an hour before your planned departure.

It would be a curb-tocurb service, instead of having transit stops, due to the lack of sidewalks on the reserve.

Kar said about 15 per cent of the service costs would be covered by ridership fees and the rest would have to be subsidized.

Opioids found during drug bust

By TRT Staff

Eight Six Nations people are facing charges after Six Nations Police conducted search warrants for controlled substances at three local residences and one business.

The investigation on Mar. 1 resulted in the seizure of oxycodone, methadone, five firearms, ammunition and prohibited weapons.

The following people are facing charges:

-Ruby Darlene Hill-VanEvery, 47, of Six Nations with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking and Firearm or Weapon - Possession contrary to Prohibition Order. She was released and expected to answer to the charges at a later date.

-Matthew Rupert VanEvery, 51, Six Nations

with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking. He was released and expected to answer to the charges at a later date.

-Jason Richard Hill, 53, Six Nations with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking. He was released and expected to answer to the charges at a later date.

-Joshua Robert Burnham, 39, of Six Nations with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking. He was released and is expected to answer to the charges at a later date.

-Karmen Zoey Powless, 19, Six Nations with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking. He was released and is expected to answer to the charges at a later date.

-Gracee Mae Hill, 19, Six Nations with Possession and Firearm, Weapon,

Ammunition: Careless Use. He was released and is expected to answer to the charges at a later date.

-Matthew Shay Hill, 26, Six Nations with Possession and Firearm, Weapon, Ammunition: Careless Use. He was released and is expected to answer to the charges at a later date.

-Sheldon Scott Hill, 22, Six Nations with five counts of Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm, five counts of Knowledge of Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm, Unauthorized Possession of a Weapon, Knowledge of Unauthorized Possession of a Weapon and six counts of Fail to Comply with Release Order - Other than to attend court. The accused was held for a bail hearing and later released on recognizance.

YOUTH CONFERENCE SIX NATIONS 2023

2023 DEADLINE CALENDAR for / gweh?: weh n=:` Ohsweg,h]:n/h

Onkwehón:we ne: Ohswekenhro:non

Feb. 1st Application Deadline for Summer semester Apply on-line!

Fall Marks/Progress Reports due for all continuing students.

Levels 3 & 4 (Master or Ph.D. students) provide Letter of Good Academic Standing.

Winter course registration/timetable and detailed tuition fees due.

May 1st Application Deadline for Fall or Fall/Winter semester(s) Apply on-line!

Winter Marks/Progress Reports due for all funded students.

Levels 3 & 4 (Master or Ph.D. students) provide Letter of Good Academic Standing.

Summer course registration/timetable and detailed tuition fees due. 11:59 pm May 1st to 9 am July 1st - The On-line Application on the GRPSEO Website is not available.

Aug 1st Official transcripts are due from students funded for any of the three previous application periods (Summer/Fall/Winter).

For all APPROVED FALL applications - Any documentation that was requested by the Funding Advisor to be submitted to GRPSEO by August 1, (as outlined in the “Check List of Required Documentation” form provided to the applicant), and not received by this deadline date will result in CANCELLATION of the approved application and loss of funding.

Oct. 1st Application Deadline for Winter semester – Apply on-line!

Summer Marks/Progress Reports due for all continuing students.

Levels 3 & 4 (Master or Ph.D. students) provide Letter of Good Academic Standing. Fall course registration/timetable and detailed tuition fees due.

Youth aged 12-24 are invited to gather with us during March Break for art, workshops, great food, music, Planetarium show, special performances by DJ Shub, Semiah Smith, Rez Poetry and so much more!! REGISTRATION

From All Students (Check With Your GRPSEO Funding Advisor)

Apr. 7 Office Closed: Good Friday

Apr. 10 Office Closed: Easter Monday

May 1 Accepting Graduate Promotion Items

May 22 Office Closed: Victoria Day

June 1 Summer Office Hours: Open from 8 am to 4 pm

June 21 Office Closed: Observance National Indigenous Peoples Day

July 3 Office Closed: Canada Day

Aug. 1 Official Transcripts

Aug. 7 Office Closed: Civic Holiday

Sept. 1 Back to Regular Office Hours: Open 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Sept. 4 Office Closed: Labour Day

Sept 30 National Day of Truth and Reconciliation (Orange Shirt Day)

Oct. 9 Office Closed – Thanksgiving Day

Oct. 31 Deadline to Submit Graduate Promotion Items

Nov. 3 Fall Semester Contact Required From All Students (Check With Your GRPSEO Funding Advisor)

Nov. 13 Office Closed: Observance of Remembrance Day

Dec. 22 Office Closed: Christmas Closure

Jan. 2, 2024 Office Reopens Please check the local newspapers, our website at www.grpseo.org

FaceBook/Instagram/Twitter or give us a call at (519) 445-2219 for more information.

GRAND RIVER POST SECONDARY EDUCATION OFFICE Honour. Educate. Empower.

Baby tooth teachings

Losing baby teeth is a right of passage for children

The Akwesasne-based Onkwehonwe Midwives Collective (OMC) has come up with a fun way to commemorate a child’s season of growth while including Mohawk culture with its Baby Tooth Teaching Cards.

The cards show a depiction of a child’s mouth filled with teeth that are expected to start falling out around the age of five and be replaced with adult teeth. Over the next few years, every time a child loses a tooth parents can use a hole punch to mark which tooth fell out. The card also comes with a phrase in Mohawk that a child can learn and say to themselves as they acknowledge the loss of their teeth and growing up.

“The cards benefit parents and guardians especially if they have multiple

children by helping keep track of the teeth they lose,” said OMC Executive Director Anastasia George. “I also think it is important in terms of cultural bonding. The phrase is a saying in Mohawk that a child can say every time they lose a tooth.”

The cards also present an opportunity to talk to children about oral hygiene and how to take care of their teeth.

“Every time you hole punch the card is a good opportunity to talk to your child about how to properly maintain a healthy mouth and strong teeth,” said George.

Coming up with the idea and design was a team effort of the OMC. According to the team, there has been a lot of interest in the cards. Jasmine Benedict, an Indigenous midwife, said she feels losing baby teeth is a rite of passage representing physical growth in a child.

“A lot is changing in a

child’s body around the time it starts to lose its baby teeth,” said Benedict. “Right before baby teeth start to fall out, the torso elongates and the child starts to lose their baby features. This is a pivotal moment in a child’s life as they are beginning to understand they are growing."

Benedict adds that it can be a bonding moment between parents and a child.

“It is fitting that a Mohawk teaching is included to recognize this point in a child’s life. Losing something can be traumatic for anyone, sometimes losing something like a tooth that a child has carried for a long time could be traumatic. And it presents an opportunity to talk about that.”

The cards are free of charge and available through the OMC. Visit the group’s Facebook page, OMC - Onkwehonwe Midwives Collective, for more details.

Teeth.jpg: Akwesasne-based Onkwehonwe Midwives Collective (OMC) has come up with an interesting way to commemorate a child losing their baby teeth as they mature. OMC JACE KOBLUN

TREATY: A Reconciliation Revelry concert set to light up the Sanderson

JACE KOBLUN jace@tworowtimes.com

TWO ROW TIMES

TREATY: A Reconciliation Revelry, a concert event produced and directed by Tim Johnson and Josh Miller is slated to be performed at the Sanderson Centre in Brantford, Ont., on Mar. 30 at 7 p.m.

"The concert takes viewers on a journey of experiences that lead Canadians through stories of encounter and conflict

to resolution, landing on uplifting notes of recognition, understanding, and respect,” said a press release.

The stories and messages in Johnson’s (RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World) and Miller’s concert are conveyed through video, narrative and of course, music. They are situated in the realm of contemporary issues and events but provide audiences with historical context for understanding Indigenous experiences

and Indigenous realities.

“Brief film segments featuring Indigenous and Canadian leaders in civil society, education, culture and the arts speak to the themes identified by a list of definitions of select words, thereby building a story that seeks to pave the way forward for Truth and Reconciliation,” said the release.

An ensemble of renowned and award-winning Indigenous and allied musicians will play popular songs that are curated

to inform and entertain.

“Through this engaging concert, TREATY: A Reconciliation Revelry seeks to focus public attention on Indigenous contributions to Canada and their struggle to have appropriate acknowledgement embedded within the conscience of the country,” said the release. Visit calendar.sandersoncentre.ca for pricing and more information.

A Mohawk College credential opens many doors. Explore the pathways transfer agreements with a long list of colleges and universities, both in Ontario and around the world.

Tickets to see Treaty: A REconciliation Revelry are available at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts box office. CON

know the score.

Little NHL kicks off in Mississauga

Snipers climb in league standings

SIX NATIONS — Eastern Arena Lacrosse League games continued this past weekend with cur-rent standings showing the Toronto Monarchs in the first place spot, followed by the Brampton Express, Oshawa Outlaws, Whitby Steelhawks, and the Six Nations Snipers jumping up over the Paris RiverWolves, with the Ohsweken Bears and Peterborough Timbermen following consecu-tively.

On Friday, March 10, the Ohsweken Bears ventured to the Millbrook Arena to take on the Pe-terborough Timbermen.

TWO ROW TIMES

Finally, after a Covid-19long hiatus, Ontario's largest Indigenous hockey tournament began in Mississauga, Ont., on Sunday and thousands of First Nations children and teens are taking part.

The 49th Little Native Hockey League (Little NHL) tournament, began on Sunday evening with opening ceremonies at Paramount Fine Foods Centre. The tournament will run until Thursday with the Nipissing First Nation as host.

With humble beginnings in 1971, the first tournament had 17 teams and a modest 200 players in Little Curren. This year, the tournament features 184 teams from across Ontario with a total of 487 games in Mississauga arenas.

Along with other venue innovations, back in February, the Little NHL Executive met to discuss the concerns expressed by community members from all First Nations regarding a motion that was passed on February 26th to remove recreational and competitive divisions.

“After considering your

concerns and the unintended consequences to the House League teams, we have decided to pause on the portion of the motion that sees all teams placed in one category. This means that we will retain the competitive and recreational divisions for the 2023 Little NHL tournament,” reads the LNHL Executive statement.

No body contact across divisions was a piece of the motion that withstood its rationale, to maintain the spirit of the tournament and its intent.

For Six Nations teams; the U7 Boys Tyke Grand River Raiders sit in Pool 3, but scheduled game results have not been released.

The U9 Boys Novice Six Nations Serpents sit in Pool 1and defeated team Dokis 3-12 and the Atikameksheng Stingers 19-1 on Monday. While the Six Nations U9 sit in Pool 2 and defeated the Walpole Island U9 5-3.

The U11 Boys Atom Recreational division saw the Six Nations Blackhawks - Porter sit in Pool 1 and defeated the Serpent River First Nation 5-0, and the Wasauksing Islanders 13-1 on Monday, On Tuesday, they defeated the Curve Lake Screaming Eagles 6-0. The Six Na-

tions Blackhawks - General sit in Pool 3 and lost to the Nipissing Warriors 0-11 on Monday.

The U11 Girls Atom division saw the Six Nations Blackhawks defeat the Norther Stars 1-0 on Monday.

The U13 Boys Peewee Recreational division saw the Six Nations Sting sit in Pool 2, and defeat the RFN Peewee team on Monday.

The U13 Boys Peewee Competitive division saw the Six Nations Kings sit in Pool 2, and defeat the Long Lake 58 Generals 11-0 on Monday. They went on to lose to the Moose Cree Scrappers in a close game 3-4 on Tuesday.

The U15 Boys Bantam Recreational division saw the Six Nations Blackhawks LL sit in Pool 1, and take a loss to the Oneida Nation 5-3, then a win over the Wasauksing Islanders 6-1 on Monday.

The U15 Boys Bantam Competitive division saw the Six Nations Blackhawks sit in Pool 1 and win their first game over the Thunder Bay Warriors 3-0, then 6-1 over the Six Nations Snipers on Monday. On Tuesday they lost to C.M.O. United

0-1. While the Six Nations Snipers also sit in Pool 1, and lost to C.M.O. United 0-13 on Monday.

The U15 Girls Bantam division saw the Six Nations Smash sit in Pool 1 and take a loss to the C.M.O United Girls Hockey team 1-3. Then defeat the Moose Cree Lady Scrappers 1-0 on Monday.

The U18 Boys Midget Recreational division saw the Six Nations U18 sit in Pool 3 and win their first game over the Kattawapiskak Wolves 6-2, then lose a tight game against M’Chigeeng 5-6 on Monday. The U18 Boys competitive division saw the Six Nations Stealth sit in Pool 1, and took a win over Team PamajDelaware Nation 1-0 on Monday.

The U18 Girls Midget division saw Six Nations sit in Pool 1 and take on the Nipissing First Nation U18 girls and win 6-1, but later take a loss to Serpent River 4-3 on Monday.

Many former players of this tournament have gone on to various levels of Hockey excellence with “AA”, “AAA”, Tier II, Junior B, College or University, OHL and NHL level of play.

The first period kicked off with buries from Spencer Martina and Jonah Mohawk, then Kyle Pedwell cam in with two more before the end of the period. This gave the Monarchs a lead, 5-4 over the Bears. In the second period, Haneh Brant and Jake Bomberry put singles away, but the Monarchs returned twice, closing the period 7-6. In the third the Monarchs sped off with six con-secutive goals, and only a single bury by the Bears from Kyle Pedwell by the end.

The first period saw a blitz from the Bears fresh out of the gate with goals from James Whitford (2), Heron Snow, Jonah Mohawk (2), Dawit Martin, and Jake Bomberry. This pulled the Bears into a strong lead 7-2, over the Timbermen.

Coming into the second with the lead, Heron Snow (2), James Whitford, Kyle Pedwell, put goals away to cancel out the four buries from the Timbermen. This loser the period 11-6. The third pe-riod saw goals from James Whitford (2), and Isaac Vanderzalm with two responses from the Timbermen,

This brought the Bears into a nice lead for the fourth, with more goals coming from Heron Snow, Dawit Martin, and Kyle Pedwell. By the end, the game finalized with a 17-13 win for the Bears.

James Whitford was awarded a first place star for 5 goals, 6 assists making for eleven points total for the Bears. While Heron Snow was awarded a second place star for 5 points, and Gowah Abrams was awarded a third place star for 13 points in goals alone.

On Sunday, March 12, the Bears returned to the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena to face the league standings leaders, the Toronto Monarchs.

This pushed the Bears to play catch up in the fourth, with Kyle Pedwell earning two more, and Heron Snow, Wayne Hill and Ryan Johnson putting up singles. The game finalized with a close 11-14 for the Monarchs.

Kyle Pedwell was awarded a third place star for 4 points in goals in the game.

Swapping matches with the Bears, the Six Nations Snipers handled the Timbermen with ease later in the same day at the ILA.

The Timbermen opened scoring, and the Snipers cancelled it out with a goal from Todd Thomas Jr., in the first. In the second, Travis Staats, Mason Hill (3), Vernon Hill, Nolan Fehr and Andrew Vradenburg put consecutive goals away with only one answer from the Timbermen. This ended the second 7-3 for the Snipers.

In the third, Todd Thomas Jr., went for his second goal, while Ben Smiley put up two and Mason Hill finished with another single. Again the Timbermen responded once, and opened the fourth period with two more goals.

Travis Staats, Ben Doherty and Jaxon Longboat intermingled singles between the catch up period for the Timbermen, as the Timbermen put away 5 by the end. This closed the game 15-11 for the Snipers.

Mason Hill was awarded a first place star for 4 goals, 4 assists making for eight points total for the Snipers. While Jaxon Longboat was awarded a second place star for 11 assists in net.

Six Nations teams have taken to Mississauga to represent the Haudenosaunee at the 49th Annual Little Native Hockey League (LNHL) Tournament that is set to continue until Thursday of this week. TRT STAFF

NLL Transactions for Week 16

By TRT Staff with notes from NLL.com

As Week 16 gets underway within the National Lacrosse League, transactions from Week 15 are visible with standings making showing solid effort in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The Buffalo Bandits remain on top of the Eastern, followed by the Toronto Rock, Rochester Nighthawks, Philadelphia Wings, Halifax Thunderbirds, New York Riptide, Georgia Swarm, and the Albany FireWolves. In the West, the San Diego Seals still sit on top, followed by the Calgary Roughnecks, Panther City Lacrosse, Saskatchewan Rush, Colorado Mammoth, Las Vegas De-sert Dogs and Vancouver Warriors. As for internal movement:

On March 5: The Philadelphia Wings placed Alex Crepinsek on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, placed Sam LeClair on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, placed Practice Player George Downey on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List, and placed Practice Player Christian Scarpello on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List.

The Toronto Rock placed Practice Player Marley Angus on the Practice Player List from the Ac-tive Roster and placed Practice Player Josh Dawick on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List.

On March 7: The New York Riptide signed Max Wayne to the Practice Player List, removed the Practice Player Tag on Jack Kelly and have retained him on the Active Roster and released Cade van Raaphorst from the Hold Out List. The Rochester Knighthawks signed Joe Post to a one year agreement and placed him on the Physically Unable to Perform List. The Vancouver Warriors signed Dean Fairall to the Practice Player List and released Harrison Smith from the Practice Player List.

On March 9: The Albany FireWolves placed Jackson Nishimura on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, released

Zac Tucci from the Active Roster, placed Ethan Walker on the Active Roster from the Injured Reserve List, placed Practice Player Corson Kealey on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List, placed Connor Kelly on the Short Term Hold Out List from the Active Roster, and placed Practice Player Jackson Reid on the Active Roster from the Prac-tice Player List. The Halifax Thunderbirds placed Max Wilson on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, released Broedie Birkhof from the Evaluation List, signed Broedie Birkhof to the Practice Player List, and placed Kevin Hill on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List and have removed the Practice Player Tag. The Las Vegas Desert Dogs have placed Practice Player Nick Ellerton on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster, placed Jackson Suboch on the Active Roster from the Physically Unable to Perform List, placed Tyler Halls on the In-jured reserve List from the Active Roster, placed Dan Coates on the Active Roster from the In-jured Reserve List, placed Jordan Stouros on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster and placed Joe Post on the Active Roster from the Physically Unable to Perform List. The San Diego Seals placed Casey Jackson on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, and placed Practice Player Jake Govett on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List.

On March 10: The Buffalo Bandits placed Josh Byrne on the Active Roster from the Injured Re-serve List, placed Chris Cloutier on the Active Roster from

the Injured Reserve List, placed Ad-am Bomberry on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster and placed Justin Martin on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster. The Colorado Mammoth have placed Ryan Lee on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, placed Rhys Duch on the Active Roster from the Physically Unable to Perform List, placed Practice Player Ty Thompson on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster, placed Eli McLaughlin on the Active Roster from the Injured Reserve List, and placed Asher Nolting on the Hold Out List from the Practice Player List and have removed the Practice Player Tag.

On March 11: The Philadelphia Wings placed Practice Player Christian Scarpello on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster, placed Sam LeClair on the Active Roster from the Injured Reserve List, placed Practice Player Jeremy Searle on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster and placed Marshall Powless on the Active Roster from the Injured Reserve List.

The Toronto Rock placed Practice Player Marley Angus on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List and placed Challen Rogers on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster. The Vancouver Warriors placed Chase Scanlan on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster and placed Practice Player Aidan Solomon on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List.

On March 13: The Albany FireWolves traded Greg Downing to the Toronto Rock in exchange for their second round selection in the 2023 Entry Draft and placed Connor Kelly on the Active Roster from the Short Term Hold Out List. The Toronto Rock have placed Practice Player Marley Angus on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster.

A photo taken during the Toronto Rock versus Albany FireWolves match on Saturday, March 11, on Indigenous Heritage Night for the Rock. NLL

Good luck to all the Six Nations athletes participating in the Little NHL!

Six Nations of the Grand River

Elected Council is rooting for you.

Brantford Planning Committee rejects apartment building at Davisville site, subdivision construction planned for site

BRANTFORD — A request from a developer to build a large apartment building on property that used to be the home of the ancient Mohawk-Mississaugas village of Davisville, north of Brantford, has been rejected by the city of Brantford’s Planning Committee.

In a 3-1 vote, city officials rejected the request of Sifton Properties to allow them to change plans for their development site, changing one of the zones to accommodate a 153 unit apartment building instead of townhomes.

Phil Masschelein, VP of Sifton Properties presented along with Chris Pidgeon, legal adviser for the

development — asking Brantford to deviate from the original allowances for construction that were previously determined by an Ontario Municipal Board hearing in 2014.

The OMB hearings were a multi-million dollar battle between Sifton, the city of Brantford and members of the Six Nations Men’s Fire — who were accompanied by environmental and historical experts testifying that the Davisville site was of critical environmental and cultural importance to the Haudenosaunee, and areas in need of environmental protection to conserve important water features along the Grand River.

Sifton reps said that the site where they were seeking to build the apartment building were “not the Davisville site”. That

was quickly corrected by Ontario archaeologist Gary Warrick, who conducted site excavations at Davisville in the early 2000s.

“When you discover a village it’s not that the village ends at the cabin,” said Warrick. “The lifestyle is across the entire property”

“This is one of the most significant archeological areas in all of North America,” said Warrick. Archeological evidence shows that the earliest indigenous inhabitants of the Grand River area all settled around Davisville — dating back to 10,000 BC — earlier than any other archeological site in Ontario. It pre-dates the era of farming among the Iroquois and reaches back to the days of hunter-gatherer subsistence means.

Warrick said that the city of Brantford is not doing enough to notify the public about where these traditional indigenous sites are located and said it is something he would like to see when Sifton does begin construction of the planned subdivision they are seeking to build.

Brant Land Trust President Mary-Lou Knechtel also spoke during the public feedback portion of the hearing — raising environmental concerns connected to protecting the integrity of the water features at Davisville.

Knechtel says the entire Davisville area is unique in that it is a water-recharging site for the Grand River. She says construction that would disturb the natural wetlands there — something that is planned with Sifton look-

ing to haul in soil to build overtop of the natural environment at the site — will contaminate ground water,

The entire area was looked at for its unique ecological features including a rare mineral deposit called tufa mounds that are something like a small water volcano that erupts from the earth. Those mounds are important to the cleansing of the water and develop in areas like Davisville, which are prone to flooding because of the high water table.

Knechtel says she was also concerned that of all the artifacts that were uncovered at the Davisville excavations — there is nowhere for the local residents to see them and said the city needs to do more to demonstrate the history of the area.

City councillors said they were not in favour of deviating from the previous decision by the Ontario Municipal Board, who set restrictions in 2014 on the way Sifton could proceed with construction and did not want to change those approvals, in part because of the cost, time and effort from multiple parties involved to come to those determinations.

The committee also said that there were traffic concerns for the area and that building a large apartment building in that area does not make sense for the community. The request to change zoning to allow the apartment building was not given, and the issue will go back to Brantford City Council on March 28 for final approval by city council.

The GREAT Job Board is brought to you by Employment Ontario and Service Canada. Only local positions are posted in the paper. For more positions in the surrounding area, visit our job board at www.greatsn.com! To apply for funding, book your intake appointment with an ETC by calling 519-445-2222 (Toll-Free long distance at 1-888 218-8230 or email us at info@greatsn.com.

30th Indspire Awards celebrates three decades of achievement

The 2023 Indspire Awards will honour 12 exceptional Indigenous achievers and will also commemorate 30 years of Indigenous excellence, welcoming past Indspire laureates.

The award ceremony will be celebrated during a star-studded gala on May 11 at the Edmonton Convention Centre. It will feature live performances by Aysanabee, Riit, and Notorious Cree, and dynamic public speaker Stan Wesley will emcee.

“The 2023 Indspire Awards will be a multilayered celebration, one which honours the 2023 Indspire laureates as well as the hundreds of laureates who have received accolades in the three decades since the Awards’ inception,” said Mike DeGagné, president and CEO of Indspire.

“Bringing these generations of Indigenous achievers together will make this a particularly noteworthy and mean-

ingful celebration and we invite you to be part of the circle of friends, partners, and supporters who have made this 30th anniversary possible.”

The stories of the 2023 Indspire laureates will be shared in a nationally broadcast celebration that showcases the diversity and accomplishments of Indigenous peoples in Canada. The award ceremony will be broadcast nationwide in June on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, the CBC Listen app and APTN.

Tickets are currently available on Indspire’s website, with a number of options available: per table ($5000) or per ticket ($500 regular ticket, $150 student ticket).

Air Canada is also offering attendees a special 15 per cent discount for all bookings made before May 1.

“To recognize the 2023 Indspire Award laureates, a celebration dinner will take place at the Edmonton Convention Centre in Edmonton. The event will include an evening reception, dinner, and post-reception where sto-

ries and accomplishments of laureates present and past will be shared with guests,” reads Indspire’s website.

Indspire provided more than $23 million through

ATTN:

Obituaries

SMITH: David Sr.

6,612 bursaries and scholarships to First Nations, Inuit and Métis students across Canada from 2021 to 2022.

Two brothers found guilty in second degree murder Fail to remain results in criminal charges

With broken hearts and profound sadness, the family of David Smith Sr. announce his passing at home on Tuesday March 14, 2023. He is now reunited with the love of his life, his wife of 67 years Wilma Smith where they will be together again for eternity. Dave is survived by his loving family Jeff, Scott (Kathy), Misti, Kelly and David. Special Fatherin-law to Sue, Murray, Joe, Lori and Geoff. His Grandchildren Amy (Patrick), Neil (Keri), Cal (Ronnie), Cheri (Marshall), Alysha (Lance), Katie (Isaiah), Brock (Jessica), Trey, Crosby, Kayla, Cameron and Shendon. Great Grandchildren; Brendan, Kennedy, Sydney, Davin, Ryden, Cody, Kade, Mace, Quin, Jeremy, Hadowas, Sofia, Gregory, Maccoy, Grace, Sterling, Rayleigh, Kaya, Gunnar, Archer, Deacon, Lennox, Hendrix and Nash. Great-Great Grandchildren; Jagger, Rayden, Ava and Banks. Special Papa to Christine and family, Amber, and Caity Cook. Dave is survived by his siblings Diane Robertson and Steve (Leigh) Smith, Brother-in-law Roger Buck Smith, predeceased by his Parents Oliver M. and Elda (Bun) Smith, Brothers Brock and Morris (Moe) sister-in-law Noreen and sister Sara. He’ll also be dearly missed by numerous loved nieces, nephews and cousins. Dave was also a very dear & special friend to Jim & Audrey Bomberry and family, Stan & Cathy Jonathan and family and Claude & Jo Ann Hill and family from Arizona.

STAFF REPORT editor@tworowtimes.com

TWO ROW TIMES

BRANTFORD — Two Six Nations brothers were found guilty of second degree murder Mar. 1 in the shooting death of Andrew Davis, 27.

Davis, known as Scruff to family and friends, was shot in the head while holding his daughter.

Andrew Brent Smoke, 26, and Eric Jerome Smoke, 24, were both found guilty in the Nov. 20, 2020 death of Davis.

A jury heard that Davis had been in the middle of picking up his daughter from the girl’s mother’s home when he and the two brothers got into an argument. Andrew Smoke was the mother’s new boyfriend.

The court heard that the brothers surrounded Davis in his truck, which was recorded on video.

During the two and a half week trial, the court heard that Davis tried to dissuade the brothers and calm the situation, with the brothers accusing him of using the child as “armour.”

Clothing later found at Eric Smoke’s residence’s in Hamilton later linked him to the crime scene, among other physical evidence.

Davis’s family members cried in the courtroom when the jury returned the verdict.

Both brothers will be getting Gladue reports prepared and the sentencing for second-degree murder ranges from 10 to 25 years in prison.

STAFF REPORT editor@tworowtimes.com

TWO ROW TIMES

A Six Nations man is facing charges after a hit and run accident on First Line Road.

Six Nations Police responded to a motor vehicle collision last Tuesday (Mar. 7) after receiving a report of a collision - fail to remain on First Line Road east of Cayuga Road.

Police said a white pick up truck hit head on with the caller's vehicle and fled the scene.

The suspect was identified as Wesley Andrew Burning.

Police arrived on scene and saw heavy damage to the front end of the caller's vehicle.

Police spoke to the caller who explained they were travelling westbound when they were struck head on by a white pick up truck. The caller identified the driver and white pick up truck, who made no attempt to stay on scene to check on the well-being of anyone.

Subsequently, Burning, 29, of Ohsweken was charged with Dangerous Driving and Fail to Stop at Accident.

He was arrested and released to return to court at a later date.

Dave was a devoted IronWorker for 69 years. He worked on many bridges and buildings through-out Canada and The United States. Some of his projects that he worked on that he held dear was Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn NY, Cape Canaveral Space Launch Towers in Florida and Buffalo Lackawana Skyway Bridge and many other bridges through-out Buffalo NY. He founded and was the owner of Mohawk Steel Erectors, Mohawk Construction , Ohsweken Sale Barn, Mohawk Rock/ Native Stone which was a family business. Dave was an avid gardener where he loved to spend hours working on his garden. He loved to fish and loved to go on his deer hunts in Salamanca NY with his beloved friends, Gumps, Billy, Johnny and others. He loved to watch his grandkids at their hockey, lacrosse, soccer or baseball games. Dave spent a lot of time in Arizona with Wilma which was their second home. They loved the sun and heat.

Visitation at Styres Funeral Home Ohsweken, Friday March 17th from 12 pm to 2 pm. Cremation to follow.

The Family would like to thank the following for their excellent care which allowed us to care for Dad at home. Carolyn Taylor-Hill and Wanda Hill from Six Nations Long Term Care. Dr Hsiao. Nurse Ellie Woodhouse from HCCSS. Nurses from Care Partners. Mike, Tara and Josslyn from the Six Nations Community Paramedic Program. Dr Mc Neil and Shelly from Stedmans Hospice. Dr Kathy McDonald Six Nations Mental Health. www.rhbanderson.com

The 2023 Indspire Awards will be celebrated on May 11 in Edmonton. GIORGIO TROVATO ON UNSPLASH

In loving memory of our mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother and great-great grandmother, Eleanor Porter, who left us March 17th, 2020.

So

Forever remembered by Kathy and Rod; Wally and Mel; Becky and Mike; Katie; Kayla and PStone; Preston, Pierce, Paxton, River, Finley, Milo, Poppy, Leanna and Dawson.

Farmer

The Indian Defense League Meeting

Sunday, March 19th, 2023

Sunday, April 16th, 2023

Sunday, May 21st, 2023

Sunday, June 18th, 2023 at 1-3 pm at the Dajoh All Welcome.

We are planning for a Border Crossing Celebration on Saturday, 15 July 2023.

Members and volunteers needed. 519-732-1462

CLUES

1.

ACROSS

18. The Eye Network

19. Clarified butter

20. Part of the Cascade Range

21. Downwind

22. A way to steer

23. Loop

26. Not ingested

30. Swampy coniferous forest

31. Musician

32. Signing

33. Containing iron

34. Part of a theorem or proof

39. Veterans battleground (slang)

42. Of enormous proportions

44. Italian city

46. Come before

47. Balm

49. Undergarments

50. Male parent

51. Ropes

56. Ear part

57. Investment vehicle

58. Dictator

59. Cain and __

60. A type of code

61. Border river along India and Nepal

62. It’s what’s for dinner

63. Consume

64. Christian __, designer

CLUES DOWN

1. Cuckoos

2. Skin issue

3. City in central Japan

4. Sorrels

5. Twinned diamond

6. Canadian province

7. Monetary units

8. Head honcho

9. Goddess of wisdom

10. Part of a play

11. Get rid of

13. Applicant

17. Bowling alleys have many

24. Explosive

25. “The Say Hey Kid”

26. Ultrahigh frequency

27. No (Scottish)

28. Make a mistake

29. Credit card term

35. Keyboard key

36. Woman (French)

37. In the middle of

38.

41. Deadly disease

42. A place to dock a boat (abbr.)

43. Belch 44. Member of U.S. Navy 45. “In __”: separate from others

47. Examine extensively 48. Adjust

49.

55.

ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20

So many things are moving your way, Aries. As the week progresses, your energy level could rise and you will get much more done. Leave time for meaningful encounters.

TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21

Taurus, connect with nature this week. Go hiking at a national park or visit a zoo and take in the exotic animals. Fresh outdoor air is just what you need.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21

Gemini, this week marks a new cycle for you. This means you should focus your energy on your ideas and try to narrow down prospects as much as possible.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22

You may need a little inspiration to get moving this week, Cancer. While it’s alright to take it easy on Monday or Tuesday, by Wednesday you need to shake away what’s holding you back.

LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23

Your brain is filled with many thoughts, Leo. With so much buzzing around in your head, it may be challenging to focus. Consult with a friend to help you out.

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22

Virgo, enjoy the calm while you can because later in the week the pace may become frenzied. Emotions may run high as everyone is rushing around.

LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23

People are drawn to you more so than usual, Libra. All this newfound attention may feel a little overwhelming. Find some quiet time to ground yourself and refocus.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22

Scorpio, you have many ideas for the future, but you need to get moving. Is something or someone holding you back? Have an honest conversation about what you need.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21

Exercise caution when you speak about other people at work, Sagittarius. Not everyone will share your views and you need to work peacefully with others.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20

You may want to remain in an easygoing state, Capricorn, but others are not letting you just hang around. You need to get some things accomplished this week.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18

You may be feeling like you are moving a little slow, Aquarius. But if you write down all you have gotten done, then you’re likely to discover you’ve been quite busy.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20