Plans to end Caledonia road blockade postponed

CTV.ca News Staff
Updated Sun. May. 21 2006 11:49 PM ET

[SISIS note: The following mainstream news article is provided for reference only, as an example of how mainstream media treats indigenous resistance to genocide. Mainstream media often presents biased and distorted information, lacking pertinent facts and/or context. Inclusion of this article on our site should not be considered an endorsement by SISIS.]

Aboriginal protestors have postponed plans to remove a road blockade in Caledonia, Ont., a Six Nations spokeswoman told The Canadian Press Sunday.

The protesters are angry over the development of land they claim was taken from them around the 1840s, and have occupied the construction site since Feb. 28.

They created the blockade on April 20, after police failed to raid the area of the occupation.

First Nations spokeswoman Janie Jamieson told CP that protesters intended to remove the blockade as a goodwill gesture to residents. But some non-native Caledonians started to block protesters from reaching their blockade.

"With the turn of the events that happened in regard to the actions of a few of the non-native residents in Caledonia, we're just wondering whether that will actually happen or not," she said.

"They're making it an issue of hate crimes and race, which we never ever did."

However, Jamieson believed the second blockade didn't reflect the attitude of the entire town.

"That's where I went to high school," she said. "I grew up with a lot of non-natives from Caledonia and I've never seen any of my friends standing out there."

Protesters are working their way around the new blockade by building another road to the construction site.

Earlier this month, residents formed a group called the Caledonia Citizens' Alliance to express their concerns.

"We cannot underestimate the damage that is being done to the community from the current crisis,'' said alliance chair Don Bowman.

Last week, the Ontario government indefinitely banned construction at the site, despite the objections of developers.

"We're trying to find some ways to cool the situation down," David Ramsay, Ontario's minister responsible for aboriginal affairs, said after the announcement.

Michael Bruder, a lawyer for developer Henco Inustries, said the company was not consulted before the decision and was "outraged."

The disputed land was given to the Six Nations by the British government in 1784 in exchange for their allegiance.

In the 1830s, the group leased the land back to the government to allow the construction of a road, but the land was later sold instead.

Six Nations members say they did not agree to the sale and were never adequately compensated in the deal.

Former Ontario premier David Peterson and Six Nations Confederacy Chief Allen McNaughton have been in talks more more than two weeks to end the standoff.

With files from The Canadian Press