Lights Fest on Six Nations land was cancelled just as it got under way last week. What actually happened?

The chaos that ensued at The Lights Fest, hosted on a farm at Six Nations of the Grand River last Saturday, left many attendees wondering what went wrong.

Thousands of ticket-holders for the event, which was billed as a magical evening," where participants release fire-powered lanterns into the sky while enjoying live music and food, were told it was cancelled, just as it got underway.

On Aug. 16, Six Nations' elected council Chief, Mark B. Hill, sent Collin Maki of U.S.-based Viive Productions, which puts on the Lights Fest, a letter explaining the release of candlelit lanterns wasn't authorized and wouldn't be permitted.

The threat of loss due to fire is far too great to permit the releasing of lanterns from our territory," the letter, obtained by the Star, reads.

Six Nations band spokesperson Katie Montour said there was no official response to the letter."

Drew Dunn, a spokesperson for Viive, said the lanterns are safe and are collected afterward.

He told the Star the company did the exact same thing that we did in the past" in planning and permissions, but did not explain what that included.

Dunn did not comment on the letter when asked about it. When he was asked why lanterns were on the site of the festival after the company had been told they were no longer permitted, Dunn said, this kind of venue has jurisdiction on their own land, and, for lack of a better (way of putting it), do kind of what they want."

When Viive Productions moved ahead with the event, Six Nations police intervened to put an end to the festivities, attendees reported.

Traffic reportedly stretched for kilometres on poorly-lit roads with no sidewalks, and attendees complained of a lack of communication from organizers on what was happening.

Would-be attendees appeared to leave upset comments on at least one Instagram post The Lights Fest made, with some calling for refunds.

Six Nations police told the Star they are unable to comment on the episode at the moment, as the matter is under investigation.

Ticket-holder Amy Liu told the Star Monday she spent five hours driving from her home in Markham to the festival venue, just outside of Hamilton, and back.

She told the Star she didn't know why she was told the festival was cancelled when she arrived around 7 p.m., as she, along with thousands of attendees who paid anywhere from $20 to $60 for a ticket, expected to experience the magical" night they signed up for.

I saw (a video of) one lady shouting at cars saying, You're not welcome here. You're not allowed to put your lanterns in the sky,' " said Liu.

Rick Monture, a Mohawk (Turtle Clan) resident at Six Nations, associate professor of Indigenous studies at McMaster University and community historian, said the idea that reserves are lawless territories is a false narrative. We're seen as second-class citizens that are not able to run our own affairs," he said.

He noted that, even prior to the creation of the elected council at Six Nations, which is the body that told the company its festival was to not release lanterns, nearly 100 years ago under the Indian Act, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Six Nations' traditional governance structure, was in place for at least 1,000 years prior and continues to meet today.

We've always maintained our sovereignty."

Monture said the lanterns present on site show the company was actively engaging in something they were told not to do, with no respect for our well being, for our forests, our homes (that) could have been damaged by fire."

He would like the company to issue an apology to the community.

Each time (the event has been hosted here), it has been really disruptive," Courtney Skye, a Mohawk (Turtle Clan) woman from Six Nations, told the Star Monday. There's a lot of wildlife and a lot of biodiversity, but it has been very dry so this year there were concerns."

Skye added that many attendees may not have been aware they were going to an event on reserve land.

Liu was one of those attendees who didn't know until she arrived.

We're just customers. We don't know the meaning the land has to the people living there," Liu said.

Dunn said Viive Productions takes full responsibility" for the lack of communication to attendees Saturday evening, and wishes things would (have) happen(ed) differently, but it was all happening so fast." He added that attendees can contact The Lights Fest and they'll make things right."

Dunn said the company's refund policy states it has 30 days to 60 days to find a new venue after an event is cancelled, and it is in the process of rebooking the event.

Alessia Passafiume is a GTA-based staff reporter for the Star. Reach Alessia via email: apassafiume@torstar.ca