No consent, no city land sales in Hamilton, Haudenosaunee say
Before it sells any land in Hamilton, the city needs the Haudenosaunee's consent if municipal officials are serious about protecting Indigenous treaty rights.
That message about city-owned parcels, including land up for grabs on the west harbour, comes from a development institute that takes direction from Six Nations' hereditary leaders.
If the city goes ahead and tries to sell those lands without consulting, we are going to take action to ensure that they don't transfer hands," said Aaron Detlor, who represents the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI).
Prospective purchasers should feel very reluctant" to make offers without speaking directly with the development institute, the lawyer advised.
Late last year, the city put four parcels of vacant land between Pier 5 and Pier 7 up for sale in hopes of seeing restaurants, shops and other businesses eventually complementing a long-planned, major residential development at Pier 8.
Those properties are still on the market.
Hamilton is covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant treaty with the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee.
The Between the Lakes Purchase treaty with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation of 1792 also applies to the city. These treaties are recognized in a land acknowledgement read out by the chairs of municipal meetings.
The Haudenosaunee Development Institute's stand on municipal land sales springs from a dispute over a residential project underway in east Hamilton and a stewardship pact with the city to protect the Red Hill Valley.
Last month, Detlor argued the city breached that pact by approving the Roxborough Park development plan, which directs stormwater into the Red Hill Creek, without Haudenosaunee consent.
The Red Hill agreements are rooted in talks in the early 2000s that coincided with protests mounted by Haudenosaunee and allied demonstrators over the construction of the parkway.
Detlor sits on a joint stewardship board bound by the pact along with Haudenosaunee Development Institute members Todd Williams and Karl Hill. Three city councillors - Chad Collins, Maria Pearson and Brad Clark - are also on the board.
The board expects to revisit the Roxborough Park issue at its May 11 meeting. Detlor has suggested the HDI review the development plan as a way to move the issue forward.
In an email, Collins said that might be a good starting point for us to utilize as a one-off," noting the joint stewardship board agreement had committed to an application process.
But we don't have one, as we haven't entertained any private development impacts since our inception in 2007."
The Roxborough Park project is a partnership between a private consortium of builders and CityHousing Hamilton to demolish 107 aging townhouses and one-storey units in a social housing enclave on Reid Avenue, Lang Street and Hayes Avenue to make way for a $400-million, mixed-income community.
Carriage Gate Homes, UrbanCore Developments and Effort Group, the partners in Roxborough Park Inc., plan to construct roughly 600 market units. A 10-storey CityHousing building is planned for the south end of the site.
Collins said he doesn't agree that the city has failed to consult the Haudenosaunee on the Roxborough Park stormwater plan since the developers are still seeking feedback on the file.
Similarly, when the issue was first raised last month, LeAnn Seely, a landscape architect working on the project, said the applicant had made a genuine effort" to gather input.
Detlor calls affordable housing a laudable goal" but contends the project presents a one-sided equation" that doesn't see the Haudenosaunee reap any benefits.
We're simply trying to create some more balance here," Detlor said, noting the west harbour lands up for sale could be an example of something tangible" the city could offer toward restoring that balance.
On the Roxborough issue, Collins said he's confident" about finding a procedural way forward that works for both communities."
But Collins noted he has hasn't been privy to broader discussions Detlor may have had with city staff.
In an email, city communications director Matthew Grant said the municipality is committed to improving meaningful consultation with urban Indigenous residents and First Nations communities on municipal projects, plans and approvals," as reflected in its urban Indigenous strategy.
Grant didn't address the west harbour lands specifically in his email.
Rick Monture, an Indigenous studies professor at McMaster University, says Detlor's message serves to put treaties - old and new - that apply to Hamilton on the front burner.
I think part of this is recognition and a reminder, an assertion of our sovereign title, and our rights and our history," said Monture, a Six Nations resident.
That reminder is also born out of the frustration of governments not wanting to deal with us at every level," he added.
The treaty issues and environmental concerns in Hamilton are very much related" to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council's recent stand on lands that line the Grand River, Monture said.
The chiefs announced a moratorium on development in the Haldimand Tract, an area that covers more than 950,000 acres, including Brantford, Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge.
Prospective developers must negotiate with the Confederacy through the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, they said.
Six Nations is also governed by a separate elected band council, a system the federal government created in 1924. Over the years, the elected band council has differed with the hereditary chiefs and clan mothers on issues.
The Confederacy's moratorium comes after a more-than-nine-month occupation by Six Nations land defenders of the site of a planned subdivision in Caledonia, known as 1492 Land Back Lane.
It echoes the tense standoff over Douglas Creek Estates of 15 years earlier.
Like Monture, Detlor doesn't see a clear dividing line between the Haldimand Tract and Hamilton matters.
I think there's a broad-based sense that simply waiting for municipal entities to act honourably is not working," he said.
We've waited months and years and decades, and now we need to start taking matters into our own hands."
Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com