On October. 26, 2005 the first stone was cast when Six Nations Chief David General wrote to Henco Industries, warning of the dangers of developing the Douglas Creek Estates subdivision on native land. The warnings where ignored and on February 28, 2006 a small group of Six Nations protesters from the Grand River Territory reserve move onto the Caledonia construction site, erecting tents. Thus marking the beginning of a 100+ day seige in the small tranquill town of Caledonia.
The Six Nations protesters claim the land was stolen from them more than 200 years ago. They have been lied too, abused and used. But, please this does not give anyone the right to throw away all dignity and descend to a sub-human level.
"I urge Aboriginal people to maintain non-violent protest in the example of Ghandhi. However, I give my blessing to any Aboriginal person touched without their permission to respond in the appropriate manner, always and only in response to the choices made by individual police officers."
-a compassionate plea from Brendan Cross the former leader of The First Nations Party of Saskatchewan and a policy speechwriter for The First Peoples National Party of Canada
Here is my look at the crisis through the eyes of 100+ individuals captured in print, video and pictures. I hope this post delivers a balanced, educated view of the situation and is in no way meant to judge either side.
...The Ontario government has revealed it's buying out the developer whose housing complex has been hit by the demonstrators. The ongoing dispute about who owns the land where Henco Industries built its new homes has hit the company's finances hard.
The natives claim the land is theirs. The government maintains they surrendered it in the 1800s...(June 16)
...violent setback was symptomatic of what's been a stressful and exhausting ordeal for everyone involved, and tensions could easily explode again...
...Protesters say police were armed with M16 rifles, tear gas, pepper spray and Tasers, and subdued a number of people with shocks from the Tasers and pepper-spray. A spokeswoman for the protesters said one female protester was "beaten by five OPP officers." OPP would later deny that excessive force was used(April 20)...
...Sam George, whose brother Dudley was killed by an OPP sniper during a stand-off at Ipperwash Provincial Park, calls for calm and urges authorities to treat the protesters fairly(April 21)...
...3,000 Caledonia residents hold a rally in the evening, calling on authorities to end the standoff. Later that night, about 500 residents confront police and native protesters at the blockade(April 24)...
...Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer infuriates protesters when she tells CBC Newsworld that Caledonia residents "have to get to work to support their families. If they don't go to work, they don't get paid and if they don't get paid then they can't pay their mortgages and they lose their homes(April 25)...
...Vandals shut down a transformer station in Caledonia, cutting power to thousands of residents in surrounding Norfolk and Haldimand counties.
In the evening, the Emergency Response Team of the OPP arrives in riot gear to shore up the police barrier between the native and non-native protestors(May22)...
...Two revelations were experienced by Edwards right then-- the underlying racism First Nations people are forced to live with and the fact protesters thought they could rely on the power of the media to alleviate the pressures they were experiencing by the presence of the OPP.
As for the Ipperwash crisis and in part Sam George's demands for the truth, Edwards said he hopes for better treatment towards the protestors in Caledonia as a result of the growing awareness against racism.
...'We want to keep this moving forward and rebuild the trust,' says Six Nations Chief MacNaughton...
...two levels of government and the Six Nations are back at the table urging natives and Caledonia residents alike to remain calm as efforts continue to "rebuild trust"
... Strip away the land-claim issue, the barricades, the anger and the violence, and the conflict at Caledonia comes down to two sets of people living in the same place with totally different approaches to organizing their societies.
...The rule of law is a basic underpinning of a civilized and equitable society. It assumes an understanding of the need for everybody to obey the law. It's a principle that is suffering immense damage in Caledonia.
...two CH TV cameramen were injured, an elderly couple harassed in an Argyle Street parking lot and a vehicle belonging to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was taken and allegedly driven at a police officer...
...When a group of people attack two members of the media in front of several police officers who refuse to render assistance and when other members of this same police group show up in full riot gear to confront restless residents, I lose faith in our elected representatives to come to grips with what is becoming anarchy.
The natives are flouting the law and thumbing their noses at authority...
...How can Kwinter, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, reasonably expect non-native citizens to practice restraint and tolerance, when the First Nations people have displayed anything but those qualities...
... Businesses and homeowners that have suffered the consequences of an aboriginal blockade in Caledonia, Ont., have no choice but to file a class-action lawsuit to recoup tens of millions of dollars in losses...
... Angry residents living next to the Douglas Creek Estates say they'll protect their homes and families if the OPP won't...
...There have been so many incidents escalating in intensity on an almost daily basis, but they are not producing a favourable result for anyone involved. Violence is increasing, tempers are reaching the boiling point, yet there is no resolution. Innocent people and their safety are being jeopardized...
...Ontario Provincial Police are trying to recover classified documents containing the identities of undercover officers and operational details concerning the native occupation...
...Ontario has slammed the door on Caledonia negotiations until natives clear their barricades and help police find six wanted men...
...Friday's incidents in Caledonia can only be interpreted as political correctness run amok. The facts reported in several media point either to a blatant disregard of the rule of law, or to fear of being labelled anti-native on the part of the Ontario Provincial Police...
...Caledonia might well be the Wild West...
...Time to return the land taken piecemeal from the natives...
...do something before the blood starts flowing...
... Renegades. Hotheads. Troublemakers. They exist in every situation, in every camp, in every faction. There's always someone who would rather throw a punch, or a brick, than not...
...For all of my 35 years (with the Hamilton Police Services), I followed Canadian police stories and cases from coast to coast and never have I heard of a case where Canadian police officers stood by and watched citizens being beaten by thugs. Yet it has now happened -- in Caledonia...
...On the first evening he spent at home during a two-week leave from his tour of duty in Afghanistan, Sgt. Daryl Shuch slept through the sounds of police helicopters and angry protesters.
He was tired after his 27-hour journey from Kandahar to Caledonia, Ont., and the turmoil outside his door barely registered compared to the battles he witnessed during his Canadian military service....
...The minister responsible for the OPP is defending the force's strategy in the Caledonia standoff, saying an aggressive OPP intervention would make the situation much worse....
...In a strange twist to the Caledonia standoff, natives protesters have come to the defence of the Ontario Provincial Police...
... One of the television cameramen who was beaten up during a scuffle with protesters Friday said he's seriously considering taking legal action against the Ontario Provincial Police for dereliction of duty...
... Several hundred angry Caledonia residents confronted OPP in full riot gear late last night as the standoff with native protesters grew progressively more tense throughout the evening...
...Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty condemned the violence that saw two CH cameramen taken to hospital yesterday after a scrimmage with natives...
...We want to congratulate the people of Caledonia who came forward and formed their own barricade...
...The OPP officers assigned to the native standoff did little to bolster the confidence of the people they're supposed to protect by admitting they are concerned about their own safety...
... Federal cabinet minister and local MP Diane Finley is urging Queen's Park to send police into a housing site occupied by native protesters to clear them out in an effort to return the town to "normalcy."...
...The letter writer describes the native protests as justified and the counter-protests of the townsfolk as "racist-based."
Like perhaps most non-native Canadians, I agree with much of the natives' stand on land claims and other issues.
When the letter writer dismisses the reaction of the people of Caledonia as simple racism, I'm frankly not sure if she's taking a negotiating position or is truly sincere.
If sincere, I feel she, too, doesn't properly understand her neighbours. The natives made a classic mistake by using the townsfolk as "cannon fodder" in their dispute with the government...
... It's disturbing that Ontario Provincial Police officers on duty in Caledonia don't feel safe...
... OPP officers assigned to the native standoff in Caledonia say their bosses have put their public image ahead of officer safety and law and order...
...First Nations chiefs from across Ontario pledged their support to Caledonia protesters yesterday, and warned governments to expect more occupations if native land claims aren't settled...
...Caledonia: Idiot thinking at its worst...
...Prayer is most powerful ... It worked here' (May 25) and 'Let's Shake on It! Caledonia Impasse Ends; Natives, residents reopen Argyle St (May 24)...
...MAKE THEM GO; Lawyer urges judge to force end to standoff...
...Only in politics could history be of such fleeting importance. Only in politics could the party that so vigorously rejected calls for an inquiry into its own handling of a native standoff turn around and demand an inquiry into the Dalton McGuinty government's handling of a native issue that is still in the process of being resolved....
... The fragile peace in Caledonia was shattered last night with events apparently being sparked by an OPP cruiser taking a wrong turn...
... The citizens of Caledonia seem to take pride in making reference to welfare money given to people of the Six Nations. Based on these comments and the stigma they implied, one is forced to assume there are not, nor never have been, any residents of Caledonia who at some period of their lives have had to rely on welfare...
... I cannot understand how our prime ministers, both in the current situation in Caledonia and in the past at Ipperwash, did not consider a war in our own country to be their priority. If Stephen Harper wishes to be remembered as an outstanding prime minister, he should make the native Canadian problem his to be solved...
... The OPP has launched numerous criminal investigations relating to the occupation of Douglas Creek Estates, including activities on an adjacent hydro right of way and the blockade of a rail line...
... Ontario's Minister for Aboriginal Affairs says the province has done all it can to solve the problem in Caledonia and now it's time for Ottawa to step in...
Please see parts 2,3 and 4 for videos from Caledonia
