Ottawa puts all 28 Six Nations claims on table

Finally, at long last, some movement in the long simmering dispute between Six Nations and the federal government. All 28 land claims that the elected band has filed -- many of them nearly 30 years ago but rooted in gripes going back to the 19th century -- will now be open for discussion. In addition, Ottawa is chipping in to help with the OPP's increase costs of policing Caledonia since the War of Douglas Creek began over a year ago.

I cannot stress enough my anger that it's taken this long for DIAND to sit down with the band's residents. True, it will be the Confederacy who will take the lead role; although one would think the elected band council who initiated the long dormant claims years back will be fully consulted. But the governance issues are beyond the point. The point is no one ever bothered to sit down with the people and ask them what they wanted -- something that happened under successive Liberal and Conservative regimes.

At least no blood was shed like at Oka. Not yet, anyway.

But someone dropped the ball here -- and just writing a check to deal with the dispute up to this point will not solve the problem. Relations between white people and natives have already been destroyed. Property values have plunged. And aboriginals are still treated as wards of the state and not the full citizens of Canada that they are. Six Nations is symptomatic of a wider problem -- thousands of claims still not settled across Canada.

In the long run, maybe the model adopted by most of the tribes in the Yukon and accepted by the feds and the territory may be the way to go nationwide -- viable tracts of land with title and real self-governing power along with a share of income tax revenue from both levels of government; in exchange for giving up tax-free status. For now, the fact that Ottawa has accepted the fact they have to talk about what's already on the table at Six Nations is a welcome step.

But it's too little too late for Caledonia. Diane Finley, the MP for the part of the area currently occupied by white people (Six Nations is in another district) might want to consider updating her c.v. I doubt she'll survive the coming election.

Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.