One of the blockades at the Six Nations reclamation site at Caledonia, Ontario
April 2006

Update:Chris Hill of the Mohawk Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve was released from prison on March 30, 2007, to face trial on May 25 and June 2. He was arrested by Six Nations police on January 3rd, 2007, on an OPP warrant for allegedly "assaulting a police officer" during the the April 20th raid.

The Six Nations Confederacy and the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory

The Six Nations Confederacy, also known as the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy, is composed of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca and Tuscarora Nations. The "Six Nations of the Grand River" reserve, one of the many Haudenosaunee reserves and communities in eastern Canada and the United States, has the highest population of any Native reserve in Canada and is located south of Toronto in the province of Ontario.

The Land Reclamation

On February 28th, people from the reserve known as "Six Nations of the Grand River Territory" reclaimed their land at the partially-built Douglas Creek Estates housing development project. The unfinished project would have extended the town of Caledonia, which is located right next to the Six Nations reserve. On Thursday, April 20th, 2006, some 150 heavily-armed Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers raided the land reclamation site, using pepper-spray and tasers against people at the camp in the process of making 16 arrests. The raid was met with resistance by the camp occupants and by some 200 more Natives who flooded into the site from the nearby reserve. Two cops were reportedly injured and hospitalized. At least one window of a police van was smashed as the cops retreated.

In response to the police assault, the Six Nations land defenders began constructing barricades on roads leading to the reclamation site and the Highway 6 by-pass next to it, using burning tires, parked dumptrucks, dumped gravel and a vehicle that was pushed off an overpass onto the highway below and burned. A footbridge that goes over a railway line in the area was burned down and the remains were left to block the railway. Masked indigenous warriors with batons, baseball bats and socks filled with rocks maintained constant patrols of the site to prevent another police invasion.

Solidarity Actions

That same day, Mohawks at the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal raised flags on top of the Mercier Bridge as a show of solidarity with the Six Nations defenders. Kahnawake Mohawk warriors said they were engaging in defensive vigils at entrances to the reserve "to ensure that no further violence is initiated by the Governments of Canada and Ontario upon our people."

The following day, Mohawks at the Ontario reserve of Tyendinaga acted in soldarity with the Six Nations people by blocking a Canadian National railway line with a bus and burning material for about 20 hours, shutting down national freight and passenger service. Also that day, a solidarity demonstration was held at the Mohawk reserve of Akwesasne in Ontario near the Canada-US border bridge.

On Saturday, April 22nd, the Secwepemc Native Youth Movement initiated a solidarity action, setting up camp and posting billboards, banners and Warrior flags along the Trans Canada Highway at the Neskonlith reserve in British Columbia. The billboards read: "Stop OPP Terrorism" and "OPP out of SIX NATIONS"

On April 24th, a Vancouver solidarity demonstration for the Six Nations defenders took place, primarily organized and controlled by members of government-funded Native institutions, who created a "security" team, seemingly to police the march in an effort to prevent anything similar to the Six Nations rebellion from occurring in Vancouver. The demonstration was attended by about 400 people at its height and ended at the entrance to the Lion's Gate bridge in Vancouver, stopping one direction of traffic for about an hour. The security team pushed people out of the opposing lane of traffic.

In the Vancouver Sun newspaper, a Vancouver Police spokesperson described the protest organizers as "cooperative". No arrests were made at the event and the Vancouver Police Department did not try to break up the protest, because they "allow democratic peaceful protests to take place in this city," he said.

Politics as Warfare

The Ontario Provincial Police and the federal government once again called for a "peaceful" resolution to the conflict through negotiations. From the government's standpoint, these negotiations were meant to convince the land defenders to remove the barricades and leave the site. Spokespeople for Native political organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations, the Metis Nation of Ontario, the Union of Ontario Indians and the Six Nations band council told Natives to stay away from the re-occupation camp. These public requests for non-solidarity with the Six Nations defenders should have come as no suprise, since these Native political organizations are an extension of the Canadian government that funds them and from which they are given their authority.

In early April, a reported 500 White Caledonia residents demonstrated for the ending of the re-occupation camp. After the April 20th police invasion, Caledonians demonstrated outside the reclamation site frequently, some calling for the army to be brought in against the Native land defenders.

A large number of Ontario Provincial Police officers had been stationed at a former school in Caledonia since before the April 20th raid. Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were also present to assist the OPP.

Conflict Rekindled

On May 22nd, Six Nations people removed the blockade of Argyle Street (the main road through Caledonia and the old highway) only to be attacked by a crowd of racist Caledonians. A brawl erupted between Caledonians, Native warriors and OPP officers. Six Nations defenders then rebuilt the Argyle Street blockade and dug a trench in the road, using heavy machinery. In addition, a vehicle was rammed through the gate of a power station right next to the reclamation site, into the station itself and set on fire, causing major damage to the building and cutting-off power to Caledonia and the surrounding area.

Also that day, members of the Cree Nation from the Poundmaker reserve in Saskatchewan blocked a highway bridge for about two hours in solidarity with the Six Nations defenders. At night, Mohawks expressed their solidarity by holding a tobacco ceremony and setting aflame two vehicles on the Seaway International Bridge at the reserve of Akwesasne, closing the bridge and border crossing between Canada and the US for several hours.

Six Nations people removed the blockade of Argyle Street the following day.

On June 4th, an OPP car was caught driving on the 6th Line road that enters the Six Nations reserve, contrary to the OPP's agreement with the Six Nations police force. The car was surrounded by Six Nations people and the officers were forced to leave the immediate area. Soon afterwards, a barn and security company vehicle near the reclamation site were set on fire. The security company vehicle was guarding the power station that was previously attacked.

On June 9th, a United States Border Patrol vehicle near the reclamation site was briefly seized by Six Nations people, because an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agent from the US and OPP officers were using it to engage in surveillance against people at the site. Documents found inside the vehicle confirmed that the OPP has used infiltrators to surveil the site and its defenders since the beginning of the reclamation. Arrest warrants were issued for seven people in regards to this incident and other altercations that took place that day between Six Nations people, corporate journalists and a White couple in a car who were observing the reclamation site.

On June 13th, the barricades of the Highway 6 by-pass and railway were removed by Six Nations people, despite the objections of some land defenders. On June 16th, the Ontario government bought-out the land in question from the development company, Henco.

At 4:00am in the morning on June 29th, the Southern Ontario Railway rail line at the reclamation site was barricaded once again for a short time. The media reported that railway equipment was also damaged, but that clan mothers and traditional chiefs strongly advised the blockaders to leave and Six Nations police assisted with removing the barricades. This blockade was timed in conjunction with solidarity railway blockades called for by a band council chief of the Roseau River reserve of the Aninshinabe Nation in the province of Manitoba, but which were squashed by that same chief when the Canadian National railway company promised to write a letter to the federal government supporting a quicker resolution of Native 'issues', much to the disappointment of some Native youth on the reserve.

Ongoing Police and Judicial Repression

A young Mohawk man named Kahehti:io, was held the longest in jail of the April 20th arrestees, since he refused to cooperate with his jailers, but was released without charges on April 24th. Other land defenders arrested on April 20th were given many serious criminal charges and released on the condition that they not return to the reclamation site.

On June 16th, one of the seven people with warrants from the June 9th incidents, Audra Ann Taillefer of Victoria, BC, was arrested by Six Nations police and handed over to the OPP.

David Martin, one of the 16 people arrested during the April 20th police raid, was sentenced on June 14th to one day in jail and a year on probation after he plead guilty to dangerous driving and fleeing police.

Another one of the seven people with arrest warrants related to the June 9th incidents, Ken Hill of the Six Nations reserve, was arrested on June 21st to face two charges of assault. Audra Taillefer was released that day on $10,000 cash bail and an order to remain in Ontario but to stay away from Caledonia. Ken Hill was later released on the condition that he stay away from the reclamation site.

On June 28th, a Six Nations man was arrested by OPP officers in the city of Brantford, near the Six Nations reserve, in relation to the June 9th incidents, but on an unrelated warrant, according to the OPP, who did not release the man's name. A Six Nations reserve newspaper, Turtle Island News, reported that fires were set on a highway bypass in response to this arrest.

"The arrest came as a complete surprise and people at the site were angry. We are supposed to be communicating with the OPP policing table, but for some reason they chose not to tell us and this is the result," said reclamation spokeswoman, Hazel Hill. Turtle Island News reported that "organizers" at the reclamation site were able to "calm people" and "douse the fires". The arrested man was released on bail.

Ron Gibson of Akwesasne was arrested by Mohawk police at the Akwesasne reserve on September 27th on an OPP warrant related to the June 9th conflict at the reclamation site. He was detained at a prison in Hamilton for a time and then released to face his criminal charges in court.

On August 8th, Trevor Miller of Six Nations of the Grand River was arrested by Anishinabe police at the Grassy Narrows reserve in western Ontario on an OPP warrant related to the June 9th conflict at the reclamation site. After many months and several bail hearings, he remains in a Hamilton prison (as of January 2007). Several solidarity demonstrations for Miller have been held outside the Hamilton jail and in Toronto.

Christopher Hill of Six Nations of the Grand River was arrested by Six Nations police on January 3rd, 2007, on an OPP warrant for allegedly "assaulting a police officer" during the the April 20th raid.

On February 9th, Trevor Miller was finally released on bail, after sitting behind bars for over 7 months, and was greeted outside the courthouse by his supporters with tears and applause. The judge ordered a 10,000 deposit to be paid as well as two acceptable sureties and also imposed a series of conditions which include keeping the peace, early curfew, non-association with co-accused, to remain 200m in distance from the land reclamation, no driving, and that Trevor live at and follow the rules of his aunt's home. Trevor must appear in court again on March 7, one day after the Superior court hearings for the jurisdictional challenge put forth by reclamation site defender Erwin Ron Gibson, represented by his lawyer Stephen Ford.

To contribute to the legal defense fund of Six Nations: Send checks marked "legal defense" to:

Janie Jameson
RR1
Ohsweken, Ontario
N0A 1MO

Alternatively, to support Chris Hill directly, send checks, marked "legal defense" to

Rhonda Martin
P.O. box 383
Ohsweken, Ontario
N0A 1MO

Support in British Columbia for the Six Nations Reclamation (archived at the "Settlers in Support of Indigenous Sovereingty" website):

Squamish Nation member raises a flag of solidarity (April 20)

Secwepemc Solidarity Action (April 22)

Support picket: Westbank, Okanagan Nation (April 25)

Report from Courtenay solidarity action (May 6)

Related Links:

Six Nations Land Reclamation Info

Six Nations Solidarity (Settlers in Support of Indigenous Sovereingty)

Friends of Grassy Narrows

Insurrectionary Anarchists of the Coast Salish Territories