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SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... The Rising of the Ongwehònwe: Sovereignty, Identity, and Representation on the Six Nations Reserve A Dissertation Presented by Andrea Lucille Catapano to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University December 2007 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Andrea Lucille Catapano We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Ned Landsman, Dissertation Advisor Professor, Department of History John A. Williams, Chairperson of Defense Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of History Aisha Khan, Associate Professor Department of Anthropology, New York University formerly, Associate Professor, Department of History and Africana Studies Roger L. Nichols, Professor Department of History University of Arizona This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School Abstract of the Dissertation The Rising of the Ongwehònwe: Sovereignty, Identity and Representation on the Six Nations Reserve by Andrea Lucille Catapano Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University 2007 This dissertation considers the legal, cultural and political conflicts between the Canadian government and the Six Nations, the Native people of the Grand River Territory. It is a story with colonial roots, but focuses on the twentieth-century with three major episodes detailed in 1924, 1959, and in the early 1970s. The narrative was steeped in the long history of resistance of Six Nations in the face of continued colonial oppression – first, by the British, and then by the settlers of Canada that is ongoing until today. Canada, for example, was notably one of few members of a United Nations committee, along with Australia, to oppose the adoption of a Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2006. Indigenous groups such as Six Nations represent a threat to Canadian sovereignty, territory and wealth. Indigenous claims concerning land, resources and a quest for self-government place Native peoples on a collision course with Canadian development. The Six Nations fled to the Grand River territory under the leadership of Chief Joseph Brant following the American Revolution, rekindling the council fire of the ancient Iroquois Confederacy near Brantford, Ontario. Seeking to legally secure both their lands and independence, Six Nations leaders struggled to codify their rights as set forth under the Haldimand Proclamation and the Simcoe Deed. The legal cases that ensued to preserve Six Nations rights to self-government, preservation of the Grand River lands and treaties have been contested in Canadian and international forums by the Confederacy Council of hereditary chiefs. In this endeavor, they were opposed by an Elected Band Council, established as the recognized government for the Reserve in 1924, with the support of the Canadian government and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The struggle for representation, cultural rights and self-government has often set the “Ongwehònwe,” or “real people,” at odds with one another on the Reserve. Yet, I argue that contrary to academic scholarship, factionalism is not endemic at Six Nations, but rather stems from the nature and workings of the colonial process, as instituted first by the British, and then by the Canadian settlers’ society. Through a comprehensive examination of a ninety-year record, I describe the shared meaning, beliefs and pride in the Six Nations as our community’s identity, for it was simply too strong to break. Six Nations is now attempting to forge a common message to address the Canadian government with one voice. Six Nations leaders, families and clans have a renewed sense of shared purpose that, I argue, will not be undermined by the Canadian government’s power. Presently, there is an ongoing national debate within the community, evoked by a yearning for consensus in Six Nations affairs. It is my contention that consciousness of an Ongwehònwe identity will be instrumental in guiding our people to forge a new relationship with Canada. Six Nations seeks a greater degree of independence and freedom in shaping the future of our community, with power to finally attain our own peoples’ visions and aspirations through Native self-government and cultural autonomy. For my children, Stephen, Susan and Michael. Table of Contents Part One…..……………………………………………………..………………………………...1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter One: Origins of the “Great Schism”............................................................................................ 30 Chapter Two: Who Will Rule at Grand River? ........................................................................................ 73 Chapter Three: The Great War and the Status Case Erode the Links of the Covenant Chain ................ 105 Chapter Four: Red Coats, Redskins: Representation, Race and Sovereignty of the Six Nations .......... 140 Chapter Five: The “Red Indian” At Home and Abroad: Colonialism, Native Identity and Representation ................................................................................................................................................................ 193 Chapter Six: Twilight on the Grand River: Thompson’s Commission Takes Aim at the Confederacy as Deskaheh Campaigns at the League of Nations ..................................................................................... 230 Chapter Seven: Covering the Council File: Removal of the Confederacy Chiefs................................. 272 Part Two.......................................................................................................................... 297 Chapter Eight: Long Night in the Wilderness ........................................................................................ 297 Chapter Nine: Warriors’ Revolt at the Council House ........................................................................... 335 Part Three........................................................................................................................ 377 Chapter Ten: DIAND and the Evolution of the White Paper ................................................................. 377 Chapter Eleven: Warriors, Women and Chiefs’ Revolt Finally Turns the Tide..................................... 407 Chapter Twelve: The Elected Council and Canada Fight Back: The Appeal in Ontario........................ 467 Chapter Thirteen: Supreme Court Decision ........................................................................................... 484 Chapter Fourteen: Gender and Cultural Rights: Six Nations Women Triumph over the Indian Act .... 519 Part Four.......................................................................................................................... 561 Conclusion: The Wisdom of the Ongwehònwe, Looking Forward to Protect........................................ 561 Select Bibliography ................................................................................................................................603 Appendix I.............................................................................................................................................. 627 Appendix II............................................................................................................................................. 628 Appendix III ........................................................................................................................................... 629 Acknowledgments The members of the faculty at Stony Brook in the Departments of History and Africana Studies who have aided me through many trials and tribulations in finishing this manuscript have my thanks and appreciation, especially Ned Landsmen, John Williams, Aisha Khan, David Sheehan and Roger Nichols. My former employer, James R. Schlesinger, former Secretary of Energy, and the entire staff of our office, Margaret Sellers, and the late Evelyn Irons and Lois Madden, had all encouraged me to pursue my study of Native History and they supported my efforts throughout my career. I am grateful for their kind words and help through decades of friendship. This project has been a labor of love and commitment dedicated to the men and women of my immediate and extended family, the community of Six Nations both on and off the Reserve. I have been fortunate to have known many of the heroic individuals in our community who have fought to keep this story alive – both, in our hearts and memories, as well as in the historical record and the public sphere. Not all of these individuals have lived to see this dissertation in its finished form, but my remembrance of each one of them has inspired me to finish. I could not leave this task unfinished for I still heard their voices, telling me to “go and find the records for us…go down there [New York] and tell them about us…” I listened, and I promised to find the Six Nations records in Ottawa about the “Indian Question,” to which we had been customarily denied access. I also took with me on this journey, the memory of Sophie Martin in her long gingham dress at the Border