SIX NATIONS — About 100 people, chiefs and press were gathered at the Onondaga longhouse on Six Nations last week to hear a statement issued by the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in opposition to Canada’s Indigenous Rights, Recognition and Implementation Framework.
Tadadaho Sid Hill read the written statement aloud and to those in attendance.
“The adoption of this so-called “Indigenous Rights Framework” is a violation of the principle of non-interference set out in our treaties and agreements,” read Hill.
“It is the position of the Haudenosaunee that we feely determine that our political status remains that of a free and sovereign nations, consistent with this status and fundamental relationship we have with the Crown remains anchored to the treaties and agreements we currently hold.”
Hill said that the Grand Council does not accept Bill S-3 or the proposed Indigenous Rights Framework saying, “we disagree with the approach that is being undertaken by the government to make these types of decisions on our behalf.”
Hill ended the announcement with an invitation to the Canadian Government and the Governor General to “come to the table to have a more open and constructive dialogue as to how we can treat together on matters pertaining to our relationship moving forward.”
Hill then read another six page Confederacy Response to Canada’s proposed Rights Framework and Haudenosaunee citizenship. This statement gave some of the background of the historical treaty relationship between the Six Nations Confederacy and the Crown.
