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Continued from page 6 Looking back, Beaver now understands a lot more of what was going on then, and can see the significance of taking back the Council House which was the recog- nized seat of government at Six Nations. · Even during Bea,ver 's trial he began to understand more than he did when he wrote the letter that caused him so much concern. He had op- portunity to speak with Mad Bear duri11g that time and soon gained an understand- ing of what was going on, and more importantly, why. Mad Bear · Anderson sent a runner to ask Bea- ver to come to the Council House one evening dupng the occupation to sign a pa- per promising he would not write another letter to the edi- tor, which was a condition of his release. Ironic when you consider he has been a con- tributing columnist to the Ex- positor for many years since then. Beaver knew it was only a media photo-op, but he complied with Anderson's request and freely signed the paper for the televi~_ion and newspaper cameras. "Mad Bear really knew how to use the media," Bea- ver recalls. Although Beaver himself saw it all as no big deal, his arrest was used as a lightning rod by politicians, the RCMP and the me<lia for police ac- tion against the revolt. "I had no animosity at all for any of the men involved in my arrest, then· or now," says Beaver. Beaver began listening closer and paying more at- tention to what ~as going on around him with so many land sales taking place with- out the people's input or the involvement of the Confed- eracy. It was around that time the Band Council had sold off a good sized piece of the Glebe Land to Brant- ford for the construction of Pauline Johnson High School and what became Gambles Department store, most re- cently the old Canadian Tire plaza. There was also a deal struck with Cockshutt's for more land for expansion of the foundry. Once Beaver had his eyes opened, he could no longer ignore what he saw and soon ~ SPECIAi, George Beaver charged for treason -1959 In 1959, twenty-six year old George Beaver faces the cross-examination of Wallace "Mad Bear" Anderson and Iroquois Police Chief, Ross Powless at the Council House where he was defending himself on charges of treason. Beaver had written a letter to the editor which was published in the Brantford Expositor which was critical of the hereditary chiefs system and the revolt itself. He was found guilty and ordered not to write to the Expositor again, and released. Ironically, Beaver later became a regular columnist in the Expositor and a full supporter of the Confederacy Chiefs. (Expositor Photo used by permission) became a supporter of the Confederacy. "Now here we are ·50 years later and it's corning around again," says Beaver. "The same issues, the same government stance. They could all save a lot of grief by simply treating our people fairly." See the entire feature on- line at tekanews.com under pull down tab, "1959 Revo- lution."