"Tutela Heights development only offers $1.6 Million to Six Nations"

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne's government may be dictating to developers within the Haldimand Tract lands whom at Six Nations they are to consult and engage with in developing lands Six Nations has an interest in.

Calgary's Walton Global Investments Ltd., says they are insisting on only negotiating with the Six Nations Elected Band Council on a 600 home development in Tutela Heights because "Ontario recognizes the band council as the official government of Six Nations."

John Plastiras, executive Vice-President, Real Estate of the Calgary based investment company said "the band council is the government recognized by Ontario."

He said Walton has no plans to consult with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC).

"Not from our perspective, no," he said. "We were dealing with Six Nations Elected Council and they deal with the community at large. That's where we're focusing our engagement process."

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne's office did not return Turtle Island News inquiries.

Six Nations has negotiated a maximum of $1.6 million from the 600-home Riverbend Estates development on Tutela Heights land in Brantford.

Walton International offered the Six Nations Band Council a 20% equity in the multi million dollar project in the well known, historic Tutela Heights area.

Lonny Bomberry, director of lands and resources department, said Walton International only owns five per cent of the development and has offered Six Nations only a 20 per cent equity stake of the five per cent.

In other, the $1.6 million is a projected profit of Walton's sale of the home lots.

Mystery investors own the other 95 per cent of the project and Walton Vice-President of Real Estate John Plastiras refused to reveal who those investors are at a community engagement session at Six Nations Polytechnic last Wednesday night.

But his co-worker said the unnamed investors are Canadian from across the country.

Walton is putting in infrastructure and then plans to sell the lots to contractors.

Bomberry said Six Nations Band Council may go after the builders later on for a bigger sum.

Bomberry said he's happy with the maximum potential of $1.6 million coming in from their partnership with Walton.

"Well, it's certainly better than nothing," he said. "We got nothing before. That doesn't preclude us from going after the crown later."

Plastiras repeatedly said he wouldn't engage with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council on the project because of a "legal opinion" the company sought, in addition to Ontario only recognizing band council as the official government of Six Nations.

"We're working directly with the Six Nations Elected Council," said Plastiras.

"That's who we've been working with over the past three years and that's where we're focusing on our relationship. We continue to consult Six Nations elected council and that's where we continue to focus our attention."

He said he has no concerns about a potential shut down of the project for not consulting with the HCCC.

"Again, we've been dealing directly with Six Nations Elected Council," he repeated.

The HCCC's planning department, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, has been excluded from participating in archaeological work on the property, as well.

Only band monitors were hired to oversee the digs, which is currently in a stage four excavation. Stage four digs occur when either burials or a village is discovered, according to Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport guidelines.

John Dunlop, an archaeologist with the company hired by Walton, Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI) denies any evidence of a longhouse, village site, or burial has been discovered.

That's despite a 1981 photo in a book published by the province of Ontario depicting the presence of longhouses not far from the development area.

Bomberry ridiculed the photo as not being real.

"Who drew that," he said. "I can draw that, too."

Dunlop said archaeologists found a number of "lithic" artifacts during the digs mainly stone tools and projectile points. They also discovered five old farmsteads and remnants of a brick house.

"We did not find a village or burial sites," he said.

He said the archaeological investigation proceeded to stage four because they found a "significant" number of artifacts, which are now all stored at ASI's headquarters in Toronto. Those Haudenosaunee artifacts date back some 4,000 to 10,000 years ago, he said.

Dunlop and Bomberry both insisted band council monitors did "proper" work.

"We stopped after every stage of investigation," said Dunlop. "We reviewed all the findings with Six Nations (band council monitors). That's who we were told to involve in the investigations."

His client - Walton - told them to hire only band council monitors.

"They keep a close eye on what we do and what we find. We want to make sure we deal with everything properly."

Bomberry could not answer why Land and Resources was not going after the other 95 per cent owners.

"I don't know who they are. They haven't come to us."

He said band council doesn't go after development companies to seek consultation and accommodation - they wait for the companies to come to them.

He said they might consider changing their strategy.

During the first phase of the project. Walton will install the infrastructure for 200 lots, which will later be sold to home builders.

"Once they sell it, it's out of our hands," said Bomberry.

He said they haven't yet thought of going after the people that will actually build the homes for a better deal.

"We haven't thought of that yet."

The value of the whole project is not known.

Bomberry said his team did not obtain an independent valuation of the project and Plastiras refused to answer what the project's potential value may be.

Bomberry said they will not be holding an open community meeting on the project, just informal open house sessions like the one held last Wednesday, where individual conversations are held around the room between community members and project stakeholders.

"I like it this way," said Bomberry. "It's more productive this way. People don't like coming out to meetings because they don't like getting yelled at." The last community meeting held on a development project by the band was the controversial brewery project proposed by the band to be set up at the Oneida Business Park.

The brewery community meetings were contentious with community members demanding a brewery not be built on Six Nations. A referendum held later saw an overwhelming vote to turn down the brewery.

The Walton development will see the company build its own containment system for the water and sewage and Plastiras said recent test wells have shown there is an available supply of groundwater in the area.

He said they will be digging a well to supply water to the entire development.

However he could not comment on what effect pulling that amount of water from the groundwater would have on surrounding homes and Six Nations.

"We have studies on that," he said but did not make them available.

He said the sewage plant they plan to build will not be "piped directly" into the river. Instead, he said it will have "indirect piping."

Neither study was available.

Bomberry said the band did not hire their own experts to examine the water and sewage studies.

"They have to meet Brant County standards so that should be okay," Bomberry said.

Bomberry said he did not know if the water extraction would affect Six Nations water levels.

The next engagement session is being held Nov. 23 at the Community Hall in the sports den.

Bomberry said his team will bring a recommendation to band council detailing whether or not there was community support for the project and proposed deal and if council should move forward with the project.