"One more Six Nations claim"

by Paul Barnsley

SIX NATIONS - A company created in 1832 by a special act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada plundered the Six Nations trust fund, according to the Statement of Claim in Band Council's suit against Canada and Ontario.

The Grand River Navigation Company (GRNC) was created to make the Grand River navigable between the Welland Canal and Brantford. This involved building 5 locks between Cayuga and Caledonia.

Investigations done by the Land Research office reveal that money and land were arbitrarily taken from Six Nations and used by the GRNC.

"The Legislative Assembly created the board [of the GRNC] and the Indian Agent became the president of the board," says Land Research Director, Phil Monture. "There was a definite conflict of interest. Indian money was being pumped directly into the Navigation Company."

Band Council claims the Crown used money from the Six Nations trust fund from 1834-1847 to finance the GRNC. At one

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point, even though the Chiefs had no knowledge their money was being used by the Crown, Six Nations owned 75% of the stock in the company. The Crown also authorized loans (which Monture said were never repaid) from the trust fund to the GRNC.

One of those loans (for 950 pounds) was made to David Thompson, owner of a large home on the northern bank of the Grand River just outside of present-day Cayuga. That home, Ruthven, is currently being restored by the Lower Grand River Land Trust Foundation, Inc. The restoration plans have received nation-wide publicity.

Monture maintains that home belongs to Six Nations. Trust fund records show the 950 pounds advanced from the fund to pay for the land where Ruthven was built by Thompson was repaid with money taken from the trust fund. "We were paying his loan for him," said Monture.

In 1837 the Crown gave the GRNC 368.7 acres of unsurrendercd land from the Haldimand Tract. That land included 66 foot wide towing paths along the banks of the river. The paths allowed horses to pull barges in the river.

"The tow path is our land," says Monture. "It was never surrendered or sold by Six Nations."

When the GRNC ran short of money the Town of Brantford loaned it 40,000 pounds. The mortgage was secured by the property and income of the company. In 1861, when the GRNC failed to pay the town, Brantford sought and received a foreclosure order against the Crown-owned company.

Land Research says the company didn't own its assets or lands because it had never paid Six Nations. However, the Crown made good on its debt to the town by selling Brantford the Eagles Nest tracts (over 200 acres for about $2700 in 1876.)

In its Statement of Claim, council says the Eagles Nest tracts were never surrendered and they want the Crown to prove that the funds were actually paid to Six Nations.