Haudenosaunee land defender Skyler Williams in Ontario court on September 12-13 to argue treaty and inherent rights

Haudenosaunee land defender Skyler Williams has tweeted:

The Hamilton Spectator also reports:

“Things have been quiet at 1492 Land Back Lane, the planned subdivision in Caledonia that has been occupied by Indigenous land defenders since July 2020.

The site has seen clashes with police by land defenders who claim the territory as unceded Haudenosaunee land on the Haldimand Tract [950,000 acres of land granted to Six Nations of the Grand River in 1784] — a claim the developers reject.

But the legal dispute between Foxgate Developments and the Haudenosaunee-led group continues, with the developers set to return to court on Monday seeking to reclaim the 25-acre property on which they had planned to build over 200 homes.

The OPP has arrested dozens of supporters who visited the disputed property, most of whom have had their charges dropped. These days, about 20 people live on the land in tiny homes set up near community gardens and young trees.

[Haudenosaunee land defender Skyler] Williams and his lawyers, Meaghan Daniel and Aliah El-houni of the Community Justice Collective, are expected to argue the Canadian Constitution guarantees Indigenous treaty and inherent rights, and governments have corresponding duties to First Nations where those rights are engaged.

[If] the court grants Foxgate the injunction, Williams said he and others at Land Back Lane are worried about the police again trying to clear the site as they did in August 2020, when officers fired at least one rubber bullet while making arrests.”

The full article by J.P. Antonacci is at Land defenders, developers prepare for next legal stage of Caledonia dispute.

Photo: An OPP police officer at 1492 Land Back Lane, October 22, 2020.

Williams has also posted on Instagram: “Court will be open for people to go in but also there has been a zoom link for people to tune in remotely.”

1492 Land Back Lane has also tweeted:

More on that here.

For additional information and updates, please see the 1492 Land Back Lane on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.