Six Nations is expanding their claim to include the wind
The Six Nations Reserve has been protesting to get control of land near Caledonia. Now they are demanding control of the wind too.
From the Guelph Mercury:
The First Nation involved in the occupation at a housing development near Caledonia is now laying claim to a parcel of land slated for a multi-million-dollar green energy project.
The Six Nations Confederacy is stalling the development of a wind farm on land owned by Canadian Hydro, saying both the land and the wind that passes over it are the rightful property of Aboriginal Peoples. [emphasis added]
The $275-million wind farm, which currently consists of a 45-turbine operation near Shelburne was scheduled to undergo major expansion next year.
Kahentinetha Horn, a Six Nations title holder, says the project site is on the Haldimand tract which was granted to the Six Nations in 1784.
"We've been robbed of our land and now we want it back," Horn said from her home at the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal.
What next? Do they retain control of the wind after it has left Aboriginal land?
Interestingly, the notion of control of the air is an old one. In the Middle Ages, the doctrine was Cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad coelum et ad inferos, or "To whomsoever the soil belongs, he owns also to the sky and to the depths." [Thanks to StraightDope]
Practically, this didn't amount to much, of course. But with the advent of air travel, the doctrine was quickly jettisoned for the more practical control to levels of about 500 or 1000 feet above your property. After that, control of the air reverts to the government.
Is that what's coming? Reserves claim their airspace and charge everyone else for the right to pass through it at 30,000 feet?
The scary thing is that to violently take control of land, you barricade the roads to keep ground traffic from getting through. We've seen that. To take control of the air, though, you have to somehow stop airplanes from flying through. Can it be done?
Passenger jets could be at risk if their pilots look at the beams shot from portable, readily available lasers.
High-power lasers capable of blinding a pilot are available on the Internet. Weapons-grade lasers designed to blind troops were marketed by China in the Middle East a decade ago.
In recent weeks, pilots have reported laser beams entering their cockpits in Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Colo., Washington, Houston, Teterboro, N.J., and Bedford, Ore. The most recent report, on Sunday, came from the crew of a passenger jet as it left Nashville International Airport.
"You can go to Office Depot and buy a laser. If you're lucky enough to get (the beam) into the cockpit, from a mile away you could probably get enough energy into it that you would at least cause momentary blindness," [University of Alabama in Huntsville scientist Michael Bannish] said.
"If you are looking at something that can destroy eyesight, the power level doesn't have to be that great," said [Kirtland Air Force Base Directed Energy Directorate Garcia] Juventino. "Even a 3-milliwatt laser pointer can do that in seconds."
Lasers sold on eBay are up to 80 times that strength.
It's a matter of time, I think. Of course, going after aitrcraft would invite an immediate response from the federal government, so maybe it's less likely to happen anytime soon.
Update: From 680 News:
They have filed a notice of seizure, which lays claim to the land and the existing turbines.
Always going for the land where there is something more than just land. Notice that? The Douglas Creek Estates with the ground already broken and infrastructure in place. No functioning wind turbines. Are they trying to land-grab some turbines and so get off the power grid?
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Comments
...what we need is those French castle guards in Monty Python's Holy Grail skit to work for OPP.
(do this with a fake heavy french accent)
..."I fart in your general direction"
Posted by: tomax7 at August 12, 2006 10:47 AM
Time to settle it. Give them all their land........and then cut off the money tap from Ottawa.
Once they have their land they can make it on their own.
No more "have their cake and eat it too" political policy for the natives.
I am tired of paying for a bad deal made by our short sighted forefathers!
Posted by: odie441 at August 12, 2006 10:57 AM
I just broke wind over the Ottawa Green belt. They can have that. I'm not willing to give up a single square inch more than that.
Posted by: TrustOnlyMulder at August 12, 2006 11:55 AM
If the natives were given full ownership and full control of their land it would not be too long before it was all firmly in the hands of a few natives and a few white man. Most of it in the hands of a few white man in all likelihood. The average native would end up with nothing.
But a final deal like that would require the participation and signatures of all parties and that would never happen. Think of all the unemployment resulting from simply closing the racist Department of Indian Affairs and all their hangers on, let alone the myriad native organizations that make a living accepting money from them in the name of their own people. Half of Canada would be unemployed overnight.
Posted by: John Crittenden at August 12, 2006 12:00 PM
"Think of all the unemployment resulting from simply closing..."
Same with if we shut down the Justice System, the Multicultural Department, the Bilingual Police, the accountants for Federal Spending, electric vehicles.
Oh wait, they did the last one already...
Posted by: tomax7 at August 12, 2006 12:15 PM
At the risk of sounding flippant, paying UI to those who would be put out of work (I really mean sponging off the taxpayers), would no doubt be a heck of a lot less than the billions wasted on the inefficient system in place now! My daddy always taught me, a penny saved is a penny earned....
Posted by: odie441 at August 12, 2006 01:55 PM
Damn... I was going to make a fart joke, but I see some others beat me to it...
I was also thinking that the Indians apparently only bother to claim land which has significant commercial/financial value.
I don't think it's about land at all.
It's about money.
It's about exercising racial supremacism; about being better than, more deserving than and more entitled than those who don't claim to be Indians.
The Indians are, as far as I'm concerned, playing the race game. It's all based on what occured centuries ago. None of the players from back then are around anymore. It just doesn't feel right that some folks who might or might not be genetically somehow related to those folks from way back then, be it in race or in ancestry, however remote, be given such submissive preference by the state. The situation in Caledonia is little different from the situation in Gaza/West Bank.
Canada has its own "disputed territories", aka "Palestine" now.
Congratulations, Canada, on getting your own "Palestine". Now you can look forward to Canuck versions of Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades...
Uh-oh, Canada... our home and NATIVE land...
I stand and fart for thee...
Posted by: The Canadian Sentinel at August 12, 2006 04:08 PM
well if you own the land then you own the air above it to a certain level.
Farmers own the wind resource on their land.
It just comes down to whether they own the land or not. My suspicion is no, if they owned all the land in the original treaty then brantford, cambiridge, Kitchener waterloo, etc would all be leasing their land from the six nations.
Imagine the economic impact if the ownership of the land in that area was under serious question and rental fees would have to be paid to the six nations.....
My question is why now? why is this coming up now? What has changed from before. I grew up in that area and this was NEVER an issue. Relations between the communities was good....something has changed.
Posted by: Stephen at August 12, 2006 05:18 PM
Ok, folks... I've done a post of my own saying what I think... and I pull no punches. You won't find any political correctness here:
http://thecanadiansentinel.blogspot.com/2006/08/indian-occupiers-claiming-ownership-of.html
I bet a lot of folks are thinking the same thing but have been intimidated into never dare saying it.
Posted by: The Canadian Sentinel at August 12, 2006 06:11 PM
Just to throw out another one. They consider themselves a different nation from Canada. What about the airspace for jets? Lot's of nations have no fly zones.
Posted by: Fergy at August 12, 2006 09:34 PM
Odie:
We can't give them all their land. They consider it all theirs.
"Give an inch take a mile..."
Posted by: Fergy at August 12, 2006 09:38 PM
The following letter is one of the links on the Caledonia Wakeup Call website. The letter itself should be considered laughable but given the lunacy taking place, Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. would be well advised to worry. What Next? The Indians lay claim to ownership of the Four Winds themselves and Dildo McGuinty agrees. Ian Tyson, in turn, retroactively turns over all royalties recieved for the song Four Strong Winds because, as it turns out, the Indians were the original owners of the wind. A Nation within a Nation...My asp.
REGISTERED MAIL
July 28, 2006.
Canadian Hydro Developers Inc.
Suite 500, 1324-17th Ave. SW
Calgary, Alberta T7T 5S8
Attention: Ms. Ann Hughes, Executive Vice-President & Kent Brown, Chief Financial Officer
Notice of Seizure by Six Nations Women Title Holders of "Melancthon Wind Farm" illegally built on "Haldimand Tract" at the source of the Grand River (Ontario Canada)
Dear Sirs:
According to Wampum 44 of our constitution, the Kaianereh'ko:wa/Great Law, the women are the title holders of our land. Title to our land is vested in the people through the women. We sent Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. a notice on February 6, 2006, objecting to your violation of our constitutional jurisdiction on our land known as the "Haldimand Tract". Your company built 50 windmills on our land to create energy for the non-native market. Your incursion is also a violation of international law.
Canadian Hydro Developers never consulted us nor asked us, the title holders, for our consent to enter our land and develop your wind mill project on Kanion'ke:haka territory. You were put on notice in November 2005 to discuss this project with the land owners even before you started construction. It is not only unsurrendered land, but according to our constitution it cannot be sold.
The windmills on our land are now attached to the soil. According to law they become part of the land. They cannot be removed. As the owners of the land we are now the owners of the windmills.
We would be glad to meet with you to discuss the full transfer of the project over to us since we now own it. We wish to explain the interests of the Six Nations people on the Indigenous territory in question so that you will fully understand our position. Also, we would like to inform you on the protocols and procedures required to deal with us on a nation-to-nation basis in the future.
Yours truly,
Kahentinetha /s/ ________________
Katenies /s/ ___________________
Cc: All media; Dalton McGuinty, Premier, Ontario, Queen's Park, Toronto Ontario M7A 1A1; Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Canada; Toronto Stock Exchange; Montreal Stock Exchange; New York Stock Exchange; Tokyo Stock Exchange; London Stock Exchange; Hong Kong Stock Exchange; Zurich Stock Exchange; Six Nations Confederacy Chiefs; and so on...
Posted by: Grandad at August 13, 2006 12:40 PM
We can't really give them their land back and be done with it.
They want 900,000 acres of exspensive prime Ontario land. Think of the tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Canadian "squatters" on "their" land suddenlt put out.
This is all getting too ridiculous to beleive. I think the fact that the natives are flying a Palestinain flag is a sign that they are learning some nasty tricks. I certainly don't like the company they are keeping.
Posted by: James at August 14, 2006 01:43 PM
I wonder if the toxic Sydney Tar Ponds of Nova Scotia is native land?
If so, why aren't they occupying that land?
Why do they seem to only claim land with enormous financial potential? Why are all claims seemingly only about money, money, money?
Whatever happened to helping regular folks trapped in the race-based system? All the billions annually we give to the Indians... and they just keep getting poorer and poorer... who's responsible? Not the people who shell out eight billion or so bucks a year on the expectation that it'll help these people in need to stand up and shake off the poverty and despair and proceed to proudly build their lives... just like anyone else, including myself, a non-Aboriginal man with my own challenges...
I wholly reject the concept of racial supremacism, regardless of what race the supremacists may be... regardless of what centuries-old pieces of parchment might say...
Just a thought!
Posted by: The Canadian Sentinel at August 14, 2006 07:50 PM
If they get the land burn everything on it they don't want the land they want houses and energy. Course 200 years after these americans emmigrated to the reserve they haven't managed to build enough houses they need evil white people to do it.
They have been here the same amount of time as united empire loyalists yet do I as a white sot get a tax exemption?
Do I get land my forfathers sold hundreds of years ago? Nooooo
but lets give it to natives.
Idiots,
Us I mean,
Posted by: DrWright at August 15, 2006 02:36 PM
Do you have a deed for it ... NOOOO!!
It's a good thing laws and treaties 200 years old are still valid, or a lot of countries would disappear. ;)
UEL's came here to be Canadian. Haudenosaunee came here on a treaty of parallel nations not interfering with each other, and they are tired of Canada's oppression and they want to be free as they were for thousands of years. And the documents will be on the table August 23.
Posted by: saga at August 17, 2006 01:47 AM
To the Canadian diphole and others spewing fear and frustration at the changing of the guard.... Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah......hahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahahahahhhahhahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! hmmph hmmmph.
Posted by: The Truth Will Come at August 21, 2006 09:07 PM
 
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