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Hamilton asked to delay Chedoke Creek dredging
Representatives of Six Nations hereditary leaders request “pause” in project to allow for Indigenous consultation.

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...x-nations.html

By Matthew Van Dongen
The Hamilton Spectator
Thu., Aug. 18, 2022

The city has been asked to pause its cleanup of sewage-soaked Chedoke Creek to consult with representatives of Six Nations hereditary leaders.

Hamilton was scheduled to put a dredging machine in the water of the creek that feeds into Cootes Paradise Thursday.

But three members of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) have since parked a car on the bridge leading into the dredging prep site at Kay Drage Park and have asked for “a pause” in the project, said spokesperson Aaron Detlor.

The city has yet to respond to Spectator requests for comment, but Hamilton police were on site and speaking to the Haudenosaunee representatives around noon.

Detlor said he was not planning to “physically block” the site.

“I’m not standing in the way of anyone,” he said, reiterating the group is trying to engage with the city and assert Indigenous treaty rights.

“The police are aware of our treaty rights. They know we have a right to be here.”

The group arrived in conjunction with a news release from the HDI calling for the province and Metrolinx to “meaningfully engage” with Indigenous leaders on planned new rail lines throughout historical Haudenosaunee territory.

In general, the arm of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy has increasingly criticized the city for not consulting on a broad range of issues, including harbourfront land sales and a proposed widening of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.

Indigenous treaty rights are a complicated topic across Ontario and Canada.

Locally, Hamilton is covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant treaty with the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee.

The Between the Lakes Purchase treaty with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation of 1792 also applies to the city. These treaties are recognized in a land acknowledgement read out by the chairs of municipal meetings.