<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/09/canada-first-nation-kawartha-lakes-validity>
"The headquarters of the Kawartha Lakes First Nation sits off a single-lane
highway 100 miles north-east of Toronto. Between signs advertising the sale of
all-terrain vehicles, hand-scrawled messages on the three buildings decry
government corruption.
At the centre of the lot, near signs for the “Redneck Church” and “Chief
Willy’s Man Cave” stands a 26ft tipi. Alongside banners commemorating missing
and murdered Indigenous women and the victims of Canada’s residential school
system, Confederate flags flap gently in the wind.
To its 20 members, this is the heart of Canada’s newest First Nation. But seven
local Indigenous chiefs claim it is the site of a brazen fraud that threatens
to erode their hard-fought constitutional rights.
In recent years, Canada has grappled with a wave of “Pretendian” cases – in
which people falsely claim Indigenous identity. Meanwhile, the use of
Indigenous symbols and slogans has also grown increasingly common among the
country’s far right.
Members of Kawartha Lakes First Nation argue they are exempt from laws and
taxes, echoing the rhetoric of the extremist sovereign citizens movement, and
the group’s emergence has raised concerns over how groups might use Indigenous
identity to lay claim to land or demand concessions from local and provincial
governments.
About two months ago, William Denby, the self-proclaimed “chief” of the
Kawartha group began sending emails to local chiefs, municipal and provincial
officials. The messages, seen by the
Guardian, were often written in all caps
and combined grievances and increasingly bold claims.
Denby protested against the destruction of farmland for housing developments
and made broad allegations of corruption. He also said he was the hereditary
leader of a forgotten Indigenous nation and claimed his group had rights to
nearly 5,800 square miles (15,000 sq km) of land.
At first, Taynar Simpson, chief of Alderville First Nation, ignored the
near-daily emails. But then, he said: “Against my better judgment, I decided to
respond.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
