History shows McKenzie Meadows lands were ceded – TheSpec.com
As a lawyer practicing in Haldimand County for the past 50 years, I have always been interested in matters pertaining to the title of lands. The claim by the occupiers of the McKenzie Meadows subdivision in Caledonia that the lands were never ceded (i.e. surrendered) by Six Nations does not appear to square with the historical record. I refer to the reports of Joan Holmes filed in connection with the City of Brantford’s injunction motion in 2010. Holmes is a professional researcher in the field of Aboriginal Land Claims and litigation research and has been recognized as an expert in this field. After reviewing the historical documents from the 1840s, she concluded that such documents indicated that the Six Nations Chiefs in Council expressed their intention to reserve particular lands for their exclusive use and surrender the remainder for sale. In particular, at the meeting of Dec. 8, 1844 the Chiefs in Council agreed to have the township of Tuscarora set aside as their reserve and certain other parcels including 200 acres near Brantford as well as parts of the Township of Onondaga and the Township of Oneida. Forty-five chiefs signed this document. As to the lands in Oneida Township, the only lands they wished to reserve were those, “adjoining the tier of lots on the west side of the Plank Road,” i.e. west of the farms on the west side of present Highway 6 and Argyle Street, west to Tuscarora Township. The whole of her report can be found on Google.
