The Haldimand Tract and Land Back

"All our teachings and healing and life comes from the land. This land. Our land. And it’s all free."

The Importance of Land

The importance of land. – Indigenous Food Sovereignty Collective Waterloo Region

Map of the Haldimand Tract

Source: CBC News Graphics retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/haldimand-tract-development-moratorium-1.5993081

The Haldimand Tract

The Haldimand tract is 10 km of land on either side of the Grand River. In 1784, this land was granted to the Six Nations of the Grand River (the Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga and Tuscarora nations) by the Haldimand Proclamation for allying with the British during the American Revolution. Now, the Six Nations have less than five per cent of the land originally granted to them (Taekema, 2021).

1492 Land Back Lane

1492 Land Back Lane is a group of Six Nation Land Defenders who aim to protect the Haldimand Tract from being developed without the consent of the Haudenosaunee. They work to stop housing development projects on Mackenzie Meadows, bordering the town of Caledonia, which are directly violating the sovereignty of the Haudenosaunee (Indigenous Climate Change Action). 

Donate to the legal fund by sending e-transfers directly to landback6nations@gmail.com

Articles on Land Back Lane

  1. 2022
    1. Sep
      1. Skyler Williams, 1492 Land Back Lane camp spokesperson, in front of Canadian flag (CBC, 2020)
        Dispute over Land Back Lane injunction in Caledonia, Ont., back in court

        The developer behind controversial efforts to build a subdivision in Caledonia, Ont., was back in court Monday, trying to get a permanent injunction against demonstrators from Six Nations who have been on the site for more than two years.
  2. 2021
    1. Apr
      1. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) gathered
        Six Nations traditional government wants moratorium on development of Haldimand Tract

        The Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) has announced a moratorium on development in the Haldimand Tract — a heavily populated area covering roughly 384,451 hectares along Ontario's Grand River.
    2. Jan
      1. Land Back sign outside courthouse in Cayuga, Ont., to protest the arrest of people from Land Back Lane. (CBC)
        Land back: Movement to reclaim Indigenous land grows

        A report published by the Yellowhead Institute, a First Nation-led think tank, takes an in-depth look at the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous lands in Canada, and at what Indigenous people are doing to get land back. Executive director, Hayden King, discusses the findings. 
      2. Demonstrators carrying Land Back Lane banners in protest
        Broken promises, unceded land: The history behind the Land Back Lane protest

        Indigenous protesters have occupied the site of a proposed housing development in Caledonia since July. The roots of their action go back to the American Revolution.