Capital Power Corp Flouts Haudenosaunee Treaty
Channel: David Langer
Date: 2013-01-18

Standing in the vicinity of Concession 3 Walpole and Cheapside Road, Haldimand County, Hazel Hill, board member of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, describes how an Edmonton, Alberta based power corporation, Capital Power Corporation, known in Ontario as Capital Power GP Holdings Inc. and Capital Power L.P., has decided to ignore Native treaty rights in favour of the illegal construction of numerous wind turbines on Haudenosaunee land. 
The HDI policies, as adopted in Council June 5, 2010, state:
We want the land that is ours. We are not interested in approving fraudulent dispossessions of the past. We are not interested in selling land. We want the Crown to keep its obligations to treaties, and ensure all Crown governments-federal, provincial and municipal-are partners in those obligations. We want an honourable relationship with Canada.
That relationship, however, must be based on the principles that were [set] in place when our original relationship with the Crown was created. That is the rule of law that we seek. It involves the first law of Canada-the law that Canada inherited from both France and Britain. It is the law of nations to respect the treaties, to not steal land, or take advantage of indigenous peoples by legal trickery. As the Supreme Court of Canada has frequently stated, where treaties are involved, the honour of the Crown is always at stake.
We seek to renew the existing relationship that we had with Crown prior to 1924. That relationship is symbolized by the Tehontatenentsonterontahkwa ("The thing by which they link arms") also known as the Silver Covenant Chain of Peace and Friendship. Our ancestors met repeatedly to repolish that chain, to renew its commitments, to reaffirm our friendship and to make sure that the future generations could live in peace, and allow the land to provide its bounty for the well-being of all the people. The Covenant Chain symbolizes our treaty relationship, also symbolized by Tekani Teyothata'tye Kaswenta (Two Row Wampum), which affirms the inherent sovereignty and distinctness of our governments. An essential part of the relationship is our commitment to resolve matters through good-faith negotiation between our governments, including consultation on any plans, which might affect the other government or its people. haudenosauneeconfederacy.com