CALEDONIA—Skyler Williams, the public voice of the 1492 Land Back Lane movement in Caledonia, was granted a complete discharge on all remaining charges he faced following a decision by Justice Gethin Edward at the Cayuga Courthouse last week.
Edward stated during the proceedings that the decision to drop all charges was based on his belief that Williams’ actions were explainable under existing Haudenosaunee historical treaties, including the Two Row Wampum.
Edward noted, “Skyler Williams was carrying out his actions as a land protector in the context of these Haudenosaunee laws.”
Following a series of court appearances over the past three years in relation to his refusal to vacate the former McKenzie Meadows development lands, Williams had outstanding charges for failing to abide by a court order, breaching the conditions of his release, and mischief.
Edward said that documentation proving that the lands were ever actually surrendered by the Indigenous people of the day does not exist. This is a notable difference in opinion from the two civil court judges who granted injunctions during the occupation’s earlier days, upholding the legal title claim of Foxgate Developments, barring Williams and others from being on the lands, and granting authority to the police to remove anyone deemed trespassers by Foxgate.
Despite that authority, however, land defenders have held the lands in question since 2020, with initial conflicts between defenders and OPP long having since petered out and most of the charges given out since dropped.
With Edward’s decision, Williams and fellow land defender Deryl Porter have no restrictions barring them from being on the occupied lands in Caledonia.
Foxgate did not respond to a request for comment on this recent court decision.
The Press spoke with Williams following the decision, who was relieved with the outcome but expressed frustration with the three-year court process.
“I didn’t choose to go to court. That was after being arrested for standing on the collective lands of my people. It’s an absolute ridiculous thing that in 2023 when they can’t go a day without some group, or company, or the government giving a land acknowledgment about being on stolen native land. This is our land,” said Williams.
“Civil courts will just talk about the passage of time being the reason they can’t give land back to Indigenous nations. It’s been almost 20 years at Kanonhstaton (the former Douglas Creek Estates development site that has been under Indigenous occupation since 2006), three years at Land Back. How many years need to go by before that land becomes ours again?” asked Williams.
He classified the verdict as a “lucky day”, calling it simple good fortune that he ended up in front of Justice Edward.
“He decided to take into account the history of these lands. Compared to the civil court judges, the disparity between the two speaks to a hugely broken system, a system that’s not ours, a system we have no business being in,” continued Williams. “It speaks directly to just how broken the system is. (Justice Edward) took into account all the history, he took into account the longstanding land dispute that has been going on at Six Nations since the War of 1812.”
Williams asserted that by enforcing injunctions against land defenders, the civil court effectively “strong-armed” the OPP into taking action against them, but Williams countered, “We’ve been trying to get squatters off our lands for over 200 years.”
Williams reiterated the same message he has given numerous times over the past three years: “We just want to be able to grow and thrive as a community. Being hemmed into the reserve system does not allow that to happen.”
He added, “Caledonia’s boundaries have continued to grow and grow and grow over the last 100 years, while Six Nations boundaries have shrunk.”
He argued that while lands remain undeveloped, or are used for farming, the potential remains for the lands to be returned to Indigenous people, but once development takes place.
“We’re not handing out eviction notices up and down the Grand River, we’re not trying to remove anybody from their homes, but the land that’s there, that is available,” he noted. “Let our community, our nations, have the opportunity to grow and thrive in those spaces.’”
While Williams is heartened to have his charges dropped, calling it a small step forward, he sees limited potential for the decision to impact land claims issues.
“This isn’t evidence of systemic change, it’s evidence of this judge being able to open his heart, open his mind to the fact that our people have been here for over 200 years,” he said. “I’m sure it will be brought up and people will try to use it. It will depend on that judge on that day to make whatever decision they need to make. It’s not a Supreme Court of Canada ruling, it’s the Cayuga courthouse.”
Despite this, Williams said he still carries hope that this historical issue will one day see meaningful action: “I wouldn’t keep fighting if I didn’t think systemic change won’t happen. Everybody involved in this fight has to have some hope, or it’s just not worth it.”
