The Expositor from Brantford, Ontario, Canada • 36

3 I i a-w-W'-m- r-w iJrs sJakMPi 1 1 fa lt M8 yp i sfr a v- a Expositor CENTENNIAL EDITION AM started with lacrosse Are things really better on reserve? prised than anyone at his start In the movies Joe Brown a famous comedian of a past generation saw Jay and impressed with what he saw persuaded him to join the Screen Guild Following this he took several bit ports before making his mark in such notable westerns as Broken Arrow The Battle of Apache Pass and Brave Warrior opposite such stars as Errol Flynn Elizabeth Taylor Gene Autry and others and a half-Sioux from South Dakota bought a harness horse Jay took his turn in the sulky and has been pursuing this career ever since Although he is a cardcarrying member of the United States Track Association he does not race competitively yet He intends to though after he is completely recovered from a stroke be suffered in the fall of 1974 doming back from a stroke is 'a slow procedure and could take as long as five years The stroke paralysed his right side and caused loss of speech He has made a good recovery taking hospital therapy and is now working out with the horses Main Jay his wife Mary and three 'of his four children live in a four bedroom home in Canoga Park Los Angeles suburb His oldest (child is married Jay and his wife and manager visit race tracks throughout the Ufi for Grand Circuit weeks At very track he visits a local ports personality or celebrity jsualty suits up as a to race against Tonto knew but two words: "Ketno He eventually landed a part in a mqde-in-Canada movie called Saskatchewan with Alan Ladd add Shelley Winters Later he starred in Brave Warrior playing the role of Chief Tecumseh He finally left the movies to follow another of his loves horses He had been involved with horses all his life ever since his father put Urn on one when he was a small child A few years ago Jay's manager Milan Smith a former Hollywood stunt-man and actor But now the land is underutilized he said Modem Indians are finding employment in factories and industry i profitable and less work His feme comes mainly from his portrayal of the faithful Tonto in the television series The Lone Ranger He held the part for eight years after teaming up with Clayton Moore in 1949 'Because of television with its vast audiences Tonto is probably the most famous and popular Indian of the oa: Fune had its disadvantages however as Jay found out Pressure of work prevented him from returning home from 1938 to 1957 His family had to make reguhr trips to Hollywood to see him In August of 1967 he made a triumphant return back home and far four days his name was on the tip of everybody's tongue His popularity way unequalled and a parade was given in his honor He had another purpose for returning to the reservation to raise funds for a sports centre His mother Mrs A Smith donated 10 acres of land for the building Following his television series Jay didn't find too touch work in Hollywood because he was typecast as the Indian who Perhaps the most famous fa-tian movie star in the world started his career as Harry Smith of the Six Nations Reserve Mr Smith or Jay as he is better-known rose to feme as Tonto the indispensilrie friend of the Lone Ranger own career and rise to feme is almost as exciting and spectacular as the character he portrays on the movie and television screens Reared on the reservation be became a star at toe traditional game of the Indians lacrosse His ddll at the game took him to Toronto at 18 Later he played with other boys from the reserve at Atlantic City against leading college teams from the United States Taking time out from lacrosse he took up amateur boxing and in 1935 fought his way into the finals of the 160-pound Golden Gloves championship for the Eastern United States In 1938 returning to his first love lacrosse he went to Hollywood for a game and it was this visit which began his career He was probably more sur Sis Nation Chief Councillor Richard Isaac has seen many improvements in the standard of life on the reserve but when it comes to assessing the quality of modern life he hesitates have been a lot of he said "When I was first elected to council in 1950 we had just a shed for an office Now there are maintenance buildings new offices a fireball a water system hi Ohsweken many roads and our own bousing loan The reserve that houses about 104)00 people also has its own nursing home and an education system boasting 65 teachers most of whom are Indian But have things really bn-proved? Mr Isaac so sure I was a boy everybody-farmed People used to help one another New when you need he they ask how much will you pay We were all like a closely-knit sttAJZ JAY SILVERHEELS seems to be stealing dishonesty and lack of respect among the younger he said never used to lock anything now yon have to The younger generation has a different view of life and! doesn't care about the Perhaps parents are too lax about discqrkne and the children are too free he said "I've noticed we aren't the only area with these kinds of problems" said the 74-year-old chief as be leaned back in his office chair town people say they would be afraid to come onto the reserve but I'd be more worried out alone in one of the In his 26 years on council the ACE INVESTIGATION and SECURITY Only Locally Ownad Licensed Security Firm" We provide security guards patrols and intrusion alarm systems for home and business 54 Chatham Street Phone 756-5502 Proud to serve tike rommiuimty Shown at left are Vic Harry and Doug Witteveen They represent 2 generations rtf knowledge in the meat industry We were known for 23 years as SL George Abattoir In late 1976 we moved into our new building shown below Our new facilities are looked upon as the most modem in Ontario Our process eliminates the middleman We pass the savings directly on to you with choice cuts quality meats and competitive prices All our Meats are Government Inspected and well aged for the best taste CHIEF ISAAC last 11 as chief Mr Isaac has been most concerned to provide his people with roads better housing water and a place tor senior citizens where they can be near their families and better education In many of these he has succeeded making the Six Nations Reserve the largest and most progressive in Canada But the social and economic problems plaguing most Canadian communities have hit the Indian society too As wen as the high incidence of vandalism and theft found in -most villages towns and cities the Indian community has problems with alcoholism and drug addiction family breakups and other social ills common to the 20th century Uke other areas steps have been taken to combat these problems and hek people who need it such as educational programs the Alcohol and Drug Centre above the lixary and information about other referral services The reserve's housing loan program has been a benefit in several ways has made our people carpenters plumbers said Mr Isaac had to go to Ottawa to get approval for the program bemuse we wanted to charge ony six per cent interest which is lower than that charged under government result is evident on a drive through the reserve The number of new houses and houses under construction is high and there seems to be a new (Hide in the new buildings They look solid well cared for and are diverse and pleasing in design their own houses mean the cost is cut in half as said Mr Isaac But the Indians are threatened by another factor in modem life that doesn't apply in white sorieties they are slowly being assimilated through marriage per cent of our marriages are between Indians and non-Indians" said Mr Isaac "We may eventually eliminate ourselves and the It is a very real threat to the Six Nations because of the close proximity to large urban centres and the involvement of many in the work forces of the cities "It's not good if you want to remain Indian There are very few 100 per cent Indians left and even the Six Nations are no longer separate but mixed within our Mr Isaac said he think the Indian culture was being lost however although the languages are "There are quite a few of our residents involved deeply in the arts and traditions of our people and they are teaching toe young Mr Isaac has also been constantly involved with protecting his people's rights and land He gave several examples of sales in which the Indians were taken advantage of by whites and said he suspects many "shady example the City of Brantford in 1883 purchased 805 acres for he said many other documents of sale there were no witnesses and the Indian signed his name in his own language or with an He said it makes you wonder particularly in the context of those early days how well-informed the Indians were about what they were signing or even if they did sign He said the practices in measuring land for sale were not precise and have created problems used to measure land by saying it was 10 minutes walk from one tree in this direction and 20 minutes in another direction Mr Isaac was born on the form that he still works to married and has no children get Interested and start projects that you want to see he said about his-involvement with Six Nations government accomplished what I have by simply being persistent But one thing that bothers Mr Isaac whenever be has speaking engagements or business off the reserve Is the image Indians still retain and the lack of knowledge even in communities -nearby perhaps our biggest problem he said spoke once in GaK and was asked if we lived in teepees People just don't know anything about us and some aren't even aware the -reserve is in their Court battles held bn rule of Six Nations The latest phase of a U-yearold struggle for political control of the Six Nations Indians ended on May 31 of this year with a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that the elected council was valid The dispute was heard by the Supreme Court the final authority in October 1976 At that time the court reserved judgment on whether an elected council based on the white system of government or a council of hereditary chiefs was the legal governing body Before going to the Supreme Court of Canada each side had won one decision in court contests In 1973 the Ontario Supreme Court ruled heavily in favor of the traditional council of hereditary chiefs and ruled the Indian Act which sets out an elected system of government inoperative because the Six Nations Reserve has no legal basis for being a reserve This decision by Mr Justice John Oder was reversed by the Ontario Appeal Court in June 1974 and members of the hereditary council were ordered not to interfere with or obstruct the operations of the elected council which has remained In control since then The elected council says its form of government as set out in the Indian Act is lawful the members of the hereditary council support the traditional form and claim the Indian Act is inoperative since the Six Nations own the land outright and therefore is not a reserve They also contend that the Bin of Rights'supereedes the Indian Art While changes in North America brought about by the influx of white settlers began causing pressure dissension and often disruption of the traditional Indian way of life as early as the 17th century legally the dispute over land and leadership began in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris Signing of this document following the defeat of the French in Canada by the British prompted a royal proclamation of George III in the same year setting out lands for the sole use of Indian communities In 1775 war broke out between the American colonies and Britain When it ended in 1783 many Indians who fought for the British were left without homes The efforts of Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant resulted in the grant in 1784 of a large tract roughly six miles deep on either side of the Grand River Iran Lake Erie to the head of the river Governor Frederick Haldimand who granted the land on behalf of the Crown issued a proclamation the same year which Brant interpreted as having two effects: full recognition of the Six Nations as an independent national community and a grant of the lands in or outright ownership But the British government firmly resisted both interpretations and the Crown's position on this has never changed Thus a difference in interpretation in 1784 has led to the recent dispute over land ownership and form of government In 1971 Col John Graves Simcoe was made Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada and clashed immediately with Brant over thfc issue of who owned the land In 1793 Simcoe issued the Simcoe Patent which Brant refused to recognize saying it had no effect because the Haldimand Proclamation had already conveyed ownership of the land to Six Nations A summary of the history of this dispute compiled by the Ontario Court of(AppeaI notes that it is boric that after 180 years the hereditary chiefs are claiming the deed rejected by Brant and his successors is proof of ownership The Six Nations continued to be governed by traditional customs said to date from the 14th century and over the years substantial portions of the land originally purchased by the Oown and reserved for Indian use were surrendered or sold back to the Crown and thence to others until the land was reduced to its present 44000 acres In 1923 an investigation was carried out into the affairs of the Six Nations Indians and as a result on Sept 17 1924 the govemor-VKOuncil (federal cabinet) decreed that part two of the Indian Act should apply to fire Six Nation This meant that the reserve was divided into constituencies and an elected system of government begun The conflict between the deposed confederacy of hereditary chiefs and the elected council smouldered for some years until it broke out into the open in 1959 when confederacy supporters stormed the council house in Ohsweken removed the doors and occupied the building for a week The included a proclamation of independence but it failed and several confederacy supporters had criminal charges laid against them These were later dropped 1 But that was just a rehearsal for the revolution in 1970 when large protest demonstrations and pleas through the press culminated in about 75 confederacy supporters surrounding the council house refusing to let anyone enter for three weeks The demonstration ended when the elected council got a court injunction preventing further demonstrations The confederacy decided to fight the injunction and that took the battle into the courts Our new expanded premises also offer our customers LOCKER SERVICE the only service of its type In Brant County CUSTOM SLAUGHTERING save yourself money have your own cattle prepared We are equipped to handle your custom slaughtering requests WOODS FREEZER from apartment size to full size LTD Hwya 24 A 5 Just 6 miles north of Brantford PHONE 448-1434 4 Where customers Quality come first9 Open 8 to 6 Mon Tues Wed 8 to 9 Thurs Frl 8 to 2 Saturday.