A judge has returned control of a disputed Deseronto-area building and lands to the local Mohawk band council, but a defence lawyer says his clients will appeal the ruling.It does appear though, that not all the Mohawks have rejected the jurisdiction of the wily white man's courts.
In a judgment released Wednesday, Justice Lynn Ratushny of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice ruled the building and lands must be returned to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) band council.
The case had been brought by MBQ Chief R. Donald Maracle on behalf of band council and all band members against Shawn M. Brant, his father, Ronald L. Brant, Andrew Clifford Miracle and Ohwistha Capital Corp.**********
The lands were occupied and the building built by the Brants, then sold to Miracle - though the judge wrote neither the Brants nor Miracle ever had band council's consent.
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Ratushny, in her written ruling, explained that in 1992 the Brants approached the band with an offer to purchase the property in question.*
Though they did not purchase or pay for the lands, they did borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars from Ohwistha - an Aboriginal finance company that administered development loans for native businesses - and from Industry Canada to help them construct buildings there.
None of these funds were repaid.