After the American Revolutionary War, land borders were redrawn by the British and the Americans, with little attention given to the Indigenous peoples.[6] Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), a Mohawk war chief, interceded on behalf of the Haudenosaunee people who had been living near the colony of New York.[7] He petitioned Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor of Quebec, to provide the land surrounding the Grand River to the Haudenosaunee people who had fought with the British and been displaced by the war. Haldimand agreed and arranged for the land between the three Great Lakes (Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and Lake Huron) to be purchased.
On May 22, 1784, the deed of sale in the amount of 1,180 pounds was drawn up by British officials and signed by the Mississauga chiefs.[8] At the signing, this remark from the Mississauga speaker was recorded (transcribed as written):
“We the Mississagas [sic] are not the owners of all that Land laying between the three Lakes, but we have agreed and are willing to transfer our right of Soil & property to the King our Father, for the use of His people, and our Brethren the Six Nations…this tract of Land we imagine will be quite sufficient both for the Kings people, and our Brethren the Six Nations, who may wish to settle and hunt thereon; Your request or proposal does not give us that trouble or concern that you might imagine from the answer you received from some of our people the other day, that difficultly is entirely removed, we are Indians, and consider ourselves and the Six Nations to be one and the same people, and agreeable to a former, and mutual agreement, we are both to help each other Brother Captain Brant, we are happy to hear that you intend to settle at the River Oswego with your people, we hope you will keep your young men in good Order, as we shall be in one Neighbourhood, and to live in friendship with each other as Brethren ought to do.”[9]
This statement highlights some of the cultural differences between the Indigenous understanding of the agreement and the British intentions for the land.
Later that year, on October 25, 1784, Sir Frederick Haldimand signed the Haldimand Proclamation (also known as the Haldimand Treaty). This treaty granted the Haudenosaunee a tract of approximately 950,000 acres from the land ceded by the Mississauga people. The tract spans 10 kilometers (6 miles) on each side of the Grand River from the source of the river to Lake Erie. [10] Waterloo Region is located on the Haldimand Tract.
The following is a transcription of the Haldimand Proclamation:
“Whereas His Majesty having been pleased to direct that in consideration of the early attachment to his cause manifested by the Mohawk Indians, and of the loss of their settlement which they thereby sustained — that a convenient tract of land under his protection should be chosen as a safe and comfortable retreat for them and others of the Five Nations, who have either lost their settlements within the Territory of the American States, or wish to retire from them to the British — I have at the earnest desire of many of these His Majesty’s faithful Allies purchased a tract of land from the Indians situated between the Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron and I do hereby in His Majesty’s name authorize and permit the said Mohawk Nation and such others of the Five Nation Indians as wish to settle in that quarter to take possession of and settle upon the Banks of the River commonly called Ours [Ouse] or Grand River, running into Lake Erie, allotting to them for that purpose six miles deep from each side of the river beginning at Lake Erie and extending in that proportion to the head of the said river, which them and their posterity are to enjoy for ever.”
“Given under my hand and seal at arms, at the Castle of St Lewis at Quebec, this twenty-fifth day of October one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four and in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of Our Sovereign Lord George The Third by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith and so forth.”
Fredk Haldimand
By His Excellency’s Command
R. Mathews [11]
In the years that followed, the intended meaning of the Haldimand Proclamation would be questioned. In 1791, the Haldimand Tract was surveyed, and straight-line borders replaced the natural borders that were defined by the twists and turns of the Grand River. The survey also led to a reduction in land along the northern border of the tract that the Crown believed was not legally covered under Haldimand’s promise.[12] Another point of contention around the Haldimand Proclamation was the Haudenosaunee people’s right to sell portions of their land. Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) felt that the sale of the Haldimand Tract was the only way that the Haudenosaunee could support themselves since they had lost many men in the war and game had become sparse due to the increasing number of white settlers.[13] After years of disagreement with Sir John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) reached a compromise with the Lieutenant-Governor’s successor, Peter Russell, in 1797.[14] The Haudenosaunee people would be able to sell portions of the Haldimand Tract, but they must first offer it to the Crown. Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) sold approximately 350,000 acres of land to the Crown which was split into six blocks and then sold to private owners.[15]
Waterloo Region is located in Block 2 of the Haldimand Tract. In 1796, a year before the agreement with Peter Russell was reached, Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) sold 93,160 acres of land on Block 2 directly to Richard Beasley, Jean-Baptiste Rousseau and James Wilson. This sale was later voided by the Executive Council of the Government of Upper Canada, because they believed that Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) did not have the legal right to make this sale. It took two years for the land to be resurveyed and for the purchase to go through the Crown. On February 5, 1798, Richard Beasley alone received the title for Block 2 and signed a mortgage for 8,887 pounds.[16]
