The headquarters of the Kawartha Lakes First Nation sits off a road 160km northeast of Toronto. Between ads for all-terrain vehicles, hand-scrawled messages on the three buildings decry government corruption.
At the centre of the lot stands a tipi. Alongside banners commemorating missing and murdered Indigenous women and the victims of Canada's residential school system, Confederate flags flap gently in the wind.
To its 20 members, this is the heart of Canada's newest First Nation. But seven local Indigenous chiefs claim it is the site of a brazen fraud that threatens to erode their hard-fought constitutional rights.
In recent years, Canada has grappled with a spate of "pretendian" cases - in which people falsely claim Indigenous identity. The use of Indigenous symbols and slogans has also grown increasingly common among the country's far right.
Members of Kawartha Lakes First Nation argue they are exempt from laws and taxes, echoing the rhetoric of the extremist sovereign citizens movement in the US, and their emergence has raised concerns over how groups may use Indigenous identity to lay claim to land or demand government concessions.
About two months ago, William Denby, the self-proclaimed "chief" of the Kawartha group, began emailing local chiefs, and municipal and provincial officials. Denby protested against the destruction of farmland for housing developments and made broad allegations of corruption. He said he was the hereditary leader of a forgotten Indigenous nation and claimed his group had rights to nearly 15,000 sq km of land.
At first, Taynar Simpson, the chief of Alderville First Nation, ignored the near-daily emails. But then, he said: "Against my better judgment, I decided to respond."
この記事は The Guardian Weekly の May 17, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Guardian Weekly の May 17, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Going underground
A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.