Forgotten Covenant
A forgotten covenant is a binding promise that still exists on paper but has slipped out of active legal and political memory. The Haldimand Proclamation, the Pledge, Dorchester’s mark of […]
The Six Miles Deep Lexicon is the key to reading our work on the Haldimand Tract, Mohawk Loyalist posterity, and the Crown Honour Superfecta. This is not a generic legal glossary. It gathers the specific words, phrases, and concepts that keep showing up in the Haldimand story: everything from “posterity forever” and “ascertain upon oath” to band councils, fiduciary duty, and structural pretendianism. Each entry is written in plain language so readers, researchers, and community members can follow the arguments without having to be lawyers or historians. The goal is simple: when a term appears in our articles, court materials, or community documents, this lexicon gives it a clear, consistent meaning rooted in the original documents and living Mohawk law. As new research and cases emerge, this lexicon will grow. Treat it as a living reference for anyone trying to navigate the overlapping worlds of Crown honour, Mohawk nationhood, and the law along the Grand River.
A forgotten covenant is a binding promise that still exists on paper but has slipped out of active legal and political memory. The Haldimand Proclamation, the Pledge, Dorchester’s mark of […]
The Four Corners Doctrine is a rule of interpretation that says a document should first be understood by looking at the words within its own “four corners”—the text itself—before importing […]
Full and final settlement is language used in modern agreements and court orders to signal that certain claims are considered completely resolved: once the settlement is signed and implemented, no […]
Future-facing remedies are solutions designed not only to address past wrongs, but to reshape relationships and institutions going forward. Compensation cheques and one-time apologies have limited reach; they acknowledge harm […]
A genealogical dossier is a systematically assembled package of family history and proof. It usually includes birth and death records, marriage certificates, church registers, census entries, land documents, oral-history transcripts, […]
The phrase gift of deed is used to emphasize that the Haldimand Proclamation was not merely a political gesture or temporary arrangement, but a formal grant of land rights expressed […]
The Governor General is the King’s representative in Canada, performing many of the formal roles of the Crown domestically: giving royal assent to laws, appointing ministers on the advice of […]
The Grand River Navigation Company was a 19th-century enterprise that built canals, dams, and navigation works along the Grand River to support shipping, mills, and settlement. While there are modern […]
The Great Law of Peace (Kaianere’kó:wa) is the traditional constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. It sets out principles of governance, diplomacy, and social order, including the roles of clan mothers […]
The Haldimand Pledge of 1779 predates the Proclamation but sets the moral and legal stage for it. In the Pledge, Haldimand acknowledges that Mohawk villages like Canajoharie, Ticonderoga, and Aughugo […]
Haldimand Resurrection is a phrase for the effort to bring the Haldimand framework back into active legal and political life. It does not mean creating new rights ex nihilo; it […]
The Haldimand Tract is the territory described in the 1784 Proclamation: land along the Grand River, six miles deep on each side, from its mouth at Lake Erie to its […]
Harms to innocent purchasers recognizes that some of the people who will be affected by any honest reckoning with Haldimand are those who bought homes, farms, or businesses without a […]
Headrights are shares in communal resources allocated to individuals or families, famously used in the Osage Nation’s system for distributing oil revenues. Each headright gives its holder a proportionate claim […]
A hereditary beneficiary is someone whose claim to land, honour, or status arises by descent from a person or group originally named or clearly implied in a grant or proclamation. […]
A hereditary claimant is a person who comes forward seeking legal or political recognition as a hereditary beneficiary. The claimant presents genealogical dossiers, historical records, and often sworn testimony to […]
A hereditary commission is a proposed modern body made up predominantly of recognized hereditary beneficiaries—Mohawk Loyalist posterity and clan-rooted representatives—with a mandate to speak, negotiate, and litigate on issues arising […]
A hereditary registry is a structured list or database that records recognized hereditary beneficiaries and their lines of descent. Entries typically include names, dates, key ancestors, and links to evidence. […]
A hereditary title (non-Aboriginal) is a Crown-created status or dignity that passes down family lines outside of Indigenous customary structures. It can include nobility titles, coats of arms, or post-nominal […]
Hereditary rights are held by individuals or family lines and passed down through descent. Collective rights are held by a people, nation, or band as a whole, regardless of individual […]
An honour debt is the accumulated moral and legal obligation that grows when promises are made in the language of honour, trust, and loyalty and then not kept. Each year […]
The honour of the Crown is a constitutional principle that says the Crown must act with integrity, fairness, and good faith in all dealings with Indigenous peoples. It is more […]
The Indian Act is the main federal statute that regulates many aspects of life for “status Indians” and bands in Canada. It sets rules for band councils, reserves, status, elections, […]
Indian Act status is a legal label created and controlled by the Indian Act. It determines eligibility for certain federal programs and whether a person is recognized as a “status […]