Six Nations: ALL CHARGES WITHDRAWN - Stirling St - Byron Powless Big day today in Court for Byron Powless. He was accused of breaking and entering into a home on Stirling street last September 13, 2007 as well as assaulting a 6ft 300 lb man. Police seek 3 suspects in Caledonia assault

Toronto Star - Sep 20, 2007 Richard Smoke, 18, Byron Powless, 18, and a 15-year-old boy are being sought on charges of assault and break and enter. House builder Sam Gualtieri was ...

Police seek 3 in assault at Caledonia - Globe and Mail Trio sought in Caledonia beating - cbc.ca All 9 related - Related web pages

Caledonia: Eight native protesters released on bail Infoshop News - Sep 21, 2007 Byron Powless, 18, is wanted for assault and break and enter. A 15-year-old youth who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act is wanted for ... Related web pages

Two Six Nations People Arrested, Deal Off Between Developers and...

Infoshop News - Oct 9, 2007 Warrants are still outstanding for Richard Smoke, 18, for aggravated assault and break and enter, and Byron Powless, 18, for assault and break and enter.

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Today in a Hamilton Court House, ALL CHARGES WERE WITHDRAWN. There was insufficient evidence to proceed with a trial. (He wasn't even in the house when our two young men were attacked.) Needless to say his accuser couldn't even identify him!

Also, last Friday the OPP stormed Kanonhstaton to arrest one of our men. In the midst of this attack officers pointed their loaded guns at the heads of two of our women.

On Sunday during a ceremony at Kanonhstaton, a non-Native male climbed a fence onto Kanonhstaton and brandished a knife and physically and verbally threatened the life of 10 yr old boy who was partaking in the ceremony.

On Monday at Kanonhstaton a non-Native Male who resides in a house in front of Kanonhstaton* was drunk, erratically driving an ATV onto the site. He then began threatening our women. He was calling them derogatory names and told one of the women, " I know your husband is in jail, but I'll finish the job for him..." Basically sexually threatening an Indigenous woman. As far as I know, as of yet, there have been no charges laid.

This man also was witnessed grabbing a gas can and trying to set his own house on fire.

All in all, a very eventful weekend to say the least...

News rec'd by email from a Six Nations spokesperson

* The home of Dave Brown and Dana Chatwell, on Argyle St, Caledonia, sharing two boundaries with Six Nations reclamation site, Kanonhstaton (former Douglas Creek Estates), and the site of many irritations. The provincial government really should buy them out, (and move Dana's house) imo, and Sixth line too. Willing seller, willing buyer. no brainer.

Six Nations, Caledonia Family of builder beaten during native occupation hopes lawsuit changes policing 2 hours ago TORONTO — A lawsuit brought by a home builder viciously beaten during a native occupation in southern Ontario will hopefully result in more power being handed to front-line officers policing the contentious dispute, the man's family said Wednesday. Sam Gualtieri, 53, suffered serious brain damage after he was attacked Sept. 13, 2007, while attempting to clear native protesters from a home he was building for his daughter in Caledonia, Ont. Two men and a youth were later arrested and charged. The lawsuit, launched against the Ontario government, claims police were in the area and did nothing to prevent the assault. The statement of claim alleges Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino instructed his officers not to remove the protesters "simply because they were native," an order contrary to his police duties "given for ulterior political motives." "We're doing this on behalf of everybody in Caledonia," said Joe Gualtieri. "If it's a victory for my brother, then it's a victory for everybody there. Because the way they're policing the situation is a two-tiered system and it's not fair to the people living there." Sam Gualtieri was left unable to work, and suffers from depression, fatigue, vertigo and has trouble with simple cognitive tasks, the suit claims. The Ipperwash Inquiry, which created a set of recommendations on how to handle occupations after the fatal police shooting of native Dudley George, has worked against the community in Caledonia, Joe Gualtieri said. "(A favourable outcome) will allow police to do proper arrests ... because right now their hands are tied," he said. "Through this, we hope that they will be untied." The allegations, filed with a court in Cayuga, Ont., on Tuesday, have not been proven in court. Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday he can't comment on the case while it's before the courts. But McGuinty expressed support for Fantino and provincial police, praising the job they've been doing in Caledonia since the aboriginal protest began in February 2006. "If we're going to address this in any way that's permanent, then the (federal government has) got to resolve this," McGuinty said. "In the meantime, we will do everything we can to keep the peace." Gualtieri is seeking $5 million in general damages and $500,000 in special damages. His wife Sandra is seeking another $500,000 under the Family Law Act as compensation, mainly for loss of guidance, care and companionship, said lawyer John Findlay. "Although suing for negligence against providing police services is a fairly new tort, it's a fairly straightforward action," said Findlay, who is also behind a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of several business and property owners related to the Caledonia occupation. On the day of the assault, Gualtieri was called away from his framing business to check out a disturbance at the site of his daughter's home. He arrived to find several officers nearby as a native protester planted a flag on the roof, the claim states. Gualtieri climbed the scaffolding in a bid to get the man to come down. The man eventually descended. Later in the day, Gualtieri returned to the site with two nephews and an employee to find several protesters in the home. This time, when he attempted to remove the men, they allegedly used an oak railing to beat him over the head and kicked him until he was unconscious. According to the claim, it was members of Haldimand emergency services who found Gualtieri in a pool of blood and not provincial police, despite officers being present on the site. "(Police) knew that the protesters who were on the site were trespassers, had made threats, had a propensity for violence, and that the presence of the protesters imposed a danger," the claim states. It alleges police took no steps to remove the trespassers or protect those at the property from potential harm. Provincial police declined to comment. Gualtieri's suit is the second one brought against the province alleging provincial police failed to act appropriately in Caledonia. http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5icHcEL8DmyzoSZ_zSoKB6NaxmE2Q I support the Gualtieris right to launch this lawsuit. I believe it can provide valuable information to the public about the laws that relate to the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. I believe it will also reveal one important fact that the Gualtieris have not even mentioned: The builders were ordered off the site by the OPP. The Gualtieris did not comply with the OPP order. Instead, Sam Gualtieri armed himself with an oak railing and waited outside for the youth he knew woulod again try to place a flag on his house. Then he ran back in and attacked them. If they were off the site, as ordered by the OPP, the incident would not have occurred. Instead, Sam Gualtieri would have had to tolerate the sight of a Haudenosaunee flag on the roof. I wonder if given the chance today, whether Sam Gualtieri would opt to obey the police order to leave the property? Would he choose to tolerate having the flag placed on the house instead of attacking the teenagers? After all, they are just teenagers, and it is just a friggen flag!! Also, the lawsuit says he expected the police to protect 'him', which they did by ordering him off the site. What Sam Gualtieri really means is that he expected the police to 'protect' the house, to stop the youth from putting up a flag on it. (Yah, right. They'll get right on that!) Yes, I agree a court hearing will be useful to clarify the responsibilities of the police, and the responsibilities of builders who are building on disputed land. Gary McHale reports... Although the story didn't include anything about the Election, both Sam and Sandy (his wife) had hope the reporter would have included two points - Diana Finley has never once contacted them and they are voting for Gary McHale and will have Gary's lawn sign up on their property by the weekend. I guess that pretty much says it all, since Gary McHale is a racist and known to be associated with white supremacists in Ontario. I sympathize with Mr. Gualtieri's injury, but not his personal views. I believe those 'personal views' were at the heart of the incident that he instigated.

Six Nations, Caledonia Stirling St Revisited Review... http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20070920135803120 So ... what really happened at Stirling St? WHO attacked whom? First the background: Sam and Joe Gualtieri were building a house for a family member in the new Stirling St. survey in Caledonia, which was under protest by Six Nations due to their unresolved land rights. When Six Nations people arrived that day, the police shut down the site and told all the builders to leave. Six Nations youth climbed the scaffolding and placed a flag on top of Gualtieris house. Sam Gualtieri was infuriated and climbed the scaffolding and removed the flag amidst harsh words for the protesters. The Gualtieris refused to leave the site as per police orders, and continued building. Later in the day, they left the house. From there, two scenarios exist: 1) Sam Gualtieri ran back into the house unarmed and was attacked by two Six Nations youth wielding a piece of oak. His brother Joe and two nephews came in, saw the attack, left him in that condition and ran back out to get 2x4's. This is the scenario posed by the Gualtieris. Specifically, Joe Gualtieri says he was not in the house to see the initial contact but arrived to see his brother Sam being attacked, and then he ran back out of the house. (???) 2) Six Nations people watching from nearby video'd the Gualtieris standing out back by their truck, watching the house. Sam armed himself with a piece of wood and ran into the house when he saw a youth entering (to put up a flag). He jammed the wood against the youths throat and held him against the wall. (The youth was 15 years old. He had abrasions on his adam's apple.) The second Six Nations youth entered, struggled with Sam to free the 15 year old and hit Sam with the/a piece of wood to stop the attack. Again, Joe Gualtieri claims he was not in the house to see the initial contact but only saw the Six Nations youth attack Sam. I am sure my conclusions are obvious: There is video of Sam Gualtieri arming himself with a piece of wood (handrail?). There are photos of the abrasions on the youth's neck where his adam's apple was almost crushed. Joe Gualtieri's story doesn't hold up. I strongly suspect he entered the house while Sam had the youth pinned against the wall, and isn't telling the truth about that.