On August 28th, Chiefs and Clanmothers along with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Committee (HCCC) met with the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT) to discuss concerns regarding engagement and treaty right infringements related to the Volkswagen Group’s Battery Cell Gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ontario.

In the meeting, Chiefs and Clanmothers expressed dismay at the Province of Ontario and Canada’s failure to adhere to the treaty and inherit rights of the Haudenosaunee.

If Ontario and Canada fail to engage and continue to act in bad faith, the HCCC indicates that it is prepared to issue a cease and desist order to ensure that no future work is undertaken until all outstanding concerns are resolved.

Volkswagen Group’s Battery Cell Gigafactory is currently impairing treaty rights guaranteed by a number of treaties recognized by the Crown such as the Two Row Wampum, the Covenant Chain Treaty, Nanfan Treaty of 1701, and the 1815 Zig Zag Treaty. These treaties recognize the Nation to Nation based process for obtaining consent with respect to developing on Haudenosaunee lands which Ontario, Canada and Volkswagen have ignored.

The HCCC is concerned that Volkswagen Group is also acting in bad faith, as Volkswagen has yet to address the concerns raised by the HCCC in a letter sent on April 23, 2023 to Volkswagen Group’s Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch.

In the letter, the HCCC urged Volkswagen Group to meet and address how involvement in decision making processes can be remedied and relationships repaired. The letter also urges that the Volkswagen Group act accordingly to their own Declaration of Social Rights which includes a commitment to protecting the rights of Indigenous People.

“I think that all work should stop and Volkswagen should stay in Germany until we get this straightened out,” Cayuga Chief Roger Silversmith said in the meeting with MEDJCT.