Tyendinaga Update: The Fight for Return of Culberston Tract Lands
The Culberston is a tract of land, 923 acres in size that runs along theeastern boundary of Tyendinaga today. In 1837 the Federal Governmentchanged the status of the land from Indian land to white land. All agreements with the Mohawk Nation predate the existence of Canada.While the Mohawk Chiefs immediately registered their people’s dissent in 1837 when the land was stolen, no formal legal process existed to pursueits return. Despite a fundamental obligation to uphold previousagreements between the Mohawks and the crown, the Federal Government only created such a process in 1991.Tyendinaga filed a formal claim for the land with the Feds in 1995. The claim seeks the restoration of lands to the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. In November 2003, Tyendinaga received a letter from the Federal Governmentacknowledging what the people of Tyendinaga have always known: That the Culberston Tract was never surrendered and is Mohawk Land.
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