An interview with Hazel Hill on the HDI
By Tom Keefer
SIX NATIONS – There has been a lot of controversy over the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), a creation of the Haudenosaunee Chiefs Confederacy Council in Six Nations. On May 16th, Kelly MacNaughton and Tom Keefer invited Hazel Hill, HDI director, to join the Ka:nikonhriyo Podcast so that the people can hear directly from Hazel about what is going on with the HDI.
The podcast is divided into three parts. In part one, Hazel talks about how she came to be involved with the Haudenosaunee Development Institute and her take on current controversies in Six Nations. Hazel discusses her involvement in Onkwehon:we political struggles with her husband Dick Hill over the past 30 years, and how her involvement at Kanonhstaton led to her acting as a public spokesperson and to closer working relationships with Haudenosaunee Clan mothers. Other topics covered include, Clan families, negotiations with the federal and provincial governments, and the questions of “Sovereign Immunity” raised in the Samsung agreement.
In the second part of the show, Hazel Hill talks about the “leaked” documents brought up at Confederacy council and the reasons why Band Council feels threatened by the HCCC. Hill suggests that HDI is being unrealistically asked to fix the problems created by the colonial policies of the Canadian Government. Topics discussed include protocols of the Confederacy, and the recent attempt to expel Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council legal advisor Aaron Detlor from Six Nations, the Men’s Fire recent ventures into court, how much Hazel and HCCC legal advisor Aaron Detlor make from HDI. Also discussed are matters of cultural identity and Hazel’s take on the Mohawk Warriors handbook.
This is the final instalment of our interview with Hazel Hill of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute. This section of the interview focusses on financial matters relating to HDI, including a comprehensive breakdown of where the money is going and why.
If you have any specific questions that you’d like to have Hazel address in a future edition of the Ka:nikonhriyo Podcast, or if you’re interested in being a guest on the show and sharing your perspective, please send us an email at realpeoplesmedia@gmail.com or leave a comment below.
