Partial Agreement for Culbertson Tract Ratified by Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory – Kingston Voters | The Canadian News

A portion of the coveted Culbertson Tract will once again belong to the Bay of Quinte Mohawks after a vote on the matter concluded this weekend.

The gang’s council said 95 percent of the more than 2,000 votes cast supported ratification of the deal for a piece of land, returning nearly 300 acres of land to Mohawk control after nearly two centuries.

According to the band council’s press release, in 1837, more than 923 acres of the Mohawk Tract were “illegally patented to John Culbertson, who was the grandson of our community’s founder, Mohawk Captain John Deseronto.”

The gang’s council said this agreement was made in contravention of an earlier treaty, formally ceding the treaty to the Mohawks in 1793 after fighting for the British during the American Revolutionary War.

In 1995, the gang’s council issued a land claim to reclaim land that they say was taken from them.

1:20Quinte Bay Mohawks to vote on Culbertson Land Tract

In 2003, the government accepted the claim. After 17 years of negotiations with the federal government, the Bay of Quinte Mohawks will once again be in possession of approximately one-third of the span. The deal will also include $ 25 million, which is intended to represent land use losses over a 180-year period.

The agreement will go to the Minister for Crown-Indian Relations and Northern Affairs for signature once the federal cabinet appointments are made.

Work continues to secure the remaining 600+ acres.