Dene man invokes ancestral rights
Joe Casaway says city has no right to develop Latham Island trail
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, September 23, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknives Dene man is crying foul over city plans to construct a public trail and license off dock space on a Latham Island property he says has been in his family's hands since 1941.
Joe Casaway holds a city map while he sits at a city-owned picnic table he says was put in his backyard without his consent. Casaway said he does not understand how the city can propose developing the waterfront area without consulting him first. He said his family has been living at the site since 1941. - John McFadden/NNSL photo |
Joe Casaway, 50, said his family has lived on the parcel of land off Morrison Drive and adjacent to Watt Park for three generations starting with his grandfather Albert Casaway.
Casaway said he has already had to put up with other city encroachments, including two picnic tables, a garbage can and a bike rack in what he considers to be his backyard.
"I've personally been here for three years but according to records my family has been here since 1941," said Casaway.
"It is quite likely beyond that but it is definitely since '41."
He added the house he currently lives in is actually the third house built on the site. Casaway said the property was willed to him by his grandfather after he was born because he was the only grandson. He, his parents and his uncle Germain Casaway have lived on the property at various times.
Resident feels like he's treated like a squatter
The home no longer has power running to it and that is part of the reason why Casaway feels he is being treated by the city as if he were a squatter.
But that is simply not the case, he said.
"They would tax my uncle every year. He had full city services. You can't do that for a squatter. He got mail here. He used to have a house number. A squatter doesn't get a house number," said Casaway. "When I went to the land registry office about eight years ago to research the property and find out how it was registered, a city official said the building with their records in it burned down. How convenient."
What Casaway does have from the city is a document called a "historical building directory" from 1986. It lists Casaway's great aunt as the owners of the home but the property is considered to be on Commissioner's Land. Another document from 1990 by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada notes a development permit for a building on a property identified as Block G, Lot 9 – the same lot identified by the city in its documents and where Casaway currently resides – as belonging to the Yellowknives Dene.
Casaway said the city has never made any attempts to force him off the land but said it has never talked to him about the park equipment placed on it nor its latest proposal to license dock space and build a trail across a number of waterfront lots, including his.
Concerns voiced at meeting
At a municipal services committee meeting on Monday, several Latham Island residents voiced concerns and opposition over city plans for the waterfront. Council is expected to further discuss the issue in the coming weeks.
Casaway suggested further attempts to develop his lot will lead to a lawsuit.
"I talked to Ernest Betsina, chief of Ndilo, and our position on it is that I am the legal owner of this property," said Casaway.
"Before the city existed all of Latham Island was native people. For the city to go ahead with any discussion about developing this land in any way is asinine."
Casaway's lot is the furthest north of nine lots the city said this week would be affected as it proposed developing two small parks at either side of the 200-metre stretch of waterfront land, linking two parks with a better trail and licensing the docks behind the properties.
Jeff Humble, the city's director of planning, said the city is attempting to get input from the Yellowknives Dene.
"I've actually reached out to Chief Ed Sangris to figure out what their thoughts are on this," said Humble.
"What we suggested to council is to open up the engagement process to the broader public. That of course needs to include the Yellowknives Dene because they have the longest history, not just on (Latham Island) but in Yellowknife in general."
The Yellowknives Dene are primarily composed of two communities: Ndilo at the north end of Latham Island where Ernest Betsina presides as chief; and Dettah, across from Yellowknife on Yellowknife Bay where Sangris is chief. Neither Betsina nor Sangris responded to interview requests from Yellowknifer before press time.
Humble said the NWT Housing Corporation removed the original shack on the Block 9 property due to health and safety concerns, after which the existing home was subsequently built. He said the home falls under the city's squatter policy and that is why power was removed. He said when Joe Casaway's uncle Germaine Casaway died that there was some correspondence with the GNWT over the property but it is not clear whether the Casaways were involved in that discussion.
Humble said he has also talked to Casaway about the situation.
"We decided to let the dwelling remain and (ownership) has to be discussed with the GNWT and arguably at the federal level," said Humble.
