Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation forgotten in Grey Cup land acknowledgment

Mississaugas of the Credit First NationGimaa(Chief) R. Stacey Laformesays he was fielding angry phone calls from his community members during Grey Cup week.

"They call me and they go, 'Chief, other nations are all over the Grey Cup being recognized. Where are we?" he said in a phone interview.

"We work so hard to get our name out there so people understandour treaties and our territory and then all of a sudden, on one of Canada's biggest stages, we're ignored and that stings a little."

The Canadian Football League (CFL) trophyarrived in Hamilton's Bayfront Park last week ahead of the championship game between the Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who eventually took home the Cup.

During the Cup's arrival at Bayfront Park, there was a land acknowledgment but it didn't includeMississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Hamilton sits ontheir traditional territoryper theBetween the Lakes Treaty of 1792 between the Crown and the Mississaugas.

The discussion around meaningfulIndigenous consultationwhen it comes to land has become more prominent across Canadain recent years, especially given a national spotlighton Indigenous truthand reconciliation this year when unmarked graves were detected at former residential school sites.

Laformesaid he reached out to the Ticats on Monday to sort out the issue.

"During our discussion, they agreed they made a mistake and they didn't understand the history," he said.

Laforme said he suggested the Ticats andMississaugasdo a joint statement that would acknowledge the error, apologize for doing soand commit to doing better. Laforme was told the Ticats were on board.

The next day, "higher ups" said they were happy to work with theMississaugas and learn more about them but they wouldn't issue a public statement.

"I appreciate they want to work with us, but my personal opinion is you made a mistake, you know it's a mistake ...in the interest of honour, integrity and reconciliation, you should admit it," he said.

"I really did feel there should be a little more."

In response, theMississaugas issued a public statementon Wednesday.

Ticatshold meeting, form committeeamidquestions

On Thursday, CBC Hamilton contacted the CFL and the Ticats.

The CFLsaid it couldn't comment on behalf of the Ticats.

The teamreceivedmultiple requests for comment Thursday, but the organization declined to comment publicly.

Instead, the TicatsdeferredtoHaudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council secretary Leroy Hill and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation communicationslead Georgia Laforme.

"That's very confusing. We're past the stage ofpassing the buck ... that's just very surprising to me,"said the Mississaugasgimaa.

Hours after therequests for comment, GeorgiaLaformeconfirmed the Ticats created a committee with Six Nations of the Grand River and theMississaugasto ensure no community is forgotten moving forward.

"We had a positive meeting today," she said on Thursday.

Six Nations of the Grand River didn't immediately respond to an interview request.

Without the treaty relationshipyou wouldn't be able to settle on these lands.- Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation GimaaR. Stacey Laforme

Stacey Laforme said while the Grey Cup was a missed opportunity to have all local Indigenous communities uniteon a national stage, some municipalities are also lagging behindwhen it comes to working with First Nations.

Buthe alsonoted good work being done by a few, includingCaledon, Oakville, Mississauga, Toronto and Niagara Falls.

"This is about people being proud of their history ... we're still here, don't forget about us. Without us, you wouldn't be here because without the treaty relationship you wouldn't be able to settle on these lands," he said.

"In this time of reconciliation ... mistakes like this should be few and far between."