High Park BMX trails create dispute among BMX community, Five Nations activists and city officials
The BMX trails in the High Park area of Toronto, Canada, have been under the radar over the last few weeks. The issue pertaining to the site of the trails has caused some major tension between the Five Nations activists, the city of Toronto and the local
BMX riders.
The Five Nation activists do not approve of the BMX trails, which include a series of dirt jumps, built on the site that, according to their claim, is an ancient burial ground. The native community refers to the site by the name of Snake Mound and is persistently
asking the city government to stop the destruction of the burial grounds and its conversion into BMX trails.
In order to prevent the defilement of the burial ground, members of the Five Nations have occupied the area, setting up camps, in order to keep the BMXers from riding it and pressurising the city government to bring the Snake Mound back to its original state.
The city of Toronto, on the other hand, has rejected the claim made by the Five Nations concerning the historical significance of the High Park area. An archaeological study was conducted at the site two years, but no artefacts or other relative evidences
were found.
The spokeswoman for the city of Toronto, Margaret Dougherty said, “We do not recognize it as burial ground nor is it recognized by authoritative experts as such.”
However, the city’s officials also want to see the BMX trails removed from the area. According to them, the city government had not granted permission to build BMX trails on public property, making it a direct violation of law.
Facing opposition from both, the Five Nations and city of Toronto, the BMX community is standing its ground firmly, asserting with conviction that the BMX trails have been there since 20 years and were built by the local followers of the sport. They credited
the BMXers for the maintenance of the site.
Talking in reference to the site of trails and the evidence of it being a sacred ground as claimed, David Redwolf, who is a member of the Seneca Wolf Clan and Taiaiako’N Historical Preservation Society, said, “There have been arrowheads and red ochre found
on these grounds, along with shells from Mexico and obsidian from Wyoming. Many of these artefacts brought up to the surface by the BMXers' digging has helped the situation, to prove what these grounds are.”
All three parties, involved in the dispute, are refusing to accept any compromises so far. The Five Nations have offered to help the BMX community find an alternative site for trails if they are willing to cooperate.
The Five Nations and BMX community have been communicating with each other in order to diffuse the tension. Hopefully, they will be able to resolve the issue before the tension between them increases and both the groups stop being civil in their meetings.
The city of Toronto is also helping out in the negotiations.
Regardless of how the negotiations turn out, the demolition of the High Park BMX trail is scheduled to complete by July.
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