“These organizers need to understand that indigenous lands should not be considered desert [where] our lands and the safety of our people don’t matter,” Rick Montere, who is a Mohawk with the Turtle Tribe, told CBC Hamilton on Thursday. The Festival of Lights took place on a farm in Six Nations on August 20, despite community concerns about permits and safety. Many ticket holders, some who came from over 100km away, were turned away by Six Nations police, while others managed to get to the property and release traffic lights. Monture said that while some municipalities like Toronto have banned sky lanterns, Six Nations is among the sanctuaries that don’t have the same laws, which “creates a loophole” for event organizers. “They don’t care if it causes any potential harm or threat to the community … I would put the onus right on the organizers of the event,” said Monture, who is also an associate professor at McMaster University in the departments of English and Cultural and Indigenous Studies. After calls from multiple ticket holders for refunds and a fuller explanation, the festival organizer told CBC Hamilton this week that it relied on the venue to ensure last weekend’s event could go ahead. “We did what the venue told us,” said Drew Dunn, director of US-based Viive Events. The event, held at the same property in 2019, had raised concerns from members of the Six Nations community before it was held again this year. Six Nations police, who described the incident as “unauthorised”, cordoned off the area and, according to a neighbour, it turned into “chaos”. “They said they were taking care of it,” Dunn said of the property owner. “I’m the first to admit it didn’t go the way we wanted it to go.” CBC was unable to contact the property owner, and Dunn has not provided further information about the space.

How the night turned out

Viive Events is the Utah-based company behind The Lights Festival, where people light a lantern and let it fly into the sky. Festivals are held across the US and Canada and have caused concerns in the past. The Six Nations event, advertised as taking place in the Toronto area on Aug. 20, was organized remotely, Dunn said. The company held the event on private property, the Johnson Farm. The First Nations reserve is also home to the largest Carolina forest in southern Ontario. Rick Montour had strong words for the organizers of the Festival of Light, which took place on the First Nations reserve on August 20. (McMaster University) Terri Monture lives next to the farm and described a scene of “chaos” on Saturday night — dark streets lined with cars, with people trying to get to the site despite police blocking it off. He said he spoke to at least one person who didn’t know the area was a sanctuary. He told them they shouldn’t be there and “our band council and our heritage council condemned [the event].” At least one official letter from the community signed by Mark Hill, leader of the elected council, was sent to organizers before the event, saying it was too dangerous to release lanterns and that organizers had no authority to do so. When asked if Viive Events had contacted the elected council or the Council of Chiefs of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (HCCC) — the traditional, hereditary leaders on the reserve — Dunn said he wasn’t sure and needed to double check. HCCC declined to comment. While there was an announcement from organizers on the day of the event asking the roughly 5,000 ticket holders not to throw the lanterns, some took to the skies on Saturday night. Others were turned away by Six Nations police, who said this week they were investigating and may lay charges. Dunn said organizers were unaware police had arrived at the event and were turning people away. He said the company was unable to get in touch with the police, which he said was the reason for their delay in making a public statement. The company posted a note online Sunday night apologizing “for any confusion and disruption.” “We were confused as participants … no one would talk to me,” Dunn said, adding that he had not heard of possible charges from police. Six Nations police did not respond to questions from CBC Hamilton.

Events company says it follows ‘correct protocols’

In a statement released on Tuesday, Hill said the incident represented “a callous disregard for the safety and well-being of the people of the Six Nations”. One family experienced car trouble at a relative’s wake because of traffic from the event, he said. “It is unacceptable that outside organizations believe they can exploit our sovereignty for their own benefit by hosting events on the territory that have little or no benefit to our community,” he wrote. Rick Monture said he was particularly upset by a part of the organizers’ statement Sunday, which said they were happy for those who managed to free their lanterns. They were essentially saying, ‘good for you for disobeying the police and threatening the lives and well-being of people in the community,’” Monture said, calling the company’s actions and response to the disaster “very racist.” When asked about both community and ticket holder concerns, Dunn said there has never been a single fire in the five years the event has been running. The company goes through “all the right protocols,” he added. Lights Festival organizers say they are setting another date for the event to make up for last weekend’s Six Nations event which they say caused “confusion and inconvenience” for ticket holders. (globetrotter.mitul.kathuria/Instagram) “Not everyone loves the event, it’s just like anything in life … that’s part of doing a special event,” Dunn said. “People don’t realize the thousands of people who go there because they’ve lost a loved one or they’re starting a job … that’s what we’re giving people.” He said the venue itself is private property and they can host an event whenever they want. He also said the event went well when it took place there in 2019. Terri Monture previously told the CBC that the event raised some concerns.

Organizers issue limited refunds

Dunn said Viive is working with customers to give refunds to some with tickets, but not all. “When a musician goes on tour and the artist loses their voice, they don’t bring everyone back, but they plan for it,” Dunn said.
The company has 52 complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), many of them about accessing refunds and/or events not happening. “Consumers reach out to business for refunds and fail to reach them,” the site says. However, Dunn said, “We’re not here to steal money, we’re not here to scam, we’re here to bring an awesome event to people.” The other opportunity to get a refund is if the event is canceled and a new date is not set within 90 days of the original event. Dunn said Viive hopes to have another event in Ontario by October, but said it won’t be held at Johnson Farm. Instead, it will be in a municipality that supports the event, he said. “We’re working day and night to find another venue to do it the right way so these people can experience what a great event it is.”