That the Secretariat of the Mohawk Nation of Grand River hereby formally declares the Nation’s interest in Her Majesty’s Chapel of the Mohawks, situated at 301 Mohawk Street, Brantford, within the Grand River Territory.
The instrument
Gazette No. 28 — Declaration of Interest – Chapel of the Mohawks
28 March 2026
Gazette No.: GZT001-262003-000028
Register Entry No.: REG001-050300-000028
Tracking Code: AG1217-050000-000028 Status: Perfected / Entered / Fully Effected / Registered and Published
Category / Class: Category 20 — Ecclesiastical Law · Class 03 — Declaration
DECLARATION OF INTEREST
Her Majesty’s Chapel of the Mohawks — Brantford, Grand River Territory
Be it known to all whom it may concern:
That the Secretariat of the Mohawk Nation of Grand River hereby formally declares the Nation’s interest in Her Majesty’s Chapel of the Mohawks, situated at 301 Mohawk Street, Brantford, within the Grand River Territory. This Declaration is made in four dimensions: territorial, covenant, genealogical, and custodial.
I. TERRITORIAL
The Chapel stands within the Grand River Territory. The land on which it stands is within the original Haldimand grant. The Nation’s territorial jurisdiction extends to and includes the Chapel site. The Chapel site will be entered in the Land Registry as an asset of the Nation’s territorial estate.
II. COVENANT
The Chapel is a free chapel of exempt jurisdiction — it answers to the Crown directly, not to any diocese. The Crown, as patron of the Chapel, is obligated to ensure that its administration is consistent with the Chapel’s exempt jurisdiction and with the Nation’s interest. The Secretariat does not recognize the administration of the Chapel by the Anglican Diocese of Niagara as consistent with the Chapel’s legal status or with the covenant relationship.
III. GENEALOGICAL
The Chapel registers — maintained continuously from 1786 — are the primary source documents for the Birth and Heritage Registry. They are constitutional evidence of the Nation’s continuous presence on the Territory across more than two centuries. The Registrar General is authorized to seek access to those registers.
IV. CUSTODIAL
The Nation asserts its prior and continuing interest in the Chapel as a national institution, which interest must be recognized in any arrangement for the Chapel’s administration, preservation, and future. The Nation is not seeking the destruction of the existing Anglican congregation’s use of the Chapel — it is asserting a prior and constitutional interest.
V. NOTICE TO THE CROWN
The Crown is placed on formal notice of the Nation’s interest in all four dimensions. The Secretariat requests that the Crown review current administration arrangements and engage directly with the Secretariat on this matter.
EXECUTION
Executed under the authority of the Secretariat of the Mohawk Nation of Grand River.
Secretary-General
Date
CERTIFICATION OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL
I certify that this instrument has been duly received, examined, and entered in the Register of the Nation of the Mohawk Nation of Grand River Secretariat.
Gazette No.: GZT001-262003-000028
Register Entry No.: REG001-050300-000028
Registrar General
Date of Registration
This instrument forms part of the permanent record of the Secretariat.
Mohawk Nation of Grand River · Grand River Territory
