There are fears tonight of a new confrontation brewing around the site of a six nations land claim in Caledonia. It follows a decision by the local county council to remove a native roadblock at the centre of the dispute.

A road leading into the stretch of land at the centre of this dispute has been blocked off for eight years now since the standoff began in 2006 over Six Nations land claims.

Now, the Haldimand County Council says it’s time to move forward.

“It’s a barricade and a symbol that stands in the way of progress,” said Craig Grice, a county councillor.

The county says it wants to remove the barricade, and hopes Six Nations and the county can work together on it.

“It’s time for symbols to come down and for everyone to start working together properly and that’s our true goal,” he said.

But the local government also appears to be ready to go it alone. The county has decided to hire a private contractor to take down the barricade and it’s going to be asking the OPP to keep the peace while the work is being done.

That’s bringing back memories of the worst days of angry confrontation around the barricade in 2006.

The situation has been much calmer in recent years, apart from occasional flare ups.

The Six Nations elected council says the county’s proposed action would deepen the divide on all sides.

While the traditional Haudenosaunee Confederacy says it’s been working with the province toward a peaceful resolution of the land dispute, and that process would be endangered by the county’s threatened action.

“I think there would be significant opposition to that. I think there would be opposition from the people of Caledonia who realize it’s a provocative act in an otherwise peaceful situation and i think it would be opposed from a significant portion of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations community,” said Aaron Detlor of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. “It’s going to disrupt old feelings and really disrupt the calm that is here that has been here.”

A Six Nations resident who was visiting the site says the county would be stirring up trouble.

The Six Nations Confederacy suggests this decision by the county council is motivated by election year politics in Haldimand County. While the county says it’s not about confrontation, it’s about moving forward. There’s no word on when the barricade will start coming down.