The history of the Six Nations Community Development Trust began in the year 2000. The Six Nations Council began the process of distributing the dollars received from Ontario First Nations Limited Partnership (Casino Rama). As part of this agreement, Six Nations received a percentage of the profit from the Casino to be distributed to the community using specific criteria. The Six Nations Council following the suggestions from the community began the process of establishing a Trust for the funds. A committee was selected comprised of Councillors and Band members. This 6 member committee then set to work developing the foundation of the Trust Agreement. Consultants and other legal experts were sought for their knowledge and expertise in these areas to ensure accuracy of the document. The Committee members included Mrs. Barb Harris – Councillor, Mr. Sid Henhawk – Councillor, Mr. David General – Councillor, Mr. Charlie Thomas – Community Member, Mrs. Kristina Hoskin, CFP – Community Member and Mr. Ted Martin – Community Member. This team worked for two (2) years before making the presentation to the community in preparation for the formalization of the Trust. During this time, it was with much sorrow that Community member – Mr. Charlie Thomas passed away. His dedication, knowledge and experience were a great asset to the committee.

In July of 2003, at an open Community meeting, the Six Nations Council formally approved the transfer of 16 million dollars to the Trust. This began the hard-work of the Trust. During this period, a staff member was hired to assist as we began the process of accepting proposals, and allocated funding. A new member of the Trust was selected to sit as an “Independent Trustee” to bring the number of Trustees to six. A new consultant was selected through a tendering process to assist us in developing financial agreements, administrative procedures, and selection/monitoring criteria for projects. And finally, on January 6, 2004 Six Nations Council signed the Trust Agreement formalizing the Trust and establishing the Board of Trustees. The Trust, which is now independent from Six Nations Council, began signing financial agreements with organizations that were funded, establishing an office location, and creating an administration for the Trust.

In November of 2004, our first election of new Community Trustees was held, bringing to Board of Trustees a full compliment.