Sep 04, 2015 | Vote 0 0

Long-awaited land deal for First Nation at Ipperwash, but old wounds remain

His brother, is not happy with the structure of $95M agreement, which returns Ipperwash to a local band



Glenn Ogilvie,The Canadian Press


Hamilton Spectator
By Colin Graf


SARNIA — On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the police shooting death of native protester Dudley George at Ipperwash Provincial Park, his brother is upset over the terms of a proposed $95-million deal with the federal government that seeks to return the land George died trying to reclaim.

But leaders from the established First Nation in the area say the agreement is long overdue, and supported by the majority in a community deeply wounded by past injustices.

Dudley George's brother, Pierre George, is among the descendants of more than a dozen families who lived on the land along Lake Huron, located about 35 kilometres north of Sarnia, before they were evicted in 1942 to make way for an army training camp.

They self-identify as a separate group from the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point, the established First Nation in the area, and call themselves "Stony Pointers." Roughly 20 Stony Pointers, including George, currently occupy the former army camp.

The historic deal would return the lands of the camp — about 1,050 hectares — to the Kettle Point band. The First Nation, in turn, has promised to use the money for "community enhancement, including individual compensation, healing, and economic development," along with "infrastructure ... including the resettlement" of the army camp lands, the agreement states.

There are no details in the deal about how compensation will be distributed. The Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point is the only First Nation mentioned in the agreement.

But Pierre George believes the government should be dealing only with the descendants of the Stony Point families, and not with the recognized Kettle Point band. He says the communities were separate before the evictions forced many of the Stony Point families to move to the nearby Kettle Point land, and blurred the lines between the two bands.

"Only people from Stony should have the say," he said, and criticized the promise of a payout to all band members as "buying votes."

Kettle Point Chief Tom Bressette confirmed that about $20 million is earmarked for compensation, with $5,000 going to every resident, whether Kettle or Stony. Seniors, some of whom lived on the Ipperwash lands before the appropriation, will get $10,000 each.

A notice on band letterhead from a band meeting earlier this year states that the compensation funds will be transferred to a trust fund within six months of a ratification vote, and will be distributed "based on the requests of Band Council, for various purposes detailed in the settlement agreement."

"Most of the people here are tired," Bressette said. "It's been 70 years we've been trying to make them (the government) live up to their commitment that they would give the land back."

Bressette disagrees with Pierre George. He says the communities have a long history of good relations that dates back to before the Second World War.

"We've been a harmonious community and always were until the military came along and ruined that — and that's what created a sense of someone lost and someone gained," he said.

After the land was appropriated, he said Kettle Point made room for the Stony families, and never received compensation.

"Basically, it should even itself out, because we've always looked after each other's interests, and we continue to do so," he said.

Asked for comment for this story, a spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada said only that the First Nation and the government "have concluded negotiation of a proposed Settlement Agreement to resolve all outstanding issues regarding the former Camp Ipperwash lands."

The First Nation's membership is expected to vote on the settlement on Sept. 18, she said.

Conservative MP Bev Shipley (Lambton-Kent Middlesex) said the government is "very happy" the proposed agreement has been reached.

"It's not just significant for them (Kettle Point band) but also for our government," he said.

Shipley said he hopes the question of compensation for the Stony Point families "moves ahead," but said it is an internal matter for the band to resolve if the deal is approved when members vote.

Band Councillor Marshall George, who is Dudley George's first cousin, says the deal for the land is good news for all native residents.

"It's been a long time coming," he said of the deal, which he believes band members will approve when the main vote is held on Sept. 18.

He said the families whose land was taken in the '40s will be compensated fairly, adding that many band members can trace their lineage to both bands.

His own mother was from Kettle and his father from Stony.

"Almost everybody is of the opinion this is an opportunity to get (Kettle and Stoney) back together. There are "very, very few who don't go along," he said.

Mike Cloud, a Stony Pointer and former band negotiator who now helps run the gatehouse that controls access to the Stoney community, said the deal is good.

"This will be great for everyone, Kettle and Stony," he said.

The agreement provides for removing the dilapidated army camp buildings. The old buildings show visible signs of decay, with peeling paint and some broken or empty window frames.

The deal also sets out plans for environmental cleanup and continues the search for, and removal of, any unexploded munitions. No cost estimate for the cleanup, or timeline, is included in the agreement document, but all costs will be covered by Ottawa, the agreement states.

Adding the site of the former army camp, where Pierre George and other Stony Pointers now live, will double the size of the reserve, leaving the First Nation with two land bases, separated by several kilometres of farmland, beachfront homes and public beaches.

The longtime struggle to reclaim the land boiled over on Sept. 6, 1995, when Dudley George was killed during a confrontation between OPP and protesters, who had been occupying the former army camp to bring attention to their demands.

OPP Sgt. Kenneth Deane was charged and convicted of criminal negligence causing George's death. Deane died in a car accident weeks before he was scheduled to testify at a government inquiry into police actions at Ipperwash.

In 2007, the head of the inquiry, Commissioner Sidney B. Linden, called on the federal government to return the former army camp "immediately, with an apology and appropriate compensation."



Toronto Star