The Chief of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation believes "change is starting."
Jason Henry made the comment as the 25th anniversary of the fatal shooting of Dudley George is observed.
The Indigenous protester was shot by an OPP officer Sunday, September 6, 1995 at Ipperwash Provincial Park.
Kettle & Stony Point First Nation Chief Jason Henry. 14 August 2020. (BlackburnNews.com photo by Colin Gowdy)
Chief Henry said a lot has changed over the past 25 years.
"In 1995, the majority of Canadians had no idea what an Indian residential school was," said Henry. "Many Canadians had no clue that there was a Sixties Scoop or Indian day schools. Black Lives Matter (BLM), certainly has changed things the world over, with respect to how people think about other races and colours of man."
The BLM movement advocates to bring justice, healing and freedom to Black people across the globe.
"Those same actions and those same steps have not been taken for our people," said Henry. "So, I think there is some peril that can be drawn, but I don't think that we're fully there yet. I think we're still being overlooked."
Henry said much more needs to happen to bring equity to Indigenous people.
"I always ask people to question if they've travelled the world. Have you been to Italy, have you been to Paris, were you engulfed in the culture there, 'oh, yes,' (they say), did you see the architecture, did you hear the language. I'm like, so you were engulfed in that country, in that culture 100 percent, and I'm like have you been engulfed in my culture, because this is the continent you live in and the answer is always no."
Henry refrained from sharing whether or not a ceremony was planned to remember Dudley George.
"I will say that if there is anything, it will be small, it will be intimate and it will be for family and community."
George was shot and killed by Ontario Provincial Police officer Ken Deane, who was subsequently convicted of criminal negligence causing death.
Protesters had occupied the park two days before the shooting to draw attention to a decades-old land claim.
After a lengthy public inquiry, Justice Sidney Linden issued a final report on the shooting in May 2007.
The 100 recommendations included a direction that the federal government return the land to Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.