As the 30th anniversary of the fatal shooting of Dudley George approaches, the Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation is highlighting key recommendations which have yet to be implemented.
The Indigenous protester was shot by an OPP officer at Ipperwash Provincial Park on Sunday, September 6, 1995.
In a news release, Chief Linda Debassige said this time is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges the community of Kettle and Stony Point continues to face.
She said work continues to ensure ancestors are not forgotten and lands wrongfully taken are returned to their rightful owners.
“The Anishinabek Nation has been working on heritage and burials, treaty, and public education, but this is often done without the support from our provincial government counterparts," Debassige said.
"For far too long, the Government of Ontario has been ignoring our inherent and treaty rights. History has proven this as we remember the events that led to the tragic incident at Ipperwash Provincial Park, and the inaction of the Government of Ontario to prevent it. We need expedited processes that will ensure tragedies like Ipperwash never happen again," she said.
Debassige said co-management is no longer an option for lands that belong to their First Nations.
"The events at Ipperwash have produced a resentment that has been ingrained in our memory and has set back First Nations-Government relations in Ontario," she said. "The damage resulting from those events led to a loss of trust, which still resonates across the Anishinabek territory today.”
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.
He released 100 recommendations, including a direction that the federal government return the land to Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.
A signing ceremony April 14, 2016 marked the official return of the Camp Ipperwash lands, along with compensation.
Debassige said the Anishinabek Nation has identified key recommendations for Ontario, which have yet to be implemented, including;
1. The provincial government should establish a permanent, independent, and impartial agency to facilitate and oversee the settling of land and treaty claims in Ontario. The agency should be called the Treaty Commission of Ontario.
15. The provincial government should promote respect and understanding of the duty to consult and accommodate within relevant provincial agencies and Ontario municipalities.
Debassige said the OPP has addressed 25 policing recommendations. However, it has yet to implement them.
"On this 30th anniversary, I call upon the Premier to stand up on behalf of all Ontarians and do the right thing and implement the Ipperwash Inquiries and the OPP recommendations,” Debassige said.
Other recommendations highlighted can be found here.
Following the 25th anniversary of the fatal shooting, the lands George and other protesters were trying to reclaim were returned.
At that time, (now former) Kettle and Stony Point First Nation Chief Jason Henry told Sarnia News Today the land return was but a small portion of what was lost, and he hoped to see the full return of the lands they call Aazhoodena (Stony Point) in the future.
The Anishinabek Nation is a political advocate for 39 member First Nations across Ontario, representing approximately 70,000 citizens.