Summary of the Ipperwash crisis

The Ipperwash crisis was a native land dispute that occured at Ipperwash Provincial Park.

This park was built on land that belonged to the Stoney Creek First Nation and was expropriated in 1942 under the war measures act.

The land was to return to the Stoney Creeks when there was no longer any use. Members of the Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied the park in order to assert their claim to thier land.
Due to this action it followed to a violant confrontation between protestors and the Ontario Provincial Police (which killed protestor Dudley George).

Background
1936, the Province of Ontario created Ipperwash Provincial Park. The following year, workers discovered a First Nations burial ground was located on the site. Besides even the band council demands to have the site fenced off and federal promises to do so, the park was still completed on top of the grave land.

1942, during World War II, the Government of Canada wanted reserve land from the Stoney Point Band and offered to buy it for $15 per acre. He promised to return the land after the war ended., but Natives rejected the offer. Then the federal government appropriated the Stoney Point Reserve under the War Measures Act.

War Measures Act- Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume emergency powers.

What occured?

September 4th, 1995, natives started a protest in Ipperwash Provincial Park to get attention to the old land claims. 35 occupied the park. It wasn't a surprise to the local police because the natives threaten to occupy it since May.

Superintendent John Carson of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) created a plan called Project Maple to deal with the Ipperwash occupation. The plan stressed "a peaceful resolution". It brought a team of 13 negotiators to be on call all time.

September 5, many government officials at a meeting in Toronto to discuss the Ipperwash protest.

It was noted:"The province will take steps to remove the occupiers as soon as possible."

September 5th, the plan for negotiations failed ending in a

Near the park entrance, Deane fired three shots at Dudley George. Deane later claimed he had mistaken the elongated dark coloured branch which George was carrying for a rifle.

Deane was sentenced to 2 years less a day of community services.

An inquiry (neither a civil nor criminal trial) was called and nothing was fully resolved. However, there was later proof that on February 14, 2006 a tape recording made before the day Dudley died was OPP Sgt. Stan Korosec (in charge of the OPP emergency response team at Ipperwash) said "We want to amass anarmy. A real army and do this. Do these natives big-time."

Ojibway Native band member

Impact on Canada

OPP has shown some racial discrimination towards the natives and their rights as prooven. The Provincial Police's plan (Project Maple) was clearly a complete failure because fair, compromising negotiations were not made for the native protestors. The land dispute wasn't properly solved. This just furthur explains the treatement towards native people by Provincial power. The native people had to protest to get their demands heard and met but they weren't respected and were clearly not met.

Harnick testified that former premier Mike Harris said "I want the f****** Indians out of the park," during a high level meeting about the Ipperwash occupation just hours before the fatal shooting of Dudley George. When Harris appeared at the inquiry in February 2006, he denied using that language.


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