Madahbee applauds successful negotiation with return of Camp Ipperwash

UOI OFFICES (Nipissing FN) September 21, 2015 – Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee congratulates Chippewas of Kettle & Stony Point First Nation on the federal government decision to return Camp Ipperwash to their community.

“This is the culmination of ultimate sacrifice that Dudley fought for and the monumental effort of his brother Sam in public education and the determination of the citizens of Kettle & Stony Point,” says Grand Council Chief Madahbee. “Like most land issues that our communities face, it takes government far too long to resolve these matters –especially one so clear cut as the commitments to return the land after the war.”

“I would like to acknowledge the hard work over the years of Kettle and Stony Point’s former leadership, as well as current Chief Tom Bressette and council,” says Madahbee. “Without their dedication, this would not have been a successful negotiation.”

Citizens of the Chippewas of Kettle & Stony Point First Nation voted yesterday to accept a federal offer to return Camp Ipperwash. The deal requires the Federal Government to clean contaminants and unexploded ordinances from the area before returning it to the First Nation. Over 900 citizens of Kettle & Stony Point voted.

Recommendations from the 2007 Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry included the call for federal and provincial governments to update their policies on First Nation policing to recognize that self-administered First Nation police services in Ontario are the primary police service providers in their communities. Forty of the 100 recommendations involved policing in Ontario. The inquiry was called by the Ontario government after unarmed First Nation protester Dudley George was shot and killed by an Ontario Provincial Police sniper at the former Ipperwash Provincial Park.

To learn more about the events surrounding Ipperwash, visit www.anishinabek.ca/ipperwash.