The
Chippewa (also generally called
Ojibwe in Canada) are an
Anishinaabemowin-speaking
indigenous nation with people within the borders of present-day Canada and the United States. The historical local dialect is known as the
Anishinaabemowin Language of Kettle and Stony Point.
Governance Leaders
Chiefs of the First Nation Pre-Indian Act Chiefs: Oshawnoo at Kettle Point (1826), Whapagas at Stony Point (1826), John Johnston (1860), Isaac Shawnoo (1860). Chief Councilors representing Kettle & Stony Point at the "Sarnia Band Council,": John Johnston (1872), Isaac Shawnoo (1872), Lewis Cloud (1892), Adam Sapah (1895), Jeffrey Bressette (1899), James Johnston (1899), John Elijah (1907), John Milliken (1907), Caleb Shawkence (1913)
Elected Chiefs since secession from Sarnia Band: Cornelius Shawnoo (1919), John Milliken (1927), Sam Bressette (1928–34), Caleb Shawkence (1934-40), Frank Bressette (1940), Bruce Milliken (1943), Frank Bressette (1946), Wilfred Shawkence (1949), Frank Bressette (1952), Earl Bressette (1954), David Bressette (1956), Thomas Bressette (1958-1970), Charles Shawkence (1970-1976), Frederick F. Bressette (1976), Charles Shawkence (1978-1981), Victor H. George (1981), Milton L. George (1982), Charles Shawkence (1984-1988), Yvonne Bressette (1988), Thomas M. Bressette (1990–97), Irving George (1997–98), Norman Shawnoo (1998-2000), Thomas M. Bressette (2000-2008), Elizabeth Cloud (2008-2012), Thomas M. Bressette (2012-2018), Jason Henry (2018-2022), Kim Bressette (2022-)
Present Elected Council Members: 2022-24 term 1) Elizabeth Cloud 2) Carmen Rogers Jr. 3) Al Wolfe 4) Ronald C. George 5) Jack Brown 6) Marshall George 7) Larry Vincent George 8) Stan Cloud 9) Melissa Monague
Land dispute In 1942 during
World War II, the federal government appropriated land at Stony Point under the
War Measures Act to build a military camp,
Camp Ipperwash, after offering payment to the Chippewa of Kettle and Stony Point First Nations. Their offer was rejected. The government had originally made as part of the offer a promise to return the land but continued to use it after the war. By the 1990s, it was primarily a summer training camp for cadets. Residents were evicted, and moved into the Kettle Point First Nation, with unhappy consequences and social tension. In the 1990s, during rising political activism, band members who had ties to the Stony Point reserve began occupying parts of the base in 1993. The military withdrew entirely in 1995. On Labour Day 1995, band members barricaded part of neighbouring
Ipperwash Provincial Park to promote their land claim. They said they were protecting a native
burial ground and water purification plant. During a confrontation with
Ontario Provincial Police at the protest, an Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) man, KSPFN band member,
Dudley George, was shot and killed. In 1997, acting Sgt.
Kenneth Deane was convicted of criminal negligence causing George's death. Native groups called for an official inquiry into George's death, but none was launched until the provincial government changed in 2003. The
Ipperwash Inquiry began in 2004 and concluded in 2006. Commissioner Sidney B. Linden delivered his report in 2007. An Agreement in Principle, dated 1998, was never officially accepted by the First Nation, and the claim was still outstanding as of 2007. Ontario officially returned the land to the First Nation in 2009, but they will govern it together for some time, in order to manage environmental and other issues. In 2015 a $90 million land claim was settled and paid to the First Nation with respect to the Camp Ipperwash-Stony Point claim, a separate but related claim to the Ipperwash Provincial Park claim. Distributions took three forms: 1) Location ticket heirs received $150,000 for each "location ticket" that was extinguished in 1942, 2) $10,000 for seniors 55+ years old, and 3) $5000 for members 18–54 years old. The members under 18 years old at time of settlement had their $5000 distribution put into a collective trust account to be released upon turning 18 years of age. The Investigation Agreement to determine the environmental impacts of the military base on the land began in 2006. The investigation will provide the basis for environmental amelioration, if necessary. In addition, Cultural, Environmental and
UXO investigations are underway. The Government of Canada, along with the First Nation, is working closely with an independent contractor selected through the Public Works Canada-tendering process, as well as with special advisors with the necessary expertise to oversee the project. The cleanup may prove difficult since the base was used as a firing range for tanks.
Unexploded ordnance has been found. ==Demographics==