Kettle Point 44, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Kettle Point 44 is an Indian reserve
35 kilometres (21.7 mi) northeast of Sarnia, Ontario
, Canada, on the southern shore of Lake Huron
. The reserve serves as the land base for the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. Its area is 895.7 ha.
It is one of 42 Anishinaabeg First Nations in Ontario, and belongs to the Union of Ontario Indians
.
-speaking indigenous
nation with people within the borders of present-day Canada and the United States. They are the largest Native American
/First Nation north of Mexico, with nearly 78,000 people among various groups in Canada from western Quebec
to British Columbia
.
, the federal government appropriated land at Stoney 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 Nation. 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 The government had originally made as part of the offer a promise to return the land, but continued to use it after the war, by the 1990s primarily as a summer training camp for cadets.
In the 1990s, during rising political activism, band members began occupying parts of the base in 1993. The military withdrew entirely in 1995. On Labour Day 1995, Band members barricaded part of neighboring 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 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 is 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.
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. Canada along with the First Nation are 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.
shale called the Kettle Point Formation. This rock layer is exposed at the tip of the point near the shore of Lake Huron. The remains of a fossil Dunkleosteus
, named D. amblyodoratus, were found there. Spherical to ovoid concretions of rock, locally called 'kettles', weather out of the shale along the shoreline. To the local Anishinabek, the rare stones were Thunderbird
eggs. The concretions are now protected, but are often found on nearby properties.
Just off shore, below the Kettle Point formation, is a layer of the Hamilton Group
of shales
and limestones
which contains a large amount of light-coloured, high-quality chert
. In stone tool technology, it is a highly prized resource. When lake levels were lower, during the retreat of the last ice sheets, the chert was exposed and could be mined. This made the region a site of human occupation for at least 10,000 years. Kettle Point chert was dispersed to the far reaches of the region as projectile points, scrapers, and other tools.
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
35 kilometres (21.7 mi) northeast of Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
, Canada, on the southern shore of Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
. The reserve serves as the land base for the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. Its area is 895.7 ha.
It is one of 42 Anishinaabeg First Nations in Ontario, and belongs to the Union of Ontario Indians
Union of Ontario Indians
The Union of Ontario Indians is an Aboriginal political organization representing 42 member First Nations in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was formed in 1919 and incorporated in 1949, to serve as a political advocate and secretariat for the Anishinabek Nation...
.
History
The Chippewa (also generally called Ojibwe in Canada) are an AnishinaabeAnishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
-speaking indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
nation with people within the borders of present-day Canada and the United States. They are the largest Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
/First Nation north of Mexico, with nearly 78,000 people among various groups in Canada from western Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Land dispute
In 1942 during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the federal government appropriated land at Stoney Point under the War Measures Act
War Measures Act
The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended"...
to build a military camp, Camp Ipperwash
Camp Ipperwash
Military Camp Ipperwash is a former Canadian Forces training facility located in Lambton County, Ontario near Kettle Point.-Geography:...
, after offering payment to the Chippewa of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. 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 primarily as a summer training camp for cadets.
In the 1990s, during rising political activism, band members began occupying parts of the base in 1993. The military withdrew entirely in 1995. On Labour Day 1995, Band members barricaded part of neighboring Ipperwash Provincial Park
Ipperwash Provincial Park
Ipperwash Provincial Park is a provincial park on the shores of southern Lake Huron in Lambton County, Ontario.Located near Grand Bend, the 56 hectare, or , park was established in 1936. It contains a long sandy beach on the lakeshore, as well as rare flowers and sand dunes...
to promote their land claim. They said they were protecting a native burial ground
Burial Ground
Burial Ground is the ninth studio album by Swedish death metal band Grave, released in June 2010.-Track listing:# "Liberation" - 3:40# "Semblance In Black" - 7:50# "Dismembered Mind" - 6:10# "Ridden With Belief" - 7:57# "Conquerer" - 4:44...
and water purification plant. During a confrontation with Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
at the protest, an Ojibwe 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 is 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.
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. Canada along with the First Nation are 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
Unexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.While "UXO" is widely and informally used, munitions and explosives of...
has been found.
Demographics
In May 2008, the resident population was 1260, of whom about 900 members lived off the reserve. As of January 2011, the band had a total of 2219 registered members, of whom 1300 live on their own reserve, 20 live on another reserve, and 899 don't live on a reserve.Geology
Kettle Point is the site of a rare outcrop of an Upper DevonianDevonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
shale called the Kettle Point Formation. This rock layer is exposed at the tip of the point near the shore of Lake Huron. The remains of a fossil Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus
Dunkleosteus is a genus of prehistoric fish, one of the largest arthrodire placoderms ever to have lived, existing during the Late Devonian period, about 380-360 million years ago.This hunter, measuring up to and weighing , was a hypercarnivorous apex predator...
, named D. amblyodoratus, were found there. Spherical to ovoid concretions of rock, locally called 'kettles', weather out of the shale along the shoreline. To the local Anishinabek, the rare stones were Thunderbird
Thunderbird
-Creatures:* Thunderbird , a legendary creature in Native American culture* Dromornithidae, an extinct Australian family of birds* Thunderbird , a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures-Computing:...
eggs. The concretions are now protected, but are often found on nearby properties.
Just off shore, below the Kettle Point formation, is a layer of the Hamilton Group
Hamilton Group
The Devonian Hamilton Group is a mapped bedrock unit in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. In Virginia, it is known as the laterally equivalent Millboro Shale.The group is named for the village of Hamilton, New York...
of shales
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
and limestones
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
which contains a large amount of light-coloured, high-quality chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
. In stone tool technology, it is a highly prized resource. When lake levels were lower, during the retreat of the last ice sheets, the chert was exposed and could be mined. This made the region a site of human occupation for at least 10,000 years. Kettle Point chert was dispersed to the far reaches of the region as projectile points, scrapers, and other tools.