Local History Lesson

First, I have to say that to understand why and how this occurred to me, you have to understand that my mind wanders to the strangest places very quickly. I was reading the forums on the Detroityes site today. There was a thread about a low-income apartment building in Southfield and how there's frequent problems there with police, violence, murder, theft, etc. In the thread, someone compared the building to "Cabrini Green." For some reason, this sounded familiar to me. So, I go on Google, look it up, and it was a notorious housing project in Chicago. Notorious for violent crime, shootings, drugs, and it happened to be sandwiched between two affluent areas of Chicago: the Gold Coast and Lincoln Park. This location made the poverty and destitution of the projects more visible than normal. The Cabrini Green projects were also the setting for the film "Candyman" and the sitcom "Good Times." Cabrini Green was demolished in 1992, and many of the residents were re-located to mixed-income housing projects. I have no idea why the name sounded so familiar to me, but I had to look it up. One of the hits that I got on Google was on Wikipedia, a unique online encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone. Being a fan of the site, that was the first place I looked. Then, out of boredom, I went to the main page of the site. A featured article was about Louis Riel, a Canadian politican. Reading the article, I was suddenly reminded of something...

From the Fall of 1994 to the Winter of 1997, I attended St. Clair County Community College (SC4) in Port Huron, MI. Right across the St. Clair River from Port Huron is Sarnia, Ontario. There were a lot of Canadians who went to SC4. Why, I have no idea, they probably had better schools, but that's not important. I was in the broadcasting program at SC4, and there was a handful of Canadians in the program with me, as well as on the radio station (WSGR-FM). One in particular was a little older and very animated. Also a Star Wars freak who owned a life-size cutout of Boba Fett that he was particularly proud of. His name was J.J.

(Most of the following information is located on this Amnesty International website.)

Just north of Sarnia, along Lake Huron, there's a Provincial park called The Pinery, and just north of that was a military installation at Ipperwash. Both are located on a large piece of land that was designated as indigenous peoples reservation land by a Treaty signed in 1827 between the Native Chippewas and the British Crown. In 1927, part of the reservation was sold to the government of Ontario for the Provincial Park. The park contained an Indigenous burial ground which was desecrated when the park was built.

The remainder of the reserve was appropriated by the Department of National Defence to create a military base during World War II: the Camp Ipperwash military base. The Chippewas living there were involuntarily resettled to a nearby reservation pursuant to the War Measures Act, on the understanding that their land would be returned to them at the end of World War II hostilities. Despite this undertaking, embodied in a Cabinet Order, the land was never returned to them.Approximately 50 years later, finding that all efforts to regain their reserve land had been in vain, on 27 May 1993 Indigenous people from Stoney Point occupied part of the military base that had been built on land appropriated from them in World War II. On 29 July 1995, they took over the rest of the base. The Canadian military withdrew from the base without confrontation. Technicians from the nearby military base reportedly introduced some of the protesters to the daily operations of the base so that equipment would not be damaged. Some of the protesters were awarded contracts with the federal Government to cut the grass and undertake maintenance activities.

On 4 September, approximately 24 reportedly unarmed Native men, women and children entered the park and occupied a small portion along the beach and parking lot. Their occupation posed no apparent danger to the public - and appeared to be symbolic - since the park had just closed at the end of the tourist season. Reports suggest that the protest began peacefully. The protesters were joined by sympathisers for a picnic, which included children. The police had been alerted as early as May 1995 that an occupation of the park might happen.(11)The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had prepared a strategy code-named ‘Project Maple’ for use in the event that the park was occupied. Its aim, as stated in the police's document, was "to contain and negotiate a peaceful resolution". Thirteen negotiators would be available. Ambulances and caged buses would be on alert. In addition, any arrests were to be videotaped so that the OPP could counter any unjust accusations of brutality. The plan of OPP Acting Superintendent John Carson was to tell the Natives that the park was closed, that they were trespassing and that they should leave. If they refused to leave the park, a court injunction ordering them to leave would be sought.

On 4 September, approximately 24 reportedly unarmed Native men, women and children entered the park and occupied a small portion along the beach and parking lot. Their occupation posed no apparent danger to the public - and appeared to be symbolic - since the park had just closed at the end of the tourist season.

Reports suggest that the protest began peacefully. The protesters were joined by sympathisers for a picnic, which included children. The police had been alerted as early as May 1995 that an occupation of the park might happen.(11)

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had prepared a strategy code-named ‘Project Maple’ for use in the event that the park was occupied. Its aim, as stated in the police's document, was "to contain and negotiate a peaceful resolution". Thirteen negotiators would be available. Ambulances and caged buses would be on alert. In addition, any arrests were to be videotaped so that the OPP could counter any unjust accusations of brutality. The plan of OPP Acting Superintendent John Carson was to tell the Natives that the park was closed, that they were trespassing and that they should leave. If they refused to leave the park, a court injunction ordering them to leave would be sought.

Amnesty International was not present at the confrontation between the protesters and the police force. However, the organization has followed closely issues surrounding the investigation into Dudley George’s death and related matters since September 1995 and has engaged in correspondence with the authorities to express its concerns and gain information.

The following description has been compiled from court actions, eye-witness statements, media reports and police accounts of events.

Despite the initially peaceful nature of the protests, the OPP sealed off the roads leading to the park.

The use of more aggressive policing methods appeared to increase tension and was followed by acts of violence. Officers arrived on the outskirts of the park. Some of the protesters dented three police vehicles and broke their windows with a hockey stick and rocks in the reported belief that the police cruisers were about to ram them. One protester also threw a flare in the direction of the police.

The situation still appeared relatively under control on 5 September. An official police log stated at 8:27am: "We are trying to contain it, objective to contain and resolve it peacefully. No one in the community is in any danger, as we have adequate [police] services present". However, the OPP presence increased. Officers were seen observing the park from a boat on Lake Huron and using a helicopter to videotape the activities of the protesters. According to one police estimate, only nine protesters remained at that point, many protesters having temporarily left the park.

There were no credible reports of the protesters being armed. Minutes of a Government meeting on 7 September 1995 indicate: "Armed? - No knowledge but no indication". Acting Superintendent John Carson later told the Special Investigations Unit (SIU): "At that point in time, were we expecting to come under fire? The answer would be no".

Despite the apparent lack of a clear armed threat, the OPP deployed armoured vehicles and military equipment. Police notes on 5th September, timed at 4:45pm state: "Insp. Carson reports that the military will be releasing a couple of vehicles to us....The military is prepared to train two teams". The assistance of the military was code-named ‘Panda’. An undated Department of National Defence document, stamped ‘SECRET’ states:

On order, LFCA [the Canadian military's Land Forces Central Area in North York] will sp [support] law enforcement operations in the IPPERWASHarea....EXECUTION....Concept of Ops [operations].

(1) It is the aim of DND [Department of National Defence] (...) to avoid direct involvement by providing resources and advice to the OPP which will enable them to successfully accomplish their mission.

The OPP also sought the use of armoured vehicles and other support from the Canadian military. The vehicles and support were never used in the Ipperwash confrontation.

6th September: the confrontation begins

At approximately 8pm on 6 September, all the lights in the park were turned off. By that time over 200 armed officers were positioned in the vicinity of the park. A riot squad in heavy armour was deployed. It marched on the protesters in rows of 25 to 30 and massively outnumbered the 15 to 20 remaining protesters. The riot police beat their steel batons against their shields as they advanced. Officers armed with laser-sighted sub-machine guns were also present.

The protesters reacted by directing powerful portable spotlights to the officers in an attempt to dazzle them. Taunts and insults were exchanged. The police forces marched in formation towards the park boundary until they were very close to the protesters.

Bernard George, an elected councillor with the nearby Kettle Point Band, was not part of the protest but had witnessed the build-up of armed police around the park. Fearing for the safety of the protesters, he advised the Natives to evacuate the women and children and walked towards the police, shouting: "You don't need guns. Leave the people alone in the park".

Allegations of beating by police officers

The police advanced towards the protesters with their batons raised. Bernard George attempted, again to no avail, to convince the police to retreat. The police were allegedly ordered to "Go! Go! Go!" and charged a second time, striking the protesters. Bernard George fell to the ground. Eight to ten police officers allegedly circled him, kicked him and beat him with their batons while he shouted "I give up". He lost consciousness and was then allegedly dragged along the ground by his hair.

When questioned after the events by officers investigating the incident, no police officers could recall beating Bernard George or seeing other officers hit him.

Bernard George's injuries required several operations in the months that followed. He suffered at least 25 bruises consistent with severe blows from batons or boots on his back, groin and head. He also had bruises on his arms and legs and suffered serious lacerations to the head. Remarkably, Bernard George was charged with assault and mischief but was acquitted at trial in July 1996.

As Bernard George was allegedly being beaten, some of the demonstrators left the park to rescue him but they too were allegedly beaten with batons. Teenage protester Nicholas Cottrelle started a school bus and drove towards the police to interpose himself between the police and the protesters. Another teenage protester, Warren George, followed him in a car. As Nicholas Cottrelle drove towards the police some officers leaped into a ditch. Police officers opened fire on the bus and the car.

The only injury to police officers was one strained knee ligament and one twisted ankle.

The fatal shooting of Dudley George

OPP marksman Acting Sergeant Kenneth Deane was one of eight Tactical Response Unit (TRU) or sniper team members stationed as protective back-up for the 32 members of the Crowd Management Unit. At about 11:45pm, Dudley George was on the roadway, some distance from the bus and the group of protesters, about 15 feet from the park. Deane fired three shots at him. The first appears to have missed George. The second grazed his leg as he started fleeing towards the park. The third shot hit George in the chest and he fell to his knees. He curled up in a foetal position and said "they got me", according to the testimony of a Native witness.

Fellow protesters dragged Dudley George inside the park, after which two of his siblings, Pierre and Carolyn, drove him to Strathroy-Middlesex Hospital in a private vehicle with one flat tire. They alleged that their efforts en route to summon an ambulance were in vain. On arrival, at the hospital, both were arrested and advised that they might be charged with attempted murder, despite their repeated protests that their brother who was in the back of the car, required immediate assistance. They were not able to ensure that their brother received medical attention. Instead, they were taken away and held for 12 hours before being released.

Dudley George was pronounced dead at 12:45am on 7 September 1995. He was killed by a hollow-tipped ‘mushroom’ bullet designed to expand upon contact with the flesh thereby causing maximum injury. The post mortem examination, carried out by pathologist Dr. Shkrum, concluded that George had died from blood loss.

This happened in modern times! It was only ten years ago. This doesn't make any sense. I remembered all of this because my friend J.J. had been at The Pinery with friends when the protesters first occupied the park. Some of the protesters told he and his friends that they should probably leave, because they expected trouble. On his way over the Bluewater Bridge the next morning, he listened to the radio the whole way and heard about the violence that erupted in the park he was at just the previous night. He told me and some of the other people at the radio station about it, but it never really hit me. I never really knew what the whole thing was about until just now. Not until I decided to look it up today. Dudley George was the first person killed over indigenous land rights on this continent in the 21st century. The officer who shot Dudley George was eventually given a non-custodial (no time served) sentence for criminal negligence because as the judge said, he was not the one who made the decision to serve that mission that day. The question of who made that decision still lingers ten years later. Many people believe that the Canadian Prime Minister at the time, Mike Harris, and senior cabinet members were responsible for making the obviously bad judgement call.