In 1763, the British issued a Royal Proclamation. This proclamation established “an ‘Indian Country’ where aboriginal land was protected from encroachment. The land had to be voluntarily ceded to the Crown before non- aboriginal settlers could occupy it.” Stony Point Reserve, located near Lake Huron, Ontario was protected under the Royal Proclamation.
In 1928, the reserve surrendered 377 acres of land to developers. In 1936, much to the dismay of the inhabitants, the Ontario government bought a considerable parcel of land to create Ipperwash Provincial Park. The following year, the chief of the reserve made the government aware of a burial site in the park and asked for it to be a protected site, but the province took no action in this regard. In 1942, during World War II, the Federal government asked the reserve to surrender the remainder of their land, so a military training camp could be created. When Stony Point refused, the Federal government decided to use the War Measures Act. This Act allowed the Federal government to appropriate the land, pay $50 000, and relocate the Stony Point First Nations People to a nearby reserve.
…show more content…
So, in 1993, members of Stony Point began to peacefully occupy part of Camp Ipperwash in hopes of opening up lines of communication with the Federal government. By 1994, the Federal government had agreed to close the camp and return the land. However, in 1995, still nothing had been