One dead Indian, is a movie regarding the tragedy at Ipperwash, a lands claim agreement that went bad in Ontario resulting in the death of Dudley George in 1995. The movie is on CTV if anyone wants to watch. And comment on it, I hope to watch it, it seems extremely interesting.
Ipperwash:
Anthony O'Brien "Dudley" George (March 17, 1957 - September 7, 1995) was a Canadian First Nations protestor who was shot and killed near Ipperwash Provincial Park in Ontario in 1995. He was protesting the Canadian government's seizure of the Stoney Point land. Dudley George was the only Aboriginal person killed by the police during an aboriginal land claims dispute in Canada in the twentieth century.
Dudley was the eighth of ten children to Geneviève ("Jenny") and Reg ("Nug") George. He was called Dudley because he loved to watch Dudley Do-Right, the television cartoon about a Mountie.
In 1936, the Province of Ontario created Ipperwash Provincial Park, and the following year, workers discovered a First Nations burial ground on the site. Despite band council requests to have the site fenced off and federal promises to do so, the park was completed on top of the grave land.
In 1942, during World War II, the Government of Canada wanted reserve land from the Stoney Point Band and offered to buy it for $15 per acre, and a promise to return the land after the war ended. The Natives rejected the offer, and in response, the federal government appropriated the Stoney Point Reserve under the War Measures Act.
On Labour Day Monday, September 4th, 1995, a group of Natives started a protest in Ipperwash Provincial Park to draw attention to the decades-old land claims. The park had closed at 6:00 p.m., and by 7:30, Native protestors had cut back a fence and moved vehicles into the Park. About thirty-five unarmed protestors occupied the park. The occupation came as no surprise to local police, as the Natives had been threatening to occupy the park since the previous May.
The police decided not to intervene that evening, hoping that the group would be more cooperative in the morning. That evening, Acting Superintendent John Carson of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) prepared a plan -- Project Maple -- for dealing with the Ipperwash occupation. The plan stressed "a peaceful resolution", and called for a team of thirteen negotiators to be on call around the clock.
Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament Marcel Beaubien was in contact with the police the following day, and Beaubien was believed to have contacted Premier Mike Harris. On Tuesday, September 5, several government officials were involved in a meeting in Toronto to discuss the Ipperwash protest. The meeting notes conclude that "The province will take steps to remove the occupiers ASAP."
By Wednesday, plans for negotiations and peaceful resolution were abandoned. On Wednesday evening, police riot squads stormed the park in an attempt to apprehend the protestors. Various police officers fired on vehicles and buildings. Among the police was Acting Sergeant Ken "Tex" Deane, who carried a Heckler and Koch submachine gun.
Near the park entrance, Deane fired three shots at Dudley George, who was carrying a stick. Deane missed with the first shot but hit Dudley's leg and chest with the second and third. Dudley called out to a nearby Native, Robert Isaac, who helped carry Dudley back into the park. Dudley was eventually loaded into a 1977 Chevrolet Impala, and driven to a hospital in Strathroy by Dudley's brother Pierre. Dudley's sister Carolyn ("Cully") and Dudley's friend J.T., also rode in the car.
Dudley had been shot with a hollow-tipped "mushroom" bullet, which caused major internal injuries. He was declared dead at 12:20 a.m. on September 7, 1995.
Acting Sergeant Ken Deane was convicted of criminal negligence causing death. Deane's defense was that he had believed that Dudley George was carrying a rifle. The judge rejected Deane's claim, but sentenced Deane to two years of community service.
Despite Deane's conviction, larger questions about the role of the office of Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris remained. Some argued that Harris urged strong police action in Ipperwash because a similar incident – the Oka crisis in Quebec – had caused the public to view the Quebec government as weak, and that this view contributed to the government's defeat in the next election. Some also believe that as Harris' government had been newly elected, they were both attempting to signal a departure from the policies of the previous Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) government of Bob Rae and were also inexperienced in dealing with crises.
The George family repeatedly called on the Ontario and federal governments to launch an inquiry into the events at Ipperwash. An investigation was finally launched after the Ontario Conservatives lost power to the Ontario Liberal Party in the 2003 provincial election.
During the inquiry, a 17-minute tape recording surfaced that cast new light on the events at Ipperwash. The tape records a conversation between OPP Inspector Ron Fox and Inspector John Carson, the OPP commander overseeing the standoff at Ipperwash, prior to Dudley George's death. In it, they discuss the Premier's view that the government has "tried to pacify and pander to these people far too long" and to use "swift affirmative action" to remove them from the park.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_George"
Tragedy, by conservative government, led by red-necks especially Harris.
Ipperwash:
Anthony O'Brien "Dudley" George (March 17, 1957 - September 7, 1995) was a Canadian First Nations protestor who was shot and killed near Ipperwash Provincial Park in Ontario in 1995. He was protesting the Canadian government's seizure of the Stoney Point land. Dudley George was the only Aboriginal person killed by the police during an aboriginal land claims dispute in Canada in the twentieth century.
Dudley was the eighth of ten children to Geneviève ("Jenny") and Reg ("Nug") George. He was called Dudley because he loved to watch Dudley Do-Right, the television cartoon about a Mountie.
In 1936, the Province of Ontario created Ipperwash Provincial Park, and the following year, workers discovered a First Nations burial ground on the site. Despite band council requests to have the site fenced off and federal promises to do so, the park was completed on top of the grave land.
In 1942, during World War II, the Government of Canada wanted reserve land from the Stoney Point Band and offered to buy it for $15 per acre, and a promise to return the land after the war ended. The Natives rejected the offer, and in response, the federal government appropriated the Stoney Point Reserve under the War Measures Act.
On Labour Day Monday, September 4th, 1995, a group of Natives started a protest in Ipperwash Provincial Park to draw attention to the decades-old land claims. The park had closed at 6:00 p.m., and by 7:30, Native protestors had cut back a fence and moved vehicles into the Park. About thirty-five unarmed protestors occupied the park. The occupation came as no surprise to local police, as the Natives had been threatening to occupy the park since the previous May.
The police decided not to intervene that evening, hoping that the group would be more cooperative in the morning. That evening, Acting Superintendent John Carson of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) prepared a plan -- Project Maple -- for dealing with the Ipperwash occupation. The plan stressed "a peaceful resolution", and called for a team of thirteen negotiators to be on call around the clock.
Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament Marcel Beaubien was in contact with the police the following day, and Beaubien was believed to have contacted Premier Mike Harris. On Tuesday, September 5, several government officials were involved in a meeting in Toronto to discuss the Ipperwash protest. The meeting notes conclude that "The province will take steps to remove the occupiers ASAP."
By Wednesday, plans for negotiations and peaceful resolution were abandoned. On Wednesday evening, police riot squads stormed the park in an attempt to apprehend the protestors. Various police officers fired on vehicles and buildings. Among the police was Acting Sergeant Ken "Tex" Deane, who carried a Heckler and Koch submachine gun.
Near the park entrance, Deane fired three shots at Dudley George, who was carrying a stick. Deane missed with the first shot but hit Dudley's leg and chest with the second and third. Dudley called out to a nearby Native, Robert Isaac, who helped carry Dudley back into the park. Dudley was eventually loaded into a 1977 Chevrolet Impala, and driven to a hospital in Strathroy by Dudley's brother Pierre. Dudley's sister Carolyn ("Cully") and Dudley's friend J.T., also rode in the car.
Dudley had been shot with a hollow-tipped "mushroom" bullet, which caused major internal injuries. He was declared dead at 12:20 a.m. on September 7, 1995.
Acting Sergeant Ken Deane was convicted of criminal negligence causing death. Deane's defense was that he had believed that Dudley George was carrying a rifle. The judge rejected Deane's claim, but sentenced Deane to two years of community service.
Despite Deane's conviction, larger questions about the role of the office of Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris remained. Some argued that Harris urged strong police action in Ipperwash because a similar incident – the Oka crisis in Quebec – had caused the public to view the Quebec government as weak, and that this view contributed to the government's defeat in the next election. Some also believe that as Harris' government had been newly elected, they were both attempting to signal a departure from the policies of the previous Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) government of Bob Rae and were also inexperienced in dealing with crises.
The George family repeatedly called on the Ontario and federal governments to launch an inquiry into the events at Ipperwash. An investigation was finally launched after the Ontario Conservatives lost power to the Ontario Liberal Party in the 2003 provincial election.
During the inquiry, a 17-minute tape recording surfaced that cast new light on the events at Ipperwash. The tape records a conversation between OPP Inspector Ron Fox and Inspector John Carson, the OPP commander overseeing the standoff at Ipperwash, prior to Dudley George's death. In it, they discuss the Premier's view that the government has "tried to pacify and pander to these people far too long" and to use "swift affirmative action" to remove them from the park.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_George"
Tragedy, by conservative government, led by red-necks especially Harris.
