Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation

Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation
Type	Organization

Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation is a First Nation community in Ontario.

In Anishinabek News

• September 2015: Citizens of the community voted in September 2015 to accept a federal offer for the return of Camp Ipperwash. The settlement requires the federal government to remove contaminants and unexploded ordinances from the land before it is returned to the First Nation. Over 900 members of the community participated in the ratification vote regarding the land return.
• April 2016: The community received a $95 million settlement in 2016 for the return of lands at Stoney Point that were seized 74 years earlier. The settlement funds are intended for community renewal and economic development opportunities. The First Nation is working through a process to remediate and safely reclaim the former Camp Ipperwash lands.
• March 2019: Citizens of Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation participated in the Me, You, and Us art project to improve relationships with the surrounding community. As of March 2019, Jason Henry serves as the Chief of Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. The Golden Eagle seniors Lodge in Kettle Point hosted art workshops led by Suellen Evoy-Oozeer and Susan Angela Bressette.
• April 2019: The community hosted an after-school forum in April 2019 to assist youth with summer employment and post-secondary education opportunities. The Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation administration offered various job leads and co-op placements for local students during the event.
• April 2019: The community is the home of the musical duo the Brothers Wilde. In April 2019, Nolan Wilde noted that the local Chief and Council have been highly supportive of the duo's musical endeavors.
• April 2019: The community is the planned site for a new tourist retreat developed by Trudy Maness. It is located approximately 30 minutes away from Aamjiwnaang First Nation. The area attracts over two million visitors annually to its nearby beaches.
• June 2019: The Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation reached an agreement with federal departments for the Anishinabek Police Service to take over local policing. Community members voted in 2016 to accept a $95 million settlement with the federal government regarding the former Camp Ipperwash lands. As of June 2019, the community is undergoing a remediation process to clear unexploded munitions from historical military use of their land.
• June 2019: The community hosted an Info Expo in May 2019 to inform residents about local services such as housing and health care. The First Nation's family programming includes the Family Well-Being Program, which assists families with transitional housing and care plans. Local educational and childcare services are provided through the Hillside School and the Head Start Day Care.
• August 2019: The community has a memorandum of understanding with the Centre for Sustainable Archaeology regarding the care of historical artifacts. The nation has plans to build a heritage centre on the shores of Lake Huron to house its own cultural items.
• August 2019: The community was identified as a future site for filmmaking workshops organized by the Southwestern Ontario Independent Film Festival.
• September 2019: The community hosted the provincial launch of First Nations Public Library Week on September 30, 2019. The local library coordinator, Beverly Bressette, noted that the event is a significant way to promote new community programs and services.
• October 2019: The nation is involved in a collaborative effort to share economic data and resources through a new toolkit. It is a member of the Southern First Nations Secretariat and the SFNS Cost-Sharing Circle.
• November 2019: The community was identified as one of three regional First Nations to be included in new tourism planning initiatives by Tourism Sarnia-Lambton.
• February 2020: The community raised over $5,000 through a roast beef dinner and auctions to help a local member whose family farm in Australia was destroyed. Local beekeepers and Elders contributed items for raffles and auctions to support the fire relief efforts for Candace Scott-Moore.
• March 2020: The community is scheduled to receive high-speed fibre-optic internet connections for approximately 900 homes and businesses by the end of 2020. The territory has relied on poor internet service, including dial-up connectivity in some areas, as of March 2020. The new infrastructure project is expected to cost approximately $2.7 million within the community.
• April 2020: Workshops on intuitive spirit painting were cancelled in this community due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of this community were the subjects of 27 spirit portraits featured in the Me, You, and Us exhibition. Youth from the community were scheduled to exhibit their art in Port Franks in 2020.
• July 2020: The community hosted modified Solidarity Day celebrations in 2020 to comply with COVID-19 safety protocols. Organizers arranged a family scavenger hunt and various decorating contests to engage residents during the pandemic. Traditional fireworks and memorial recitations for the community were rescheduled for the Labour Day weekend in 2020.
• July 2020: The community partnered with Habitat for Humanity Sarnia/Lambton to build four new houses for its members. The First Nation requested that the partner organization handle the family selection process to ensure fairness. Leadership from the community initiated the project to provide affordable housing options.
• August 2020: Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation is the home of artist Moses Lunham. As of August 2020, Moses Lunham creates artworks, exhibits, and teaches based at his home in Kettle Point.
• August 2020: Members of this community were involved in the 1995 land protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park. The community continues to work toward healing from the collective trauma caused by the Ipperwash Crisis.
• September 2020: The First Nation is working to improve living conditions and community growth at Aazhodena. In partnership with the Department of National Defence, the community is building infrastructure including watermains, roads, and homes. The First Nation signed the Ipperwash Final Settlement Agreement in 2016 to resolve longstanding land issues.
• September 2020: The community had its land expropriated by the federal government in 1942 to create Camp Ipperwash. Members of the First Nation occupied Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995 to assert land claims and protest the destruction of a burial ground. The Ontario government signed an agreement in 2009 to transfer the parkland back to the community.
• September 2020: Bridget George was raised in the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. Bridget George attended language classes in school while growing up on the reserve.
• September 2020: The community received the lands of the former Ipperwash Provincial Park back through an Addition to Reserve process in 2020. The First Nation saw its ancestral lands at Aazhoodena taken over time through land sales and the War Measures Act. Leadership has been working toward the full return of Aazhoodena.
• November 2020: Members of the community voted by over 90 per cent on November 13, 2020, to accept a land claim settlement from the government of Canada. The First Nation will receive $17,214,909 as its portion of the Clench Defalcation Claim settlement. The community was part of a group known as the Chippewas of Sarnia during land surrenders in the 1850s.
• January 2021: The community is represented on the Southwest Task Force by Chief Jason Henry. It is one of ten First Nations communities located within the southwestern region of Ontario.
• May 2021: The community served as the host for the Anishinabek Nation virtual assembly held from June 1 to 3, 2021.
• June 2021: The community hosted the virtual traditional stand-up election for the Anishinabek Nation via Zoom.
• June 2021: This community hosted the Anishinabek Nation annual Grand Council Assembly in June 2021.
• July 2021: This community is a signatory to the Huron Tract Treaty and its flag is now flown at the Sarnia waterfront. The community is represented on the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples Committee by Candace Young.
• August 2021: The Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation is the home community of exhibition curators and artists mentioned in Anishinabek News. Many sightings of a local black bear occurred on or near the woodland of the Stony Point land. The community's relationship with land loss and colonialism is a central theme of the Nnigiiwemin/We Are Going Home exhibit.
• September 2021: Jason Henry served as the Chief of Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation for two terms. The community was the location of the Ipperwash Crisis, during which Dudley George was killed by the Ontario Provincial Police.
• September 2022: The community is recognized as one of the three First Nations situated within Lambton County.
• December 2023: This community is the home of NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun and the late land defender Dudley George.
• June 2024: The community's education services department is partnering with Indigo to update the local school library. The First Nation is one of six Indigenous education departments and schools receiving funding through Indigo Love of Reading Foundation grants as of June 2024.
• March 2025: Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation is the home community of Bizhiki Niibowid.
• May 2026: The community participated in the Outside Looking In Showcase for the first time in 2026. It is the second First Nation in Ontario to participate in the annual dance showcase.