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Our Long Struggle for Home: The Ipperwash Story
A new history of the Ipperwash Crisis and its context.
In 1942, Canadian officials expropriated Nishnaabeg ancestral territory for a military base, promising to return the land after the war. By 1993, the elders had waited long enough. They entered the active camp under the cover of a picnic and declared themselves the new government of the reclaimed Stoney Point Reserve. Though their occupation was ultimately quashed after police shot and killed demonstrator Dudley George, the so-called Ipperwash Crisis generated lasting cultural change throughout Canada. In Our Long Struggle for Home , members of the Aazhoodenaang Enjibaajig Nation, including George’s family, recount broken promises and thwarted hopes in the decades-long battle to reclaim their ancestral homeland, before and after the Ipperwash Crisis. Their insights offer a compelling window into colonialism and the power of resistance.
In 1942, Canadian officials expropriated Nishnaabeg ancestral territory for a military base, promising to return the land after the war. By 1993, the elders had waited long enough. They entered the active camp under the cover of a picnic and declared themselves the new government of the reclaimed Stoney Point Reserve. Though their occupation was ultimately quashed after police shot and killed demonstrator Dudley George, the so-called Ipperwash Crisis generated lasting cultural change throughout Canada. In Our Long Struggle for Home , members of the Aazhoodenaang Enjibaajig Nation, including George’s family, recount broken promises and thwarted hopes in the decades-long battle to reclaim their ancestral homeland, before and after the Ipperwash Crisis. Their insights offer a compelling window into colonialism and the power of resistance.
192 pages, Paperback
Published October 26, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 22, 2022
The Ipperwash story in this book is powerfully related. I read a good part of it on the edge of my seat. It is an oral history told by the community itself -- a community that many know as the Stony Point Reserve, but they call Aazhoodena.
Acclaimed Anishnaabe legal scholar John Borrows describes it as telling a treaty story, and showing that treaties are living agreements, agreements that include us all. But this is a tragic, broken-treaty story, dating from 1942 when the federal government appropriated the entire reserve and turned it into an army training camp, called Ipperwash.
The book tells what happened when the Anishnaabe tried to reclaim their ancestral home. It is a fast, informative read for anyone open to (or wanting to start) understanding what reconciliation means. It describes an indomitable, peaceful spirit, determinedly returning home.
Acclaimed Anishnaabe legal scholar John Borrows describes it as telling a treaty story, and showing that treaties are living agreements, agreements that include us all. But this is a tragic, broken-treaty story, dating from 1942 when the federal government appropriated the entire reserve and turned it into an army training camp, called Ipperwash.
The book tells what happened when the Anishnaabe tried to reclaim their ancestral home. It is a fast, informative read for anyone open to (or wanting to start) understanding what reconciliation means. It describes an indomitable, peaceful spirit, determinedly returning home.
March 26, 2023
Thank you to the community for gifting us this book.
The discussion about treaties and treaty relations is critically important - and is an important addition to a growing body of work by Indigenous, and non-Indigenous, authors moving us along this path of understanding and reconciliation.
I think that this would be a brilliant documentary film, and I really really hope that they record the voices of the elders who have contributed to this.
If you want to read even more about this subject… and you’ve not previously read One Dead Indian: The Premier, The Police and the Ipperwash Crisis by Peter Edwards then you must… a perfect companion piece to this title.
The discussion about treaties and treaty relations is critically important - and is an important addition to a growing body of work by Indigenous, and non-Indigenous, authors moving us along this path of understanding and reconciliation.
I think that this would be a brilliant documentary film, and I really really hope that they record the voices of the elders who have contributed to this.
If you want to read even more about this subject… and you’ve not previously read One Dead Indian: The Premier, The Police and the Ipperwash Crisis by Peter Edwards then you must… a perfect companion piece to this title.
January 31, 2023
Recommended by Deb,
A heart wrenching narrative about the government doing everything possible to prevent Indigenous people from returning to their promised land. It was resulted in the needless killing of Dudley George.
Mike Harris, the Premier of Ontario showed no compassion or understanding of the situation, pushing the police and army to do whatever necessary to end the "occupation (?) Only question I have is why the Band leaders weren't more supportive of their people?
A heart wrenching narrative about the government doing everything possible to prevent Indigenous people from returning to their promised land. It was resulted in the needless killing of Dudley George.
Mike Harris, the Premier of Ontario showed no compassion or understanding of the situation, pushing the police and army to do whatever necessary to end the "occupation (?) Only question I have is why the Band leaders weren't more supportive of their people?
December 7, 2025
Yet another shameful chapter in Canadas history-whitewashed and hidden from settlers to keep us complacent and ignorant. I continue to learn and recognize.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews