One Dead Indian: The Premier, the Police, and the Ipperwash Crisis

by Peter Edwards

On September 4, 1995, several Stoney Point Natives entered Ipperwash Provincial Park, near Sarnia, Ontario, and began a peaceful protest aimed at reclaiming a traditional burial ground. Within seventy-two hours, one of those protestors, Anthony (Dudley) George, was dead, shot by an OPP officer.

In One Dead Indian, after covering the tragedy from the beginning, journalist Peter Edwards examines the circumstances surrounding George’s death and asks a number of tough questions, including: How much pressure did the Ontario government put on the OPP to get tough? As the official public inquiry attempt to shed light on what really happened, Peter Edwards’s investigation of this question brings the story right up to the present.

Genres: Indigenous, Indigenous History, Crime, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Peter Edwards has written for The Toronto Star for almost thirty years, specializing in organized crime and justice issues. He’s the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books, nine of which are on organized crime.

Reviews

[Peter Edwards]

Okay, I'm biased. I wrote it. But it is something I'm extremely proud of, and I'm grateful for the chance to meet Sam George and get to know him. I miss him and so do many others.

[Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
A thorough resource on the trial and the surrounding events. Doesn’t have a particular bias but gives you so much info that it leads you in a particular direction if you have a heart. Doesn’t want to connect various government agencies together in bigger conspiracy and instead relies on a tired narrative of bad actors at play. Worth reading for information but lacks a particular insight that could push it to the next level

[Brian Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book , still leaves questions on how involved was the government at the time? Also the response of the OPP and the fact they turn a blind eye to much of the events . Actions like this make it hard to keep your faith in what they tell us. One wonders of cover ups by the people we are wanting to trust the most . Protect and Serve

[Tom Ryerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ipperwash beach has been a part of my life since I was six, my parents used to rent a cottage here for a couple years during my youth, and when my own children were young we'd camp at Ipperwash Provincial Park, in fact our last time camping there was August 26th 1995, nine days before the crises began. As newspapers carried the story, I clipped every article from the London Free Press for almost a year, and still have them saved in two scrap books. I only heard about Peter Edwards book on the Ipperwash Crises because I had just read his tome on the Donnellys of Biddulph, and a list of his works was mentioned at the front of that book. I immediately bought a used copy of 'One Dead Indian' online and dove in. I really enjoy Peter's writing style, and this book was no exception. The research and detail really opened my eyes to what happened, and actually changed my opinion on the Sept 5th takeover of the park. I had no idea there was actual proof that a burial ground existed in the park, and that changed everything. I don't think this information came out in the first year of the crises. The Indigenous people had proof as far back as 1937 that human remains had been buried in the park, but the Government was never interested in facts. I like the way the book starts at the beginning, as early as 1620, and gives the complete history of the land as the white man took more and more of it. Your sympathies will quickly turn in favour of the indigenous people as you read this incredible story. Highly recommended. And as an aside, I never voted for Mike Harris.

[Bill Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncertain about how much to trust governments and their agencies in Canada? Read this. Ignorant about the even-handedness of 'justice' in Canada? Read this. Doubt the patience and forbearance of First Nations peoples in Canada? Read this.

[OnceUponAPurr]

One Dead Indian is a nonfiction book about the 1995 Ipperwash Crisis that resulted in the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) killing of an unarmed Indigenous man from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation in Ontario Canada named Anthony “Dudley” George.

[ScottG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the definitive take on this event. I learned a lot even though I remember following it at the time. The author does a good job connecting the dots from the Premier’s office on down.

[Donna Cote · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very difficult read it's hard to believe that our Canadian government failed the Indigenous peoples. This is information that we all need to know.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book so much more details in what happened in this case then I knew!

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm very glad I read this book. I grew up a few kilometres from the Ipperwash crisis. I still return home and vacation at Ipperwash at least once or twice a year. I remember vividly riding the school bus as a kid and hearing other kids talk about the impending "war" and how tanks were being brought into Forest at night and stored at the Forest Fair buildings (I'm not sure if the fair buildings were used but I do know that some military equipment was brought in).

This book cleared up many issues for me but it also informed me of many issues I was either too young to take in or perhaps I knew but had forgotten.

Reading this book now as someone who no longer lives in Lambton County meant I had a more open mind about the situation. I'm not going to sugar coat things -- the racial tension at the time of this incident was at a boiling point. Although the tension remains today I believe some of the wounds have been healed by time.

Edwards' book for me shed light on the courtroom drama of the Deane trial and the unraveling of Premier Harris' insistence it was only a police matter.

There was something surreal about reading stories about people you saw in the community, your father had coached in hockey and people you'd stop and say hello to on the streets of Forest or out on the beach at Ipperwash. That's why I couldn't put this book down. In fact there were people mentioned in this book that I knew who I didn't even realize had anything to do with the crisis.

Regardless of my nostalgic ties to this grim time in Lambton County's history, I would still recommend this book to anyone outside of the area. It's an important lesson on civil rights. I wasn't always someone who would have defended the natives during this standoff and I still see errors in judgement on their side but this book helped me see both sides quite fairly.

One minor complaint about the book is that the author touted the Toronto Star coverage as being nearly error free with only a couple of corrections/clarifications ever being needed including one about a local radio station's call letters. However, earlier in the book he made that same error in regards to CHOK's call letters. It's a small criticism but if you're going to boast about being error free then the only error you admit to probably shouldn't be repeated in your book!

This, as the quote from the Globe and Mail on the front cover says, is an important book.

[Reece Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our family used to camp at Ipperwash, and I remember a group of Natives who had blocked the entrance to the beach, 'illegally' charging campers a toll to go through. One dollar per person and my dad reached into his pockets for change and paid it. I also remember that instead of scouring the beaches for shells, we looked for bullets poking out of the sand that had been left over from army training.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about the Native Indian's land in Canada, and the pathetic, disgraceful Canadian government that forcebly removes the indiginous people from their land, to this day. Sanctions against other countries have been in effect for opression of indiginous peoples rights, so what about Canada. Truely unbelievable.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading.

[Ronald Fino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book by a great Author