The Ipperwash Provincial Park where native protester Dudley George was shot and killed in 1995 will be returned to the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, the Ontario government announced today.

"I think he would be pleased. He paid the ultimate price and is not here to enjoy," George's brother, Sam, said Thursday.

George was killed during a police raid to remove protesters from the park on Sept. 6, 1995.

The protesters had wanted the federal government to return nearby Camp Ipperwash, formerly the Stony Point reserve, to Kettle and Stony Point descendants.

At the time, the protesters also claimed that the Ipperwash Provincial Park, owned by the provincial government, was the site of a sacred burial ground.

Justice Sydney Linden, the commissioner of the Ipperwash Inquiry which probed the death of George, said in his May 2007 report that the most urgent priority was that both the federal and provincial lands be returned.

Sam George welcomed the announcement Thursday.

"By returning these 109 acres, by keeping a treaty promise, and by honouring the memory of my brother Dudley, we are respecting each other," he told reporters. "It shows that we can be friends. For these things, I and my family would like to again thank the people of Ontario."

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant said Thursday the move showed how determined the McGuinty government is to move forward with the recommendations.

"Returning Ipperwash Park and acting on Justice Linden's recommendations is the clearest and most powerful expression of the intention of the McGuinty government to move forward in a concrete, practical and deliberate way to forge a stronger, more positive relationship with all Aboriginal peoples in Ontario," he said.

He also warned the government against letting tensions escalate to that level again, possibly making a veiled reference to the heated stand off in Caledonia.

"That where there is conflict and violence and death, it does not in fact provide for a more expeditious result. In fact, it leads to complete entrenchment and tragedy," he said. "Bitterness on both sides you have to see to believe."

Mark Simpson, a counsellor in nearby Lambton Shores, said the transfer set a dangerous precedent.

"I've talked to a lot of people in my community and they're livid. They're absolutely livid with what's happening -- that they've been excluded from the process," Simpson said Thursday.

Julian Falconer, legal counsel for Aboriginal Legal Services, said the decision was an important one.

"The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs deserves a lot of credit for bringing this to what is an important first step in healing," he told CTV Newsnet Thursday afternoon. "Today is a great day."

George's death left an important legacy for the Aboriginal community, he said.

"The First Nations are proud of the community member who gave his life to ensure the return of lands," said Falconer, who was involved in the Ipperwash inquiry.

Easing the transition

He said while the news is cause to celebrate, preparations also have to be made to help ease the transition of the land transfer.

"There would be no way to simply, like a car, turn over the keys, so there's land management issues here," he said.

"It is important to understand that there are issues amongst the communities on how to manage the land. The fact of the matter is that the Kettle and Stoney Point Band has accountability issues with its people as well, in particular Stoney Pointers who have also laid interest in the lands."

Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield said the province plans to work with local communities during the transfer phase.

"As the first step in the process to transfer Ipperwash Provincial Park from the province to the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, both parties will work together with the local communities to develop an interim co-management plan," she said.

"Through these discussions we will determine how the park lands will be used and managed until the transfer is completed."

Falconer said there are other recommendations in the Ipperwash report that should be followed immediately, namely a personal and public apology by the commissioner of the OPP to Cecil Bernard George who was also beaten.

Justice Linden said he'd like to see the federal government get more involved.

"I mean the people on the ground don't care if it's federal or provincial, they just want to see it work," he said. "Somehow, the federal and provincial governments have to get together to solve this problem."

Land history

Various sections of the Kettle and Stony Point lands were sold in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1928, the Stony Point Reserve surrendered its entire beachfront for sale to private interests.

In 1932, the Province of Ontario bought a portion of the beach front and established Ipperwash Provincial Park.

In 1937, park authorities were notified by the native chief and council that a sacred burial ground existed on the land. They asked officials to protect the site but no evidence suggests that they did.

During the Second World War, the Department of National Defence (DND) wanted to use the remaining 2,211 acres of the Stony Point Reserve as a military training camp.

In 1942, a government representative asked the natives to surrender the land voluntarily but they refused. Using the War Measures Act, the DND took over the land and named it Camp Ipperwash. They paid $15 per acre for the land and never returned it.

Stony Point descendants had occupied and protested at Camp Ipperwash since 1993 but stalled negotiations prompted the move into the government park on Sept. 4, 1995, two days before the shooting of George.

He was the first native in modern Canadian history to be killed in a government conflict over land.

In 1998, an agreement-in-principle was finally reached between the federal government and the Kettle and Stony Point peoples to return Camp Ipperwash to the natives.

Despite the agreement, since it was used for military purposes, the land is currently being investigated for unexploded ordnance (UXO) and environmental contamination. As a result, a final settlement has not yet been reached to return the land.

Linden's report recommends that the federal government "return the former army camp to the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation immediately with an apology and appropriate compensation."

With a report from CTV's Lisa LaFlamme and CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss