Maynard Donald "Sam" George (July 1, 1952 – June 3, 2009) was a Canadian

native rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (includ ...

activist. His brother

Dudley George The Ipperwash Crisis was a dispute over Indigenous land that took place in Ipperwash Provincial Park, Ontario, in 1995. Several members of the Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied the park to assert claim to nearby land which had been expropriated ...

was killed following a standoff with

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...

during the

Ipperwash Crisis The Ipperwash Crisis was a dispute over Indigenous land that took place in Ipperwash Provincial Park, Ontario, in 1995. Several members of the Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied the park to assert claim to nearby land which had been expropriated ...

. Sam played an important role in forcing a judicial inquiry, the

Ipperwash Inquiry The Ipperwash Inquiry was a two-year public judicial inquiry funded by the Government of Ontario, led by Sidney B. Linden, and established under the ''Ontario Public Inquiries Act'' (1990), which culminated in a four volume 1,533-page Ipperwash I ...

into the events at Ipperwash. He was born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, the son of Reginald George and Genevieve Rogers, the fifth of ten children. Both parents served in the Canadian military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and had been forced off the Stoney Point Reserve by the Canadian government in 1942. George learned the trade of carpentry and later worked as a youth counsellor for the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. He also coached amateur hockey. George was named to the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

in 2008. In presenting the award, Ontario's Lieutenant-Governor said "Sam George was steadfast in his quest for justice for his brother and his community. He is an inspiration to all Ontarians." On May 28, 2009, control of the former

Ipperwash Provincial Park Ipperwash Provincial Park is a former provincial park on the shores of southern Lake Huron in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. Located near Grand Bend, the park was established in 1936. It contains a long sandy beach on the lakeshore, as well ...

was returned to the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. George died of

pancreatic The pancreas is an Organ (anatomy), organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdominal cavity, abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine ...

and

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

on the

Kettle Point Kettle & Stony Point First Nation ( oj, Wiiwkwedong Anishinaabek, meaning: "in/at the bay") comprises the Kettle Point reserve and Stony Point Reserve (which is under remedial cleanup after over 50 years of occupation by the Canadian Armed Forces), ...

reserve near Sarnia at the age of 56.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Sam 1952 births 2009 deaths Activists from Ontario Deaths from cancer in Ontario Members of the Order of Ontario Ojibwe people People from Windsor, Ontario