Walpole Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

and

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

in southwestern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, on the border between

and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located in the mouth of the

St. Clair River The St. Clair River (french: Rivière Sainte-Claire) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron int ...

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

, about by road from

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, Ontario and from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan. It is

unceded territory Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

and is inhabited by the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

, and

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

peoples of the Walpole Island First Nation, who call it Bkejwanong, meaning "where the waters divide" in

Anishinaabemowin Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...

. In addition to Walpole Island, the reserve includes Squirrel Island, St. Anne Island, Seaway Island (except a small U.S. portion), Bassett Island, and Potawatomi Island. The river or creeks that separate these islands provide the area with its other commonly used name, Swejwanong or "many forks of a river." It is independent of, but within the geographic region of,

Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Cla ...

and adjoins the municipality of

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent ( 2021 population: 104,316)St. Clair. Across the St. Clair River to the west are the United States towns of

Algonac, Michigan Algonac is a city in St. Clair County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,110 at the 2010 census. Algonac is located at the southern end of the St. Clair River, just before it splits into a large delta region known as the St. C ...

, and Clay Township.

Harsen's Island Harsens Island is a wet marshy location at the mouth of the St. Clair River on Lake St. Clair, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Politically, the island is in Clay Township of St. Clair County. History The island was named for its first Euro-Amer ...

, also unceded

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

territory, is now on the west side of the international border line. The border was redrawn in the 19th century following disputes between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the

; their governments were oblivious to the interests and

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...

of the Indigenous peoples living on and using these lands. As such, the First Nation is now trying to solve their grievances with the Crown with a

specific claim Indigenous Specific Land Claims in Canada, also called specific claims, are long-standing land claims made by First Nations against the Government of Canada pertaining to Canada's legal obligations to indigenous communities. They relate to the adm ...

. Walpole Island is known as the resting place of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

, prominent 19th-century leader of the Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

known as the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

History

Settlement (1600s–1800s)

In the late 1600s and early 1700s, what is now known as Walpole Island and the surrounding area was settled by people from the

and

nations. In 1844,

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

from nearby

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

built a mission at the northern point of Walpole Island at the Highbanks. This raised tensions with the Anishinaabeg as the Jesuits were not invited to build on the island and they cut down oak trees that the community did not want to be cut. The relationship between the two groups was further antagonized by the theological debate that Father Pierre Chazelle held with Chief Peterwegeschick and other chief leaders on July 31, 1844. In 1850, the Jesuits left after the mission was razed.

Deforestation of the island (1869–1883)

Due to a number of contracts for harvesting oak on the island, drawn up by non-Native resource industries, a large amount of Walpole Island was deforested. The nature of these contracts "created a lasting mistrust between the community, Indian Affairs, and non-Native resource industries."

Illegal hunting prohibitions (1884–1899)

As part of an effort to colonize the island,

Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...

produced an illegal prohibition on the hunting of ducks on St. Anne's Island. The prohibition was lifted once Aboriginal Title was reaffirmed in 1899.

20th-century industrialization of St. Clair River

By the early twentieth century, the river surrounding Walpole Island was heavily trafficked with industrial freight.

Environment

The Island is also home to many different environmental efforts, including the Walpole Island Land Trust and the Purple Martin Project run by Richard Carr.

Demographics

As of January 2011, the registered population of the Walpole Island First Nation is 4,315 members, of whom 2,213 live on the reserve, 22 live on another reserve, and 2,080 live off reserve.

Transportation

Walpole Island is connected to mainland Canada by the Tecumsah Rd. Bridge (Route 32). The Walpole-Algonac Ferry connects with the US city of

. This ferry service has been in place for over 100 years.

Images

File:Navigation on St Clair River.jpg, St. Clair River with Walpole Island in the background File:Walpoleislandseenfromalgonquinmichigan.jpg, View of Walpole Island as seen from across the St. Clair River File:Walpoleisland.jpg, Entry to Walpole Island from ferry to Algonac

Notable people

Bauzhi-Geezhig-Waeshikum Bauzhi-Geezhig-Waeshikum (from Ojibwe ''Baazhi-giizhigweshkam'', "one who steps over the sky"; also recorded as Pazhekezhikquashkum, Pechegechequistqum, etc.), (? – 1842), was an Ojibwa chief and medicine man from the Lake St Clair area. H ...

Alexander McKee Alexander McKee ( – 15 January 1799) was an American-born military officer and colonial official in the British Indian Department during the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the Northwest Indian War. He achieved the ...

- Indian Department agent who founded the Walpole Island settlement *

Stephen Kiyoshk Stephen Kiyoshk (November 20, 1891 – January 3, 1941) was a Canadian Chippewa Indians, Chippewa Indian murderer and possible serial killer. Originally convicted and capital punishment, sentenced to death for the killings of two men on Walpole ...

- murderer executed for killing a fellow tribesman in 1939. Notable for being the only person in Canadian history to be sentenced to death twice for different crimes.

References

{{Geographic location , Centre = Walpole Island 46 , North = {{flagicon, USA{{flagicon, MI Clay Township,

Algonac Algonac is a city in St. Clair County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,110 at the 2010 census. Algonac is located at the southern end of the St. Clair River, just before it splits into a large delta region known as the St. Cl ...

'' , Northeast = St. Clair , East =

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent ( 2021 population: 104,316)Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

''
Lakeshore , Southwest = ''

''
{{flagicon, USA{{flagicon, MI

Grosse Pointe Farms Grosse Pointe Farms is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,479 at the 2010 census. As part of the Grosse Pointe collection of cities, it is a northeastern city of Metro Detroit and shares a small wester ...

, West = {{flagicon, USA{{flagicon, MI

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

Grosse Pointe Shores Grosse Pointe Shores is a city in Macomb and Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,008 at the 2010 census. Grosse Pointe Shores was incorporated as a village in 1911 and was part of Grosse Pointe Township in Wayne ...

/ ''

'' , Northwest = {{flagicon, USA{{flagicon, MI Harrison Township
''

'' Ojibwe reserves in Ontario Odawa reserves in Ontario Islands of the St. Clair River River islands of Ontario Lake St. Clair Ontario populated places on Lake St. Clair Landforms of Lambton County Potawatomi reserves in Ontario Unceded territories in Ontario