Big Wampum

By a treaty signed in 1827, the government of Canada and its sovereign recognized the perpetual right of the Chippewa Indians to occupy their reserve on the banks of the St. Clair River, not far from Detroit, in what later became the city of Sarnia. Last week, in one of the biggest real estate deals ever closed in Canada, the Chippewas sold 2,768 acres of their ancestral domain to New England Industries of New York. Price: $7,902,092.

The land, now occupied by houses, small truck gardens and undeveloped brush land, lies in the heart of Sarnia's famed "chemical valley," surrounded by Canada's biggest complex of petrochemical industries. The new owners plan to divide the land into industrial sites. To the delight of Sarnia city officials, the formerly tax-free property will now go on the tax books to help support the city's overstrained municipal services.

On an adjoining 500 acres retained by the Chippewas, New England Industries will build a model village, with parks, public buildings and a church, for the 458 members of the band. Each of the members will collect about $4,750 in cash. The rest of the land-sale proceeds will go to reimburse individuals for moving expenses and loss of their houses and permanent improvements, and to build up a trust fund to be administered by the Indian Affairs Branch in Ottawa for the Chippewas.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.