b'CHIEF PROFILEA Silver Lining Chief Jason Henrydiscusses his communitys pandemic experienceBY CHRISTINE MISKONOODINKWE SMITHK ettle and Stony Point Firststores they may have had or were able Community lockdowns, in my opinion, Nation is unceded terri- to harvest.are effective only if the travel outside of tory located in southwesternAt the same time, a communitythe First Nation is restricted and limited Ontario along the southcontrol group, which was a mechanismas well. When visiting larger urban city shore of Lake Huron. The membersof Kettle and Stony Points Communitycentres to secure food and supplies, you of Kettle and Stony Point are officiallyEmergency Response Plan, startedrun the risk of contracting COVID known as the Chippewas of Kettle andtalking about food distribution, utilizingand bringing it back into the commu-Stony Point.existing First Nations food accounts likenity. As an example, our first three cases The communitys land base consistsordering through the school, daycareof COVID were all during the commu-of approximately 1,096 hectares thatand band office, and were able to bringnity lockdown, and as far as statistics on accommodates a population of 2,500in food from various places and developCOVID-19, we have had a total of 91 members, with around 1,000 membersan elaborate food distribution network.cases [at time of writing].living on reserve and 1,500 membersThis food network allowed for foodChief Henry also notes, Kettle living off reserve. delivery to households, to those in needand Stony Point First Nation was the Chief Jason Henry has been Chiefand especially to the elderly and the ill.first local First Nation to establish an of the community since 2018. We liveThey also set up for people off reserve toon-reserve COVID-19 testing facility five minutes away from a small townreceive assistance by scheduling pick-upand to establish an isolation centre for called Forest, Ontario, and we are 45times at their food distribution centre onthose who tested positive and neededminutes away from Sarnia, Ontario. Thea weekly basis.to isolate. largest city centre from us is London,When asked how his communityThough he is glad that there have Ontario, and that is about an hour andresponded to the lockdown measuresbeen no casualties of COVID-19 15 minutes away, he says. Our reservethat were put in place, Henry says,in his community, he expresses how is also a very busy cottage industry where community members lease out their lots to people who come out here seasonally. Currently, there are about 400 cottages here that are occupied.Within the first week of the COVID-19 pandemic, Henry and his community began to have discussions about food security, public safety and the possibility of closing the First Nation down. We first started planning for the pandemic in late January, early February, and by the time COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, within three days we made the decision to close the offices, businesses and school. We very quickly declared a state of emergency, he says. Our community began volun-teering at a grassroots level to harvest and gather and share any of their food 38l I ssue1 2021C hIefs ofo ntarIoA dvocAte magazIne'