Peter initiated and fought a land claim battle, which I eventually became involved in, with the Federal Government for reserve status for what was known as the Summerside Property. The following is a short excerpt from page 237 of We Were Not the Savages (2006 Edition), which relates the outcome of the battle.

After five years of aggravation for me, and decades of consternation for the Band, an agreement was finally worked out between the two levels of government. On November 1, 1988, after expropriating the land, the province transferred it by order-in-council to the federal government. The federal government then spent another twenty-three months trying to determine whether the same farmer who had in the past blocked the clearance of title by tax sale, purely to attempt to grab the property for himself, had a legal right-of-way over the property. Anyone familiar with the Department's track record for settling similar problems will appreciate that its foot-dragging at the end of this project was par for the course.

Finally, on August 28, 1990, the following order-in-council was issued by the federal government's Privy Council:

WHEREAS Her Majesty in the right of the Province of Nova Scotia, by Nova Scotia Order in Council No. 88-1185 dated November 1, 1988, transferred the administration and control of the land described in the schedule hereto to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

THEREFORE HIS EXCELLENCY, the governor general in council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, is pleased hereby to accept the transfer from Her Majesty in right of the Province of Nova Scotia of the administration and control of the land described in the schedule hereto and to set apart the said land for the use and benefit of the Afton Band of Indians as a reserve to be known as Summerside Indian Reserve No. 38.9

Sadly, before the transaction was finalized, Chief Peter Perro died in office on June 29, 1989, at the age of 73. After spending more than half of his life in pursuit of this goal, he never saw it reached. Reserve status for the property is a tribute to Peter's tenacity. Coincidentally, his beloved wife Sofie died on the same day. Photo, probably around 1980