Indigenous people lived on Point Pelee for many years before European colonization. The largest archaeological site found at Point Pelee is thought to have been occupied between AD 700 and 900.
In 1790, Deputy Indian Agent Alexander McKee negotiated a treaty with Indigenous communities that ceded a large tract of land to the Crown that included Point Pelee. The Caldwell Chippewa people, who inhabited Point Pelee, were not signatories of that treaty. However, the Crown did not realize this, and their land was ceded nonetheless. Subsequently, they were forced off their land, and Point Pelee remains unceded indigenous land. This has been publicly acknowledged by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
It forms the southernmost point in mainland Canada (its latitudinal position is the same as the northernmost counties of California) and is part of a bird and butterfly migration corridor over Lake Erie via Point Pelee and the Lake Erie islands. Over 360 bird species have been recorded in the park. The peak time for bird migration is spring, especially May, when tired migrants make first landfall after their journey north across the lake. Bird species include Cooper's Hawk, Painted Bunting, and Yellow Choochity Warbler.
Many birdwatchers from North America and abroad visit the park in spring, often staying in the nearby town of Leamington. One attraction, apart from the sheer numbers and variety of bird passing through on migration, is the opportunity to see more northerly breeding species such as Blackpoll Warbler before they move on.
