Oka Crisis Analysis

On July 11, 1990 a standoff began involving the Mohawk territories of Kanehsatake/Oka & Kahnawake. The intent was only to protect their pines and burial grounds from being disturbed and demolished in order to extend an existing golf course and ended in what is known as the “Oka Crisis”. What started off as an innocent barricade to ensure that the armed police force couldn’t trespass onto their lands, escaladed quickly when a shot was fired resulting in the death of an SQ Corporal. Watching the film brings out all sorts of emotions that I didn’t think I could feel simply by watching a documentary, it causes a person to go from angry to being on the brink of tears and back to angry in less than 60 seconds. Knowing that something so disturbing can take place in a more modern time

In this case it was the lack of respect shown to the Mohawk tribe and their sacred lands, which wasn’t viewed as important to the people involved in the attempted extension of the golf course. The intentions of the blatant disrespect to their sacred grounds upset the Mohawks to say the least, and the retaliation that came with protecting their land was understandable. If someone came up to me and told me that they were going to build a funhouse over the grave of someone so dear to me, there’s no way that I would be able to stand still and smile and that shouldn’t have been expected of the Mohawk people either. During the documentary it shows the many Aboriginal people who came to the blockade in hopes to be a good support system for their people and were denied access but the opposing army of armed SQ Quebec Police and the army. When it reaches a point where the food supply is cut off and whatever actually does make it through the barricade is tampered with, you can’t help but question where had the humanity