The Oka Confrontation was a land dispute and protest movement that took place in the summer of 1990 in the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada. The conflict arose over plans to expand a golf course and residential development on land that was traditionally used by the Mohawk nation for spiritual and cultural practices.
The Mohawk community, who lived in the nearby reserve of Kanesatake, opposed the development and blockaded the construction site in an effort to protect their land. The situation escalated when the Quebec police force, known as the Sûreté du Québec, was called in to enforce a court injunction and remove the protesters from the site.
The confrontation between the Mohawk protesters and the police quickly turned violent, with both sides using tear gas and rubber bullets. The stand-off continued for 78 days, attracting national and international media attention. It eventually ended when the federal government intervened and negotiated a resolution, though tensions between the Mohawk community and the government remained.
The Oka Confrontation was a significant event in Canadian history, bringing attention to the ongoing issue of indigenous land rights and the marginalization of First Nations communities. It also sparked other protests and acts of civil disobedience by indigenous groups across the country, highlighting the need for reconciliation and improved relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Canada.
The Oka Confrontation serves as a reminder of the importance of respecting the rights and traditions of indigenous communities, and the need for dialogue and understanding in resolving conflicts. It is a testament to the resilience and determination of the Mohawk community and other indigenous groups in their fight for justice and recognition.
Oka Crisis course childhealthpolicy.vumc.org
In 1992 there was a national referendum concerning the Charlottetown Accord and the Accord was rejected by 54. At the Woods' Edge, a history of Kanesatake. Sechelt First Nation pulled out of the treaty process in British Columbia and threatened to force a total redesign of Canada's plan to solve land disputes, including government's insistence of extinguishment of Native rights in exchange for settlements. In general, we are still on the low end of the economic ladder; we still have the highest suicide rate in the country and we still are victims of a certain amount of racism," he said. Oka: 10 years later: change comes grudgingly, if at all. When the police advanced on the lines of Mohawks, there was gunfire and in the end an officer was killed.
Retrieved January 11, 2018. While Quebec's justice minister, Gil Remilliard, has proposed creating a special "human-rights tribunal" to ensure that Mohawk offenders are treated fairly, he and other provincial authorities have rejected Indian demands for immunity from prosecution. This framing of the conflict did not allow for constructive conflict management since it was based on the view that force was the only way of dealing criminals. In the end it made more Canadians realize what is going on with the indigenous people and their rights to land. The SQ demands to speak with Warrior representatives; they negotiate a 45-minute pause for a tobacco burning ceremony. But how much of that money is benefiting the Indigenous people? Ciaccia refused to elaborate on the proposals, saying he must first consult with the provincial government.
Lasagne: l'homme derrière le masque, Saint-Lambert, PQ: Éditions Sedes. By July, seven roads and railways had been blocked off by B. Very little and yet a lot. Write down the problems you experience when you avoid confrontation. The Oka crisis, or the Kanesatake Resistance, stands today as a heroic example of Indigenous militancy.
The most angered people were in Quebec since the blockade affected them the most, local residents rallied up and started getting violent and throwing rocks at cars which contained mostly of women, young children and elders who tried to leave the reserve. These tensions lead to a number of struggles in the 18th and 19th centuries, the most significant being led by Mohawk Chief Joseph Onaskenrat in the 1860s through 1870s. The physical barricades came down and the army left. The media has played an important role in shaping perception on Indigenous collective action. We've been here for centuries and we expect to be here for a few more centuries. Deer said there could be another confrontation if cigarette taxes go up. The agreement was announced after Quebec Native Affairs Minister John Ciaccia met for more than six hours with Indian representatives in an effort to end the dispute, which has left one police officer dead.
Canada was one of them and the people that were already living there are known as The First Nations Peoples. Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Beyond Intractability or the Conflict Information Consortium. There, they reduced the stretch of While the Warriors at Kahnawáːke had reached an agreement with government officials and had begun dismantling their barricades, Kanehsatàːke was now more vulnerable and isolated. It allowed the movement to dissipate and prepared the way for the state to shut them down completely. Both the federal and provincial governments opened up a new host of Indigenous government bodies and treaty-making processes. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
Summary of "Reflections on Oka: The Mohawk Confrontation"
One man, Angus Jacob, was picked up by police on the way to go shopping with his wife, where he was then kicked and choked. General e Régiment, known colloquially in English as the "Van Doos", led by Major Alain Tremblay, took over three barricades and arrived at the final blockade leading to the disputed area. You don't have that in Canada. In retaliation for the attack, a group of Mohawks from the nearby community of Kahnawake seized the Mercier bridge, which is one of the few major routes between the nearby city of Chateauguay and Montreal. They had to sneak themselves in. So what has changed in 10 years? The front-loader moves to dismantle the barricade.
Oka: 10 years later: change comes grudgingly, if at all.
Retrieved December 6, 2020. Gangs of vigilantes roamed the area, and tried to chase down and beat any Indigenous people they found leaving the blockades to buy food or medicine. In 1990, it was easy to unite because we were all being attacked and it didn't matter what political faction you worked for. There will be a time when, because these agreements do not recognize us as equals, do not recognize us as sovereign peoples, that sooner or later it will come to confrontation. Le problème Mohawk au Québec.
This is because the question of the golf course expansion was merely a symbolic issue. The soldiers attempt to lay razor wire, but it is dismantled by the Mohawk, who also throw rocks and assault the soldiers. Aside from being denied food and medicine, Indigenous people were routinely harassed and beaten by police, even if they had nothing to do with the standoff. Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance. In fact, within three days of the standoff, the city announced that the expansion had been cancelled. However, the lands had to be used in a manner consistent with Aboriginal title or they would be taken away.
The second was that he would speed up the rate of land claims because at the rate they were going it would have taken more than 100 years to settle them. It doesn't mean just voting. He believes there's a powerful form of denial at work in the Canadian public about an important part of the country's history and he wants to find a way to make regular people face up to that history and come to grips with it, he said. The SQ stopped the convoy to search for weapons. Except it was set to go into land that Mohawks from the Kanesatake reserve nearby thought of as sacred.
Journalists were prohibited from sending film out from the barricades, and they were forbidden from receiving supplies. The reactionary protests should have been countered with demonstrations in solidarity with the Mohawk struggle. In March, a group of Mohawks erected a barricade on a dirt road that leads into The Pines, with the intention of blocking off any attempts to start clearing the forest. It ended with a partial victory, as the golf course extension had been cancelled. It's on the blood of Aboriginal people that Canada became a country. Additionally, this Accord suggested reforming the senate.
