The Oka Crisis

This is our last lesson from our injustices towards Canada’s Aboriginal people chapter. It will span three classes. The first class will be getting familiar with the Oka crisis. The second one we will work on the assignment to be presented on the third class.

1. The Oka Crisis

2. The beginning
•In 1961, there was a golf course built on a
portion of native land.
•In 1977, the Native’s filed a native land claim
with the Federal Office of Native Claims about
the land used for the golf course.
•1986, the claim was rejected.

3. •There have long-time tensions between Native
reserves and their neighboring towns over land
rights.
•In 1989, the mayor of Oka, Jean Ouellette,
announced plans of expanding the golf course as
well as building luxury condos all on the land the
Mohawks of Kahnesatake claimed to be theirs.
•As the land claim had been rejected a few years
prior there was no government objection to the
development.

4. •As a protest some members of the Kahnesatake
community built a barricade preventing
construction crews from entering.
•They refused to comply and even received support
from Quebec’s Minister for Native Affairs, John
Ciaccia, who wrote a letter saying, these people
have seen their lands disappear without having
been consulted or compensated, and that, in my
opinion, is unfair and unjust, especially over a golf
course."

5. The Crisis
•On July 11
th,
1990, the mayor called for SQ
intervention. They claimed that the Mohawks
had become violent along the borders of the
barricade.

6. •The Mohawk people, in accordance with the
Constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy, asked the
women, the caretakers of the land and "progenitors
of the nation", whether or not the arsenal they had
amassed should remain. The women of the
Mohawk Nation decided that the weapons should
only be used if the SQ fired on the barricade and to
use them as defensively as possible.

7. •It is unclear who fired first, the Mohawks or the SQ.
However, after 15 minutes of bullet exchange the
SQ retreated.
•One SQ officer was shot in the face and later died.
•The Mohawks refused to take down their barricade,
so the SQ put up their own, blocking entry to Oka
and Kahnesatake.

8. •The Mohawks of Kahnesatake were joined by
Native communities all over Canada in support.
•The Mohawks of Kahnawake set up their own
barricade blocking the Mercier Bridge on the South
Shore, as well as several main highways.
•The Canadian government agreed to buy the land
being fought over, in order to prevent construction.
•This did not satisfy the Natives as they felt the main
issues were not being addressed.

9. •Racism was strong from both sides.
•The RCMP were sent in once it became apparent
that the SQ had lost control.
•It didn’t take long before the RCMP was
overwhelmed by the mobs and Mohawks.
•Thus, resulting in the army being brought in.
•On August 29
th
, the Mohawks of Kahnawake
negotiated a settlement deal with the Quebec
government. Traffic was again flowing.

10. The End
•By September 26, the Mohawks dismantled
their guns and threw them in a fire,
ceremonially burned tobacco and then walked
out of the pines and back to the reserve.
Many were detained by the Canadian Forces
and arrested by the SQ.The Oka Crisis lasted
seventy-eight days and resulted in the death
of SQ Corporal Marcel Lemay. The golf-course
expansion, which had originally triggered the
situation, was cancelled.
•Video on facebook

11. Homework
•For tomorrow please right up a few sentences
on each of these people:
•Alanis Obomsawin
•Jean Ouellette, mayor of Oka
•Ellen Gabriel, spokesperson for the
Kanesatake Mohawks
•John Ciaccia, Quebec native affairs minister
•Tom Siddon, federal Indian affairs minister
•Ronald Cross (“Lasagna”), Mohawk warrior
•Research will be needed!

12. Role playing activity
•Get into 6 groups of 4 or 5 people.
•Choose one person that you were supposed to
research.
•You will then choose someone to pretend to be
that person and the others will be the
interviewers, asking them questions relating to
the Oka crisis.
•You will have one class to work on it and 5-10
minutes to present next class.
•Go to facebook for more info.