Blog Archives
The Oka Crisis was supposed to be a wake-up call. Little has changed in 27 years
A picture taken during the Oka Crisis on July 11, 1990. (Tom Hanson/The Canadian Press)
By Steve Bonspiel, for CBC News, July 11, 2017
“Just go in there and exterminate them like the rats they are.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s get rid of them.”
“Put them all in the Big O and blow it up.”
I heard these words from random non-Natives as a 14-year-old boy, 27 years ago to the day. I feel a mixture of pride, anger, sadness and resolve when I think of that fateful summer, and what went on for those 78 days in Kanesatake: the Oka Crisis. Read the rest of this entry
Kanesatake hit by rising waters: ‘We’re working like crazy here’
Flooding in Kanesatake, May 2017.
by Tom Fennario, APTN National News, May 9, 2017
KANESATAKE MOHAWK TERRITORY – Drive past Torrey Daoust’s house from the back, and it could be mistaken it for an island. Brown water from the Ottawa River laps at his green lawn about a metre away from a row of sandbags. Read the rest of this entry
Chief predicts Oka Crisis if feds impose Enbridge pipeline
Canadian soldier and warrior face off during 1990 Oka Crisis.
Leader says conflict will continue to escalate until the government decides to negotiate in good faith and honour First Nations rights
If Canada fails to respond to live up to its obligations to consult First Nations, British Columbia’s Grand Chief Stewart Phillip believes it will almost certainly see another Oka Crisis, referencing a 78-day standoff in 1990 between the Mohawk people, the Quebec police and the Canadian military that broke out when the province tried to build a golf course on a traditional burial site. Read the rest of this entry
Mohawk Warriors Society revival campaign notification
My name is Bill Sears, Skaghenhate’, War Chief since the 1990 Oka golf course crisis in Quebec. I was told by the women of the Longhouse and by Samson Gabriel that same day and later on after the summer of 1990 by Louie Hall that my War Chief position was for life and to be taken seriously. Read the rest of this entry
