Oka - a Political Crisis or Social Disaster?

2581 Words11 Pages
Not since the Riel Rebellion of 1885 had Canada seen an armed standoff of the size and scope that occurred between Indians and the military in the small town of Oka, Quebec, between May and September of 1990. The lead-up, the crisis, and the aftermath are all documented in Harry Swain’s account of the crisis in “Oka – A Political Crisis and It’s Legacy” - a self-proclaimed subjective account of the 78 day standoff between Mohawk Indians and, progressively, the Town of Oka, the Sûreté du Québec, and finally the Canadian military. Swain was Deputy Minister of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) at the time, ostensibly a key player in the negotiations between the Mohawks of the Kanesatake reserve and the Town/police/military, although he never clearly states what role he played. The 1990 version of an age-old land dispute over a sacred Mohawk common area called The Pines that the Town of Oka wanted as an expanded golf course and luxury condominium development escalated to a full armed conflict resulting in two deaths – that of a young Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officer, and an elderly Indian man, and the widening of the gulf between the local francophone and Indian populations. But it was also more than that. It was a clash between cultures, values and leadership styles that have been at odds for hundreds of years. The History Nearly 300 years ago, Iroquois Indians (of which the Mohawk nation is a part) living on the developing island of Montreal were considered security threats by their French neighbours. Enticed by offers from the French Crown for land that would be theirs in perpetuity, the Indians and their “spiritual caretakers”, the Sulpician (Jesuit) monks of the Catholic Church, moved 30 miles upstream to Lake of the Two Mountains and established permanent residence. Unbeknownst to the Indians, over the next several
Open Document