JULY 11, 1990

MOHAWK-CANADIAN OKA CRISIS BEGINS

Canada’s most serious aboriginal crisis in modern times began in the town of Oka, west of Montreal, as a dispute over a planned condominium expansion to a golf complex. The complex was to be built on land claimed by the adjacent Mohawk community of Kanesatake and would have encircled a native cemetery. When Mohawk protesters set up barricades in the pine forest at the heart of the dispute, the provincial police (SQ) encircled the forest. Mohawks at Kahnawake (just south of Montreal) then blocked the Mercier Bridge. The SQ rushed the Oka barricades and a gunfight erupted killing a police officer. The crisis ended on September 26, 1990. In the long run, the golf course was never expanded. The land was purchased by the federal government but was not transferred to the Kanesatake community. However, the crisis led to a national First Nations Policing Policy to prevent future incidents.

Source:  Ha, Tu Thanh, "Crisis inspired many native people," The Globe and Mail, 7/11/2000.  Retrieved 7/6/2019, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/crisis-inspired-many-native-people/article4165629/?page=all

Photo:  Dtaw2001, 2000.   Native Indians from the Seton Lake Indian Band blockade the BC Rail line in support of Oka, while an RCMP officer looks on. Public Domain