Oka, a lifetime ago photo: Benoit Aquin

For 18 months, ever since a January 2004 confrontation that included a botched police raid and the torching of former grand chief James Gabriel's house, media reports have mentioned "organized crime" and a need for security at Kanehsatake. Even coverage about last Saturday's election of new band council Grand Chief Steven Bonspille leaves the impression that Kanehsatake is a violent, unsafe place.

"That's totally ridiculous," scoffs Mavis Etienne, a devout Pentecostal who hosts a weekly gospel radio show and works as a clinical supervisor and counsellor at Kanehsatake's addiction treatment centre. Etienne is so respected by traditionalists that she served as a negotiator for the Mohawk Nation during the 1990 "crisis."

"We are a peaceful community," says Etienne. "It's only when people come to attack us, that's the only time when people stand up and protect people. Get the police off our land and we won't feel that we are being attacked."

Etienne goes on to point out that in Mohawk culture, women are caretakers of the land, making sure it's there for the coming seven generations. Mohawk men are "'carriers of the burden of peace' to ensure that the land is there and the people are safe," she says. "I think the biggest misconception about Kanehsatake is that they think the Mohawks just like to cause problems."

The 1990 situation began after police charged on a group made up mostly of women and children, who had begun quietly camping in the Pines that spring, the site of a Mohawk cemetery and Mohawk ancestral territory. A private developer planned to sell the land to the Town of Oka to lease to the Oka Golf Club and to build luxury homes. "It wasn't about people trying to cause trouble, it was about people encroaching on common land for condominiums and a golf course," says Etienne. "They had already taken our land to make nine holes. They wanted to extend it to make another nine holes. Then they tried to make it look like we're all terrorists," she says.

"Here I am in the healing field, we had people in the school committee, they tried to paint us all with the same brush, we are terrorists and all that. Tanks with guns were aimed at school buses, at people's houses and cars. There hasn't been a lot of healing here because a lot of people haven't been debriefed since 1990."

Etienne continues to be dedicated to people getting along, despite her frustrations with how her community is perceived. Her "peace initiatives for reconciliation" these days include founding and co-ordinating a team project translating the Bible from English into Mohawk, and leading church celebrations and prayers in Mohawk. But she also raises awareness about 1990 by holding screenings and discussions about Alanis Obomsawin's films Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance and Rocks at Whisky Trench. "People need to see those videos to see the hurt that was caused to the Mohawk people," she says.

On the flip side, negative media coverage of Kanehsatake persists in obscuring peacemaking efforts by the community's women. For instance, in May 2004 three longhouse women from Kanehsatake went to the United Nations in New York and asked members of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to help find a peaceful, mediated solution to Kanehsatake's current woes.

The women, representing the Mohawk clans Bear, Turtle and Wolf, headed to NYC after a group of tearful and frustrated non-traditionalist women from Kanehsatake appealed for their help. Kanehsatake longhouse women met with longhouse women from other communities, and soon after, Warisose Gabriel found herself at the UN, chosen to represent the Turtle clan.

"It was just 1, 2, 3, we went," says Gabriel's niece, Wenhniseri:iosta Beauvais, who represented the Bear clan. "Things went smoothly because we were doing the right thing."

"The Turtle clan are called quiet and timid," says Gabriel, a Mohawk immersion teacher, whose son Leroy "Splinter" Gabriel was a Warrior who never recovered from 1990 and who later died tragically. "I don't like to argue [and] I hate confrontation. What made me decide to go was a lot of [non-traditionalist] women stood up and spoke and they were crying. I felt so bad... that's the reason why we went there, to get back some sort of peace in the community."

The UN never did intervene, but speaking to UN officials and networking with indigenous women from across the world proved inspiring, Gabriel and Beauvais say.

As traditionalists, neither woman voted in Saturday's band council election. But both hope Bonspille, who heads a council made up of supporters of rival James Gabriel, will make a difference.

"I hope Steve will be more open to community meetings, inform the people of what [council] is doing and not decide things for himself," says Gabriel.

"At least Steve will recognizes all sides," says Beauvais, adding Bonspille will bring "the culture back up" and the respect for elders' viewpoints she says the community sorely needs.

 
 

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No changes.............     I watched this crisis unfold, as told by the media, beneath what they(media) had reported was the truth. All of this for a golf course? At what cost to the taxpayers of Canada? Things have not changed for the aboriginal people. We, as a people have regained a lot of strength from this confrontation and a pride that was sadly missing for so long. I will never forget seeing the elderly people that were leaving the area of conflict and seeing them targets for so called ordinary people. I wonder how do those people(the stone throwers) feel today. These were elderly people,children and women. How do you justify what you did? All this did was to make me realize how far we had to go to be respected for our beliefs and way of life. Here we are 2005 and we are no further ahead(policitcally) than we were when the Oka Crisis happened. Even today I ask people who express ignorant people who express uninformed opinions on aboriginal people ," How many aboriginal people do you know and have you sat down with them and asked their opinions pm things that affect them". This battle for recognition has been going on for the most part for three hundred years and I see no resolution to it in my lifetime. I commend the aboriginal people at the oka crisis for standing up and being counted when it mattered. The aftermath is just a sad legacy to our governments to realize that nothing has changed. We as aboriginal people have only had our resolve strengthened.
Wayne Bell		August 27th, 2005
Kanehsatake: Searching For Peace.........     The incident at OKA received front page coverage 15 years ago because it was a story featuring conflict in Oka (it didn't matter what the issues were to most people who picked up the paper or tuned in to the news that couple of days back in 1990). What was different about the conflict near Oka?Our Canadian forefathers, yes they were here first, were colonized by white settlers who told them what territory they could and couldn't have. The free land was now available to the swarms of new people arriving to Canada. This was the beginning of distinct discrimination against First Nations People and opened the door to disrespect for tradition, culture and the previous laws of the land. They didn't have a say then, or a vote or a voice as to whether things were fair or equitable...they also didn't have a say in 1990 at the Oka crossroads when military, police and onlookers became involved in the conflict. What was the fight about? They were pressed by white man's ignorance to go ahead with corporate greed and dispelled ancestry and spiritual need. Don't piss off the dead. Don't cross over burial lands and stick shovels on land that has significance for something other than where to put the green and the flag for the next round of golfers, spilling beer on the grass, to pee in the bushes, flick cigarette butts into the closest maple tree or leave behind hot dog wrappers and empty chip bags blow in the wind. Do we replace cultural traditions when we bulldoze land to erect the next building we deem important? Do we research ancient burial lands that we want to turn into shopping centres? Do we measure and calculate sufficently the effect of manufacturing spill-off on wildlife and forestry when we turn the machines on for the first time? Do we seek enough insight from our First Nations brothers and sisters when we consider rezoning and development? Do we care enough?These questions and others are at the heart of the issues. Let Kanehsatake live in peace.
Steve Landry	{59 votes}	July 3rd, 2005
Make your own conclusions     Well this article shows just how erroneous it is to use a news/media outlet as a valid information source, although ironically it is using the same outlet to correct it. Which comes to the point: Readers beware. You got to learn to think for yourselves and be sure not to take everything as fact or word of God. I was lucky; I knew everything I need to know about the Oka crisis due to one of the best sources of information: Teachers. I had a very well rounded History teacher that taught both sides of every story, because in life there is nothing as simple as good guy vs. bad guy as George Bush Jr. put it for his war on terrorism. I knew Oka was about a corporation building an environmental crushing golf course (a lot of trees are cut to make that lawn prosper) on ancestral land. I knew they were fighting for their right to defend their heritage. Our teacher made sure that we knew they weren't the "bad guys". But some people think the news can be a good source of information, even though it's been edited, used to make money, reported by people who don't know the subject and totally biased on one side. As shown many times the media is a terrible place for information. If one really thinks during a news show they will realize a) people's responses are either really sad or really happy, b) the responses are rarely a full sentence and c) edited to be good entertainment. Think about it when they ask someone how they feel after a Tornado destroyed their house. The response is "I'm sad, I've lost everything." Well no kidding, anyone would. I would be surprised if someone said, "Hey I'm happy as hell, I'm collecting insurance." People have to learn to think for themselves. I know Khanawake is a safe place. I've been there for the Onake 1.5k Dragon Boat festival. They have good chili and burgers there. I had fun. It was a very nice place. Yeah it has problems with crime, but which place doesn't. So remember, reader beware and think for yourself.
Alexander Yu	{47 votes}	July 2nd, 2005
Dude, here's the story     What don't you get, dude? The story has been going on for over 200 years. Whites still don't acknowledge their disgraceful origins on this continent. Just because there's not a sensational standoff going on doesn't mean that the inequities don't still exist. Whites in general are blind to the co-opting of other cultures just as they're blind to the way European powers have been tromping around the Middle East for eons, forming countries (such as Iraq) designed to be cash cows for Western business. White Europeans historically have little respect for other cultures, so it's not surprising that the bonehead mayor of Oka couldn't see the problem with building a golf course on an ancestral burial ground. That's the story dude, and it hasn't ended yet.
John Kneeland		October 20th, 2007
The Masked Indian on the Bridge.     I remember the Oka Crisis as the media covered it quite extensively and I, like others remember especially the Indian with a kerchief on his face. He became a symbol of the Oka Crisis as the fierce warrior standing mighty and alone against the invaders. The Indians were always painted as a wild people, who, when confronted would scalp their enemies. Well I guess if my way of life would be threatened; I, too would put on war paint and fight for my land and property. Stereotyping a race, religion etc. is perhaps the Canadian staple but if the average Canadian doesn't like it when they get stereotyped, should leave well enough alone. Leave the Indians to solve their domestic problems themselves without calling in the RCMP or our STM police force. And I truly wish the media wouldn't go blowing things way out of porportion as it can become dangerous (Princess Di), and should stick to facts not overwhelming sensationalism. I know that is what sells newspapers and magazines but I wish they would tell the truth and not stretch things out of contexts or porportions. Because it is hard to sort out any truth from everything reporters bombard our way and sometimes they tend to hide facts from us as well (Contaminated water in Ontario) and only start to filter out any information when they have no choice (when someone actually dies). Too much reporting or too late reporting and not stating important parts that the public should know and has a right to know is what we deal with. It is either a sort of censorship or gross sensationalism. From one extreme to another, can't we have a more balanced media coverage of things and be informed if certain dangerous or circumstances that might affect us; let us be made aware of it and not when ten people have already died from it. The media shouldn't attempt to paint whatever pictures they want us to see but just stick to giving us the facts straightforward and on time.
Maria Jankovics		July 20th, 2005
Canada was built on stereotyping     Canada was built on stereotyping. Our founding fathers landed with the impression that they were going to civilize the savages -what we would refer today as Amerindians or indigenous peoples. I attended high school and university with two different Mohawk girls. Thank God for childhood. There are no prejudices during this time. These two girls were intent on living their lives to the best of their ability...just like everyone else. We have been collectively brain washed since the explorers landed on these shores. We are the white Europeans who perceived ourselves as superior people enabling ignorant savages to adopt a more appropriate lifestyle than the traditional hunter-gatherer approach they had assumed for eons. Today, nothing has changed. We placitate their legitimate concerns with tax free parcels of land called reservations and build drop-in centres, in our civilized city across the bridge, for their substance abuse problems. And every year we throw in a trapper, at the annual fur trade show at Place Bonaventure, to quail the anti-fur lobbyists. The only positive for a straight hair like myself is that the guy is tall and handsome. But you still can't loose the impression that he is a pon for our ever burgeoning fur industry. We're not really promoting educational awareness as to his way of life. I can't help but get the impression when I occasionally visit Kanehsatake that I'm travelling through a game reserve. If we can accept the beliefs, customs and traditions of newly arrived immigrants in our growing global village, without reservation, why can't we accept and respect the cultural needs and expressions of our own native citizens? Let's work on educating ourselves on Amerindian issues before accepting anymore new Canadians. Stop pretending to instantly love and adopt everyone. Let's work on developing a sustainable relationship with our existing Mohawk nation. The honeymoon is over. Let's build a marriage.
Heather Lee	{7 votes}	July 6th, 2005
What about positive activities?     I don't feel like I know more about the communities involoved in the Oka crisis than I knew back then. With the elections that just passed, I feel like I don't know what's best. I feel like I hear from the chief but not much for people actually living in those communities. We hear a lot about violence, illegal activities but not much about positive activities taking place. It was like that in 1990. It hasn't changed much since.
Marc Charette	{9 votes}	July 4th, 2005
Blockade of Mercier Bridge High Point of Oka Crisis     I remember the crisis well from the nightly newscasts of that period. The standoff at Oka was a minor affair until the natives decided to blockade the Mercier Bridge and make it very difficult for thousands of South Shore residents to reach work on time. Tempers flaired and riots errupted that got very ugly. Race relations were set back at least 50 years. With that vital piece of real estate next to the Seaway they can decide to inflict hardship on Metro residents at any time of their own chosing. With so many Quebecois having native blood in their viens it is very sad that the two groups do not understand each other better. They are like cousins in a bitter illogical feud. I hope things have mellowed in 15 years.
Stephen Talko	{9 votes}	July 2nd, 2005
News flash!     The media is there to report the news but it's also there to make money. I'd argue it's more the latter than the former but that's just me. So what happens when the news you're putting out there isn't selling? You drop the story and move to something else. As they say, if it bleeds it leads. So when the Hour's Stephanie O'Hanley rightly points out that the media still feeds nothing but stereotypes about the Kanehsatake native lo these 15 years later I have to ask myself what exactly has the Hour done to reverse this sad truth? For that matter what have the Montreal Mirror, The Gazette or La Presse or Le Journal de Montreal done? Precious little, I'm sorry to say. Mind you, its not their job to do publicity or spin control for Kanehsatake or its citizens so am I really expected to hold the media to task when the stone cold fact is that we generally don't care about anything past the edge of our nose. The tsunami victim coverage is over but does that mean everything is roses and rainbows there all these months later? SARS in now a distant memory but I imagine the fallout is still strong. Shall I list off every horror show of the past 15 years and how our apathy is equal to our zeal to hear about something new and worrisome? No I don't and you know damn well why. You'll all write your comments and wax poetic for a while but within a few weeks you won't think about what happened at Kanehsatake all those years ago...just as you did right before this article surfaced. A lot of us might care but most of us only do so within the specific moment when our ire is raised and then no more than is required for us to feel better about ourselves as people and individuals.
Pedro Eggers	{12 votes}	June 30th, 2005
We Will Never Forget     The Oka crisis was a very big deal and we will never forget about it. I was shocking when it was occurring in 1990 and it feels like it just happened yesterday. The Oka crisis could have been avoided but some individuals would not back down and in the end it cause nothing but havoc. I believe that the media made the Oka crisis more worse and I'm glad that it did not last for a very long period of time and not that many people got hurt by it. This event will be in the history books and never forgotten.
Carmela Sicurella	{1 vote}	July 20th, 2005
Dude, where's the story?     Nice place to visit, interesting people and all that but I just have to ask: dude, where's the story? Has something happened there that makes them suddenly so important again. I mean besides the obvious. I don't get it. If there's really something here worth reporting on wouldn't Global, CTV, the Gazette and the Journal de Montreal be on it? They're not so again I ask: dude, where's the story?
Vladimir Joseph	{10 votes}	July 2nd, 2005

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