Oka Confrontation

Part One:

During the Oka crisis, there were four different times that I identified that the conflict between the Mohawks and the non-native people of that area could have been resolved peacefully.

In 1977, the Mohawks filed a claim on the land outside of Oka, Quebec. This land was important to them as they believed it was a sacred burial ground for their ancestors. It also held a grove of pine trees that had been planted by their ancestors. However, nine years later, in 1986, their claim was turned down on "technical" grounds. If they had been given the land at that time, the whole thing could have been avoided.

On March 8, 1998, the decision was made to expand the golf course onto the land that the Mohawks believed was rightfully theirs. This decision was made without consulting the Mohawks. If they had been consulted, I think that the people of Oka and the Mohawks could have come to a compromise. This would have settled the whole thing peacefully.

On March 10, 1990, the Mohawks built a barricade on the road leading to the land in question. If the officials had taken the opportunity to talk to the Mohawks at this time, I believe they could have reached a peaceful compromise. The Mohawks would have taken down the barricade and gone home, and the whole conflict would have been avoided.

On July 11, 1990, the Police force was called out. The Mohawks at the barricade and the Police sent to stop them had a conflict that resulted in gunfire and the death of a Corporal. If the officials had just listened to the Mohawks, and had just tried to be peaceful and had not sent guns to the barricade with the police, I think that they would have been able to talk it out peacefully, as long as both sides kept a respect for each other. By doing this peacefully, they could have avoided the loss of the police corporal and the tensions that emerged from this situation. They could have had peace.

Part 2:

The Oka Crisis was a black mark in our history that led to a lot of tension between both the Natives and the non Natives. Although the conflict led to the Natives getting better treatment and more equality, we should have given them that from the very start. I think that in order to avoid similar incidents in the future, we need to try to understand them, and not at the point of a gun. By talking to each other and trying to understand each others points of view, we can learn so much more about each other. This can lead to us helping each other. Tensions between the Natives and non Natives have been around for a long, long, time. By listening to each other and reaching peaceful compromises, we can reach a point where these tensions that have been around for so long can be diminished, if not completely gotten rid of.

We need to remember that we are all people and we all have feelings. These feeling have been deeply ingrained in us since we were little children. If we can understand each others feelings, then both the Natives and the Non Natives can learn more about each other. By learning more about each other, we can come to help each other. We all have different beliefs and different cultures. We must not resort to the imperialism of the past and enforce our beliefs on each other as our ancestors did. People often tend to think that their way is better then anyone elses. What we often fail to realize is that different people like to do things in different ways, and quite often, the way you may think is the best turns out to be the best just for you, while someone elses way of doing things is the best for them. If we can learn to accept that the Natives and the non Natives have different ways of doing things, and that we should support them in doing things the way that they want to, then I believe that we should be able to avoid any further confrontations like the Oka crisis. If we can learn to compromise, we will all be better off.

Oka Crisis Timeline

This is a timeline concerning the Major events involved in the Oka Crisis.

1. 1717 - Land outside of Oka, Quebec is claimed by Mohawk First Nations.
2. 1961 - A nine hole golf course was built on a portion of this land. Mohawks protested, but the golf course had already been built.
3. 1977 - Mohawks file claim on land outside of Oka, Quebec.
4. 1986 - Federal Office of Native Claims turns down Mohawks claim on land on technical grounds.
5. March 8, 1989 - Announcement is made that the golf course will be expanded onto the Mohawk First Nations rightful land.
6. March 10, 1990 - Mohawk Nations Barricade the road leading to the land in question
7. March 11, 1990 - Mohawks start to occupy this land to protect their rights.
8. April 1, 1990 - 300 Mohawk First Nations protest the golf course expansion through the streets of Oka.
9. July 11, 1990 - Police intervene; a gunfight is started and Corporal Marcel Lemay of the Surete du Quebec police force is shot and killed.
10. July 15, 1990 - Police are replaced by the Canadian Armed Forces.
11. August 29, 1990 - Mohawks negotiate with a Corporal. In this negotiation they give up their biggest bargaining chip, the bridge, allowing traffic to start flowing again.
12. September 25, 1990 - Final conflict takes place when Mohawk warrior lights all the flares set up by the army. The army fires a hose at him, but it wasn't high pressure enough to disperse the crowd that had gathered. The Mohawks retaliated by launching water balloons at the army.
13. September 26, 1990 - Mohawks take apart their guns and throw them in the fire, ceremoniously burned tobacco, then marched back to the reserve. Many were detained by Canadian forces.

The Oka Crisis

In March 1990, in Oka, Quebec, plans for the extension of a golf course were made. The Mohawk First Nation's felt that this was their land. They set up a barricade on the roads leading to this land. Many Mohawk protestors walked the streets. The Oka police force were called in, then the RCMP. Later, the Canadian Army was called in. Gunfire was exchanged between the two groups, and a Corporal from the police force was shot and killed in the chaos. People across Canada were shocked by this display. Other First Nations Groups across Canada protested. I think that the reasons the Oka Crisis got so out of hand was because the Mohawks should have owned that land to begin with, the Mohawks were not consulted about building the golf course, and both the Mohawks and the Police should have tried to solve the problem peacefully.

The area of land outside of Oka, Quebec is very important to the Mohawk First Nations. They believe that this area of land is a burial ground and the location of a sacred grove of pine trees planted by their ancestors. The Mohawks have claimed this land since 1717, and it is a very historic place to them. In 1986 the federal Office of Native Claims turned down their claim on the land, but the Mohawk's they still maintained that the land was theirs by right. I think that the land should have been given to the Mohawks since they had been their for a long time and it was very important to them.

The Mohawks should have been consulted about the idea of building a golf course. Even if they didn't own the land, it is important to them and they should have some say in the matter. Instead, the Mayor of Oka made the plans to expand the golf course without even recognizing the Mohawk Nation. I think that the Mohawks were a big part of that lands history. As I stated before, they lived there much longer then any of the white people and they should have been a big part of the decision making process about whether or not to build a golf course.

This problem could have been solved much more peacefully. The Mohawks had been ignored for a long time, so when they set up the blockade and protested, they finally got some attention. However, when the police showed up, they launched tear gas and concussion grenades at the blockade. Many people tried to stone some of the natives, and many natives were roughed up. The chaos created resulted in a corporal of the police force getting killed. I think that the armed forces shouldn't have tried to settle the matter forcefully, but should have listened to the protestors and tried to understand and help them.

The Oka Crisis was a sad mark on Canada's History. Our treatment of the Mohawks was not a good thing, and many bad things resulted from it. I feel that the land should have been the Mohawks to start with. Also, the Mohawks should have been consulted about the plans for the golf course. Finally, violence is almost never the answer, and it should not have been what we resorted to to solve this crisis.