Oka Crisis
The Oka Crisis, occurring in 1990, was a significant and violent land dispute between the Mohawk people of Kanesatake and the Canadian government. The conflict was ignited by plans to expand a golf course and construct townhouses over ancestral burial grounds, which the Mohawk had historically inhabited for centuries. This protest escalated into a 78-day standoff, during which a provincial police officer was killed, and many others were injured. The crisis drew national attention and prompted a broader discussion about Indigenous rights in Canada. While the immediate plans for development were halted, the land ownership issue remained unresolved, with the municipality of Oka retaining control. In 2020, Oka officials enacted a bylaw that restricted development on the land, leading the Mohawks to pursue legal action in 2021. The Oka Crisis also led to the establishment of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, aimed at addressing Indigenous issues highlighted by the conflict. Overall, this event marked a pivotal moment in the struggle for Indigenous rights in Canada, influencing government policies and raising awareness of First Nations' issues.
On this Page
Oka Crisis
The 1990 Oka Crisis, also known as the Kanesatake Resistance, was a violent land dispute between the Mohawk of Kanesatake and the Canadian government. Plans to build townhouses and expand a golf course over Mohawk burial grounds sparked the conflict, which lasted for seventy-eight days and resulted in the death of a provincial police officer and hundreds of injuries. While plans for the townhouses and golf course expansion were quashed, by the end of 2023, the municipality of Oka had not transferred the land to the Mohawks, who have lived on it for hundreds of years. In 2020, Oka officials passed a bylaw prohibiting any type of development on the land without forty-five days’ notice. The Mohawks took Oka to court in 2021 because the bylaw gives the municipality control of their land.
Despite the harm caused by the dispute, the Oka Crisis had one positive outcome. It led to the establishment of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples on August 26, 1991. Its goal is to investigate First Nation issues made public by the Oka Crisis. In 1996, the commission released a report recommending a complete restructuring of the relationship between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous people of Canada.
Background
The Mohawk of Kanesatake live near the municipality of Oka, which is 37 miles (60 kilometers) from Montreal. The Mohawk have lived on the land since at least 1721 when they settled there after being forced out of Montreal by French colonists. However, archaeologists have discovered ancient artifacts suggesting that they inhabited the area long before this. The Mohawk of Kanesatake have also improved the land by planting more than seventy thousand trees on it. Because of this effort, the area became known as “the Pines.” Yet the Mohawk have had to fight for the Aboriginal title to their ancestral land for more than two hundred years. Their many claims to the land have been denied for reasons such as a lack of continuous ownership of the land and paperwork not meeting the full legal criteria.
In 1961, a nine-hole golf course was built on the land, even though it came very close to Mohawk burial grounds. In 1989, the mayor of Oka announced plans to build townhouses and expand the golf course. With this expansion, the course would have covered the Mohawk’s ancestral cemetery. The Mohawk of Kanesatake protested against the construction for months. Despite this, the project was scheduled to begin in March 1990.
Overview
To halt the construction, the Mohawk of Kanesatake, along with many non-Indigenous citizens, erected an enormous blockade, preventing bulldozers from entering the area and breaking ground. The Kanesatake Mohawk were soon joined by two other Mohawk bands: the Kahnawake and the Akwesasne. Also joining them was a group called the Mohawk Warrior Society. The municipality of Oka was granted two injunctions ordering the removal of the barricade. The Mohawk refused, however, instead strengthening the structure and putting its warriors on patrol in the nearby woods. They also set up a large camp for the many protestors.
On July 11, 1990, the town council asked the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the provincial police, to enforce the injunctions and dismantle the barricade. About one hundred SQ armed with assault rifles arrived at the scene, throwing tear gas and concussion grenades at the protestors. Shooting broke out between the two groups, resulting in the death of SQ Corporal Marcel Lemay. After this, the police retreated. No one knew who had fired the first shot or killed Lemay. No charges were ever filed.
News of the SQ’s attack on the protestors spread throughout the country, causing many supporters to travel to the area to protest and strengthen the barricade. The SQ constructed its own roadblocks, making it difficult for new supporters to access the area. In response, the Mohawk erected additional barriers, frustrating residents of the area who struggled to get to and from their homes. The Mohawk increased their demands to include full sovereignty, meaning they would have complete authority over the land.
By mid-July, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police(RCMP) and the Canadian armed forces were brought in to assist the SQ, who now also had to contend with angry non-Indigenous citizens inconvenienced by roadblocks. On August 20, more than four thousand soldiers assumed position near the Mohawk’s main barricade, some standing just feet from Mohawk warriors. Military aircraft circled overhead. By September 1, the army advanced and dismantled the barricade. The Mohawks were permitted to take refuge in a drug and alcohol treatment center across from the Pines. Their goal was to remain there until Parliament resumed on September 24. They had hoped that their demands would be the focus of the meeting.
The Oka Crisis officially ended on September 26 when plans for the golf course expansion and townhouse construction were canceled. However, the sudden exodus of the remaining protestors during their final surrender confused police. Chaos once again broke out, and a soldier accidentally stabbed fourteen-year-old Waneek Horn Miller, a Kanesatake Mohawk, in the chest with a bayonet while she was carrying her younger sister. Luckily, Miller survived, but news of her injury shocked people throughout the world.
During the Oka Crisis, the federal government purchased the Pines to prevent further development there. After the crisis, it purchased additional plots of land for the Kanesatake. However, the land was not established as a reserve, and ownership was not transferred to the Mohawks. In 2021, they sued the municipality of Oka over what they consider to be an illegal bylaw. According to the bylaw, anyone wishing to develop the land in any way—even to cut down a single tree—must give the municipality forty-five days’ notice. In legal terms, this implies that the land is still under the control of the government. Although the issue remained unresolved in the mid-2020s, the Oka Crisis facilitated massive changes to the government's official policing policy of Indigenous peoples and brought the plight of all First Nations peoples in Canada to the forefront of international public discourse.
Bibliography
Carleton, Sean. “Did Canada learn anything from the Oka Crisis?” The Globe and Mail, 11 July 2020, www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-did-canada-learn-anything-from-the-oka-crisis. Accessed 25 May 2024.
Curtis, Christopher. “The Pines that Set Off the Oka Crisis: ‘Once That’s Gone, What’s Left?’” Montreal Gazette, 11 July 2020, montrealgazette.com/news/the-land-in-the-pines. Accessed 25 May 2024.
“Kanesatake Resistance (Oka Crisis).” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 10 Nov. 2023, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oka-crisis. Accessed 25 May 2024.
Laframboise, Kalina. “Remembering the Oka Crisis 25 Years Later.” Montreal Gazette, 12 July 2015, montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/remembering-the-oka-crisis-25-years-later. Accessed 20 July 2021.
LaPier, Rosalyn. “Canada’s Oka Crisis marked a Change in how police use force.” High Country News, 21 July 2020, www.hcn.org/articles/indigenous-affairs-canadas-oka-crisis-marked-a-change-in-how-police-use-force. Accessed 20 July 2021.
Lowrie, Morgan. “Kanesatake Land Claim Remains Unsolved 30 Years After Oka Crisis.” The Canadian Press, 10 July 2020, www.hcn.org/articles/indigenous-affairs-canadas-oka-crisis-marked-a-change-in-how-police-use-force. Accessed 25 May 2024.
Marshall, Tabitha. “Oka Crisis.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 11 July 2013, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oka-crisis. Accessed 20 July 2021.
“The Oka Crisis.” Valour Canada, valourcanada.ca/military-history-library/the-oka-crisis/. Accessed 20 July 2021.
Richardson, Lindsay. “Mohawk Council of Kanesatake Taking Oka and Quebec to Court over Pines Dispute.” APTN News, 11 Jan. 2021, www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/mohawk-council-of-kanesatake-taking-oka-and-quebec-to-court-over-pines-dispute. Accessed 25 May 2024.
Shields, Billy. “Thirty years later, there are still scars from the Oka Crisis.” CTV News, 6 July 2020, montreal.ctvnews.ca/thirty-years-later-there-are-still-scars-from-the-oka-crisis-1.5012287. Accessed 20 July 2021.