Artifact 5: Canadian Armed Forces Moving onto Kanehsatake Territory
Citation: “Artifact 5,” HIST 261 Post-Confederation Canadian History, accessed November 23, 2024, https://hist261exhibits.ca/admin/items/show/23
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On August 20th, 1990, the Premier of Quebec Robert Bourassa called the federal armed forces in to help with the Oka Crisis. When the armed forces arrived, they fought with both the Kanehsatake and Kahnawake over dismantling the blockades that were created. They were successful in dismantling the blockade by the people of Kahnawake but were not with the people of Kanehsatake. When the armed forces arrived in Oka, they surrounded the area by watching from a small island on the river that runs along Oka. The people of Kanehsatake saw this as an escalation in the fight. They were still trying to negotiate with the Canadian government to permanently get the golf course expansion shut down. The armed forces continued to surround the town of Oka and the Pines from all different angles. Many Mohawk soldiers retreated to a treatment center which they had barricaded using barbed wire in the Kanehsatake territory.
Bibliography:
Bruin, Tabitha de. “Kanesatake Resistance (Oka Crisis).” The Canadian Encyclopedia, July 11, 2013. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oka-crisis