when was the oka golf course built

by Ray Bogan 5 min read

In 1961, a nine-hole golf course was built on the Pines. Despite the fact that the land came very close to a traditional Mohawk burial ground, the Mohawk claim was rejected, and the golf course was built.Jul 11, 2013

What happened at Oka Quebec?

The Oka Crisis, also known as the Kanesatake Resistance or the Mohawk Resistance at Kanesatake, was a 78-day standoff (11 July–26 September 1990) between Mohawk protesters, Quebec police, and the Canadian Army.

Who died at Oka?

Marcel LemayThe only casualty was Marcel Lemay, whose wife was pregnant with their second child. No one was charged with the murder. Some native leaders condemned the standoff at Oka, but others suggested it was a logical and inevitable outcome of five hundred years of inequality.

What happened on July 11th 1990 at Oka?

The 1990 standoff began on July 11, 1990 near Oka, Que., when provincial police raided a Mohawk protest camp in a pine forest that was to be razed to expand a municipal golf course. A police officer was killed. The Sûreté du Québec retreated, and Mohawk warriors barricaded the highway with SQ vehicles.Jul 11, 2020

How did Oka Crisis start?

The crisis began after months of benign actions by Mohawk activists to protest against the expansion of a golf course and condominium village near Oka, Quebec. The Mohawk contended that the land, which included a Mohawk cemetery, was their aboriginal territory and sacred to them.Jul 21, 2020

How many Mohawks died in the Oka Crisis?

two fatalitiesThe Oka Crisis (French: Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanesatake Resistance, was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 77 days until September 26, 1990, with two fatalities.

How did Marcel Lemay?

17. Gilbert ruled the AK-47 assault rifle that fired the shot which killed Cpl. Marcel Lemay, July 11, 1990 was held by a Mohawk Warrior whose intention was to kill. The round could in no way have come from the officer's own weapon or from another officer's gun, said Gilbert.

Did the Oka golf course get built?

In 1961, a nine-hole golf course was built on the Pines. Despite the fact that the land came very close to a traditional Mohawk burial ground, the Mohawk claim was rejected, and the golf course was built.Jul 11, 2013

What happened to Waneek Horn Miller?

During the confusion surrounding the end of the stand-off that day, Horn-Miller was stabbed in the chest with a soldier's bayonet (figure 1). She had been carrying her 4 year-old sister, Kaniehtiio, to safety.

Why was the Canadian military deployed at Oka?

Over four thousand army personnel were deployed to restore order to the region and to guarantee public safety. The Canadian Armed Forces were called in on August 6 because of the escalating tensions between the Quebec provincial police and the armed Mohawk protesters.

Do the Mohawks still exist?

Today, there are about 30,000 Mohawk in the United States and Canada. Traditionally, Mohawks divided labor by gender. Men spent most of the time hunting and fishing and the rest of the time warred with rivals, notably Algoniquins and later the French.

What was the Oka Crisis?

The Oka Crisis, also known as the Kanesatake Resistance or the Mohawk Resistance at Kanesatake, was a 78-day standoff (11 July–26 September 1990) between Mohawk protesters, Quebec police, and the Canadian Army. It took place in the community of Kanesatake, which includes a commons area known as “the Pines.” It is near the Town of Oka, on the north shore of Montreal. Related protests and violence occurred in the Kahnawake reserve, to the south of Montreal. The crisis was sparked by the proposed expansion of a golf course and the development of townhouses on disputed land in the Pines that included a Mohawk burial ground. Tensions were high, particularly after the death of Corporal Marcel Lemay, a Sûreté du Québec police officer. Eventually, the army was called in and the protest ended. The golf course expansion was cancelled and the land was purchased by the federal government. However, it did not establish the land as a reserve, and there has since been no organized transfer of the land to the Mohawks of Kanesatake. The resistance inspired Indigenous peoples across Canada to take action. It has been linked to the Idle No More movement, as well as demands for an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.

What happened in 1761?

In 1761, the Mohawk people of Kanesatake write to government officials in Britain. They describe living under unfavourable rules that threaten their livelihood.

How long did the Oka Crisis last?

The Oka Crisis ( French: Crise d'Oka ), also known as the Kanesatake Resistance, was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 days until September 26, 1990, with two fatalities.

Who wrote the Oka Crisis?

John Ciaccia, the Minister of Native Affairs for Quebec at the time, wrote a book about the events related to the Oka Crisis. His book, titled The Oka Crisis, A Mirror of the Soul, was published in 2000.

What happened to Joe Armstrong?

Mohawk elder Joe Armstrong, 71, was struck in the chest by a large rock, and suffered a fatal heart attack the following day. At the peak of the crisis, the Mercier Bridge and routes 132, 138 and 207 were all blocked, creating substantial disruption to traffic. Anger grew among local residents as the crisis dragged on.

Who was Joseph Tehawehron David?

Joseph Tehawehron David, a Mohawk artist who became known for his role as a warrior during the Oka Crisis in 1990, developed a body of artistic work that was deeply influenced by his experience "behind the wire" in 1990.

What was the protest against the golf course expansion?

As a protest against the court decision to allow the golf course expansion to proceed, some members of the Mohawk community erected a barricade blocking access to the area. A court injunction in late April ordering the dismantling of the barricade was ignored, as was a second order issued on June 29, 1990. Mayor Ouellette demanded compliance with the court order, but the land defenders refused. Quebec's Minister of Native Affairs John Ciaccia wrote a letter of support for the Mohawk, stating that "these people have seen their lands disappear without having been consulted or compensated, and that, in my opinion, is unfair and unjust, especially over a golf course."

Who is the character in The Insider?

In the 1999 film The Insider, Al Pacino 's character Lowell Bergman says "Everybody thinks Canadian Mounties ride horses and rescue ladies from rapids. Mike, they backed locals in Oka in a fight with Mohawks over building a golf course on their burial site, they beat up protestors at Kanesatake".

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Historical Background

  • There was a long history behind the crisis at Oka. The Mohawk had been pressing for recognition of their right to the land since 1761. Almost immediately after Britain conquered New France, the Mohawks of Kanesatake wrote to government officials in Britain. They described living under unfavourable rules that threatened their livelihood. They contested their right to the land and ask…
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Golf Course Expansion

  • In 1961, a nine-hole golf course was built on the Pines. Despite the fact that the land came very close to a traditional Mohawk burial ground, the Mohawk claim was rejected, and the golf course was built. In 1989, the mayor of Oka, Jean Ouellette, announced a plan to build a townhouse complex and expand the golf course into the Pines and over the Kanesatake ancestral cemetery…
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Blockade and Police Raid

  • To halt further development of the Pines, a group of people from Kanesatake constructed a barricade on a local road, blocking access to the area. Mohawk from two nearby reserves— Kahnawake and Akwesasne — along with a group of activists called the Mohawk Warrior Society, joined the protest, helping man the barricades. After two injunctions to remove the roadblock we…
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Escalation

  • Resistance continued, with Indigenous supporters from the area and across the country joining the Mohawk warriors at the barricades. The SQ constructed their own blockades and checkpoints on roads leading to Oka and Kanesatake. Mohawk from the nearby Kahnawake reserve blockaded the Mercier Bridge in support; this cut off access between Montreal’s southern suburbs and the I…
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Federal Involvement

  • In mid-July, the RCMP was brought in to help the SQ. At the same time, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa requested the help of the Canadian Armed Forces. On 20 August, the armed forces’ Operation Salon began. Four thousand soldiers took up positions in and around Kanesatake and Kahnawake, along with armoured military vehicles, helicopters, artillery, police vessels on the Ott…
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Tekakwitha Island Standoff

  • On 18 September 1990, SQofficers and army soldiers landed on Tekakwitha Island, on the outskirts of Kahnawake, and proceeded towards the community. At the bridge into the reserve, they were met by hundreds of Mohawk. The soldiers attempted to lay razor wire, but it was dismantled by Mohawk, who also threw rocks and assaulted the soldiers. The soldiers fired tear …
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The Resistance Ends

  • The deployment of troops in both Oka and the Persian Gulf dominated the debate in Parliament when it resumed its fall session on 24 September. In the House of Commons the next day, Prime Minister Mulroneypromised to meet some of the Mohawk’s unspecified demands. The resistance ended on 26 September 1990. Thirty men, 16 women and six children suddenly left the centre; th…
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Public Response

  • There was substantial media coverage of the resistance across the country and internationally. Public opinion on the matter varied widely. Many Quebecers, especially those living in the immediate area, were angered by the blockades. In one incident (captured in Alanis Obomsawin’s 2000 documentaryRocks at Whiskey Trench), local residents stoned about 75 cars containing m…
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Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

  • The Oka Crisis played an important role in the creation of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. It was established by Prime Minister Mulroney on 26 August 1991 to investigate questions about Indian Statusand other issues that the resistance brought to the fore. The Commission released its report in 1996. The main conclusion was the need for a complete restr…
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Aftermath

  • During the crisis, the federal government agreed to purchase the Pines to prevent further development. The golf course expansion and townhouse construction were cancelled. After the crisis had ended, the government purchased additional plots of land for Kanesatake. In 2001, the Kanesatake Interim Land Base Governance Act confirmed that the land was to be reserved f…
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Overview

The Oka Crisis (French: Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanesatake Resistance, was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 77 days until September 26, 1990, with two fatalities. The dispute was the first well-publicized violent conflict between First Nations and the Canadian government in the late 20th century.

Historical background

Mohawk people first settled in the Montreal area in 1673, moving north from their homeland in the Hudson River valley. In about 1658, the Mohawk displaced the Wyandot people (or Hurons) native to the area, with whom the Haudenosaunee(of which the Mohawk were a tribe) had long been in conflict. In the fall of 1666, hundreds of French soldiers and Algonquin and Huron allies, attacking southward from Lake Champlain, devastated four Mohawk villages near Albany, which brought p…

Crisis

On March 11, as a protest against the court decision to allow the golf course expansion to proceed, some members of the Mohawk community erected a barricadeblocking access to the dirt side road between Route 344 and "The Pines". A court injunction in late April ordering the dismantling of the barricade was ignored, as was a second order issued on June 29, 1990. Mayor Ouellette …

Resolution and aftermath

On August 29, the Mohawks at the Mercier Bridge negotiated an end to their protest blockade with Lieutenant-Colonel Robin Gagnon, the "Van Doo" commander who had been responsible for the south shore of the St. Lawrence Riverduring the crisis. This stand-down eventually contributed to the resolution of the original siege on the Kahnawake reserve, and on September 26 the Mohawks there dismantled and burned some of their weapons. During the surrender, as the military bega…

In media

The Oka Crisis was extensively documented and inspired numerous books and films. Canadian filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin has made documentaries about the Oka Crisis, including Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993) and Rocks at Whiskey Trench (2000). These and two additional documentaries on the crisis were all produced by the National Film Board of Canada: Christine Welsh directed Keepers of the Fire (1994), which documents the role of Mohawk wom…

In art

Joseph Tehawehron David, a Mohawk artist who became known for his role as a warrior during the Oka Crisis in 1990, developed a body of artistic work that was deeply influenced by his experience "behind the wire" in 1990.

In popular culture

In the 1999 film The Insider, Al Pacino's character Lowell Bergman says "Everybody thinks Canadian Mounties ride horses and rescue ladies from rapids. Mike, they backed locals in Oka in a fight with Mohawks over building a golf course on their burial site, they beat up protestors at Kanesatake".
The Canadian punk rock band Propagandhiwrote a song titled "Oka Everywhere", which was relea…

See also

• Face to Face (photograph)
• Timeline of Quebec history
• Gustafsen Lake Standoff
• Ipperwash Crisis