Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance

http://www.nfb.ca/film/kanehsatake_270_years_of_resistance/


During the months of July and August 1989  Canada faced one of the most serious crises in its relationship with its own native peoples. In the town of Oka, Quebec the local mayor had set about a land grab of unincorporated land that had traditionally belonged to members of the local Mohawk nation. This land grab was so that a local private members golf course could be expanded. In response the Mohawks blockaded a road in Oka and were soon encircled by law enforcement agencies and the army. In a struggle that was to turn violent many of the racial fault lines in Canada were exposed. In a searing endictment of the government and Quebec society, filmmaker Alanis Obomswain records the struggle at Oka.