Oka Crisis

The Oka crisis was a very memorably hard time for the members of the first nations people of the Mohawk tribe. They were marginalized, ignored, killed, and many other things. However, it's not as if they acted in the most... desirable way. They made irresponsible decisions and I think they overreacted to most everything the government did. I think that, as always, everyone took everything too far and that's what ruined everything.

To start, in March 1990, a pretty big group of people from the Mohawk tribe came and barricaded a road near the town of Oka, Quebec. This was the first mistake. No, not the protest or the barricade, the weapons. That immediately poses a threat to everyone else. They were protesting them building a golf course there, on what they considered to be "sacred land". I can understand wanting to protect trees planted by your distant ancestors, but seriously, using guns?

Way, way earlier, in 1717, the Mohawk had claimed that land. They lived peacefully there for over two hundred years before the federal office of Native Claims turned down their land claim. Yeah, somehow, they managed to do that. Legally. I mean, sure, they waited two hundred years, but they still managed to deny a peaceful people's land claim. Seriously, people. Who does that, thinking that their doing the right thing?

Finally, July 11th, 1990, the mayor of Oka called in the cops and ended up with the freaking SWAT team getting involved. They launched tear gas, fired concussion grenades and shot their bullets of rage to break up the barricades. In the commotion (which, by the way, I believe was caused by the gov't), a corporal of the Surete du Quebec police was killed by stray bullets. Yet, of course, everyone blamed the Mohawk people. They were just (forcibly) protecting what was theirs.

You know, I look back, and all I can think is "seriously?"