Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance

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Audience Member Highly influential (and controversial) film about the 1990 Oka crisis, which Alanis Obomsawin shot from within the barricades, living with the warriors and their families. When the city of Oka, Quebec approved plans for their territory to be used to create upper-class housing and to expand a golf course, the Mohawks living on the reserved land armed themselves and stayed put. Standing off first against Quebec police (who suffered a casaulty when shots were fired), and then against the Canadian Army, we see their mounting anger as we learn how the Mohawks of Kanehsatake have been displaced and stolen from by governments and religious leaders for 270 years. Supporters come from all over North American Native communities to speak out for them, and neighbouring reserves stage protests, as do many whites in Oka and other towns. But politicians stall negotiations, break promises, and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney even calls them criminals (though what laws they are supposedly breaking no-one seems able to answer). After 78 days, the Mohawks -- including women and children -- finally emerge unarmed from behind the barricades and are all brutally attacked by the armed soldiers. It is shocking to see how our government allowed such flagrant absues of the rights of Natives even in the 1990s, and how long the standoff was alllowed to continue over something as insignificant as building a golf course. One thing I like about the film is that both sides of the barricades are humanized -- we can see that the soldiers have a grudging respect for the warriors in the way that they talk to them from across the razor wire, and we can see in many soldiers' eyes that they are sympathetic. This underscores the position that this armed standoff was ultimately allowed to be needlessly drawn out by governments, at all levels, to assert white dominance over native property. Obomsawain has said that she was actually glad that the Army was called in; had the Quebec police remained to deal with the crisis, there surely would have been a bloodbath. The CBC refused to air the film unless it was cut shorter, so it showed first on British television. Embarrassed, the CBC finally agreed to air it uncut but tried to force Obomsawin to appear on a panel afterwards to "defend" her film (she refused). Shameful. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member An amazing, challenging sometimes shocking documentary about an important chapter in history. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member It's infuriating seeing what was done in Canada. The subject matter really is important to know and to see the side represented in the film. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Emotionally draining, intellectually challenging, and brutally honest, Kanehsatake: 270 years of resistance is a film that every Canadian--and I mean EVERY Canadian--needs to watch. It should be required viewing for all students, new immigrants, and Joe Canadians. Filmed from within the barricades (rather than looking in, from the outside, as the mainstream media was doing), this documentary provided incredible insight into the history, frustrations, and motivations of the Oka Crisis of 1990. Oka 1990 was a pinnacle event in Canadian history, but remarkably very few Canadians understood it then, or understand it now. Personally, this film changed my life when I saw it first in the mid-1990s, and it challenged my beliefs and understandings so much that I was inspired to study the history of Aboriginal-Newcomer relations in this country. Watch it, and do your country a favour. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member One of my favourite documentaries. When I saw this, there had been no viewpoint aired from the Mohawk nation in the main media. This film felt like a light was being shone in the dark dirty crevices of our country (Canada) and we were able to see the nastiness that was otherwise hidden behind iconic images of standoffs and takedowns. If you think this is a country free of racism and injustice, I challenge you to see this film or "Is The Crown at War With Us?" another brave Obomsawin doc. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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