The Oka Crisis!

Late in March 1990, the Mohawk First Nations people (commonly known as the Kanesatake) got news that the town of Oka, Quebec was planning on expanding a golf coarse on their land which was at one time a burial ground for their sacred ancestors. They were very upset about this, and they decided to barricade the land and not let anyone touch it because they believed it belonged to them. While in the process of barricading this land a police officer was shot and killed, many citizens were scared for their lives, and it caused a great disturbance in Eastern Canada.

In my opinion the Kanesatake people did not handle this issue very well. When they heard that this land was going to be occupied they should have gone and talked to the government leaders of this area before they starting taking physical action. If they would have taken the time to do this I believe the police man that got shot could have lived. I think as humans, we tend to make rash decisions and not think things through very well when we are angry. I think this is what must have happened with these native people. Obviously they were upset, but this issue could have been prevented if they would have calmed down and thought things through better.

When the Oka Crises happened many citizens of Eastern Canada were scared for their lives, and did not want to go out of the comfort of their home. I can understand their fear because I know if the First Nations People from around our part of Canada came to Magrath and started to barricade the roads I would also be extremely scared to leave my home. When this happened in Quebec, the First Nations People were carrying weapons with them which made them a serious threat. I would not want to take the risk of leaving my home to travel around the community if I knew there were armed men that could possibly hurt me.

I think some of the  most damaging effect that the Oka Crisis caused was the disturbance it brought to Eastern Canada, and the reputation it left for the Natives in Quebec.  After this happened the Kanesatake people earned a reputation of violence, and many people grew very fearful of them. This is unfortunate because it even gave a bad name to the Kanesatake people who were not involved in the disturbance. Even though it was only the one tribe of natives who were involved I get the idea that all First Nations People in general are violent people.  I know this is not true, and that most Native people mean well, but it does not give them a good reputation. 

The Oka Crisis was a very unfortunate event that took place in the history of Canada. Because of it one police man got shot, many people were fearful for their lives, it caused great disturbance among Eastern Canadian citizens, and it gave the Kanesatake people a bad reputation. I think it was wrong for the Government to not inform the First Nations People that they were going to occupy their ancestral land, but I also believe the situation should have been handled more maturely by the Natives. I hate to see awful things like this happen in my country, but evidently things like this occasionally happen. When events like these conspire, I think the most important thing we can do is learn from past experiences and handle situations more maturely.