This is my original project on the Oka Crisis, a 1990 land dispute between Canada and a group of Mohawks where Mohawks seized the city's control of expanding the golf course to over their ancestral land. It was done while in Secondary Five at my high school as a project for Contemporary World. This presentation can be utilized to discuss the national issue of aboriginal marginalization.

3. Developed By
Gregory Desrosiers
The bus shown on this picture is of property of Longueuil RTL, AMT and NovaBus Inc. This photo was taken
by Gregory Desrosiers on December 30, 2010 and is for use in Gregory Desrosiers’ personalized logo only.

4. Presented to
Ms. Yaworski
CTW 504-03
May 24, 2011
Heritage Regional High School
St-Hubert, Quebec

6. The Oka Crisis
A PowerPoint Presentation by Gregory Desrosiers
© 2011 Gregory Desrosiers, Riverside School Board. All rights, including
some visuals and text are trademarks and/or copyrighted material of their
respectful owners. All rights reserved.
Assignment created by Riverside School Board and Ms. Yaworski.
Published to Heritage Regional High School by Ms. Yaworski.

7. What is the Oka Crisis?
The Oka Crisis was a land dispute between
the following groups:
-The Mohawks (First Nations people from
the Kanesatake and the Kahnawake
Reserves)
-The town of Oka (Quebecors, including
Jean Ouelette and the Council of Oka)
- Lasted between July 11, 1990 to
September 26, 1990

8. Who are the groups?
The Mohawks (Aboriginals)
• Threatened because
their land was taken for
development
• Existed in Canada for
hundreds of years
• Existed before the
Europeans arrived

9. Who are the groups?
The Town of Oka (Quebecors)
• A developed society where
developing the land for the
city was to be continued

10. Where is Oka located?
• West of Montreal, on the north side of
the Ottawa River

11. What made the crisis happen?
In 1717
• Governor of New France granted land in
present-day Oka
• Included a cemetery and the pines for a
Catholic seminary
• Until the crisis, Mohawks believed the land
grant was illegal

12. What made the crisis happen?
1936
• Territory sold, vacated and the seminary was
cleared
1961
• Portion of land was used to build a nine-hole
golf course
• Tensions started building between Mohawks
and Quebecors

13. What made the crisis happen?
• Mohawks launched a legal protest against the construction
team of the golf course
1976
• Repetitive claims and research was rejected by the council of
Oka
1989
• Jean Ouelette, mayor of Oka, announced expansion of the
golf course to eighteen holes and building of sixty
condominiums
• Plans proceeded without consulting the Mohawks
• Mohawks were provoked more because the expansion was to
be made on their ancestral burial grounds

14. What does the conflict stem
from?
Territory and Resources
• The land New France granted in 1717 belonged to
the Mohawks
• They believed to live in harmony with nature
Desire for Political Autonomy
• First Nations people are not seen by the government
• Not treated very well since the Europeans arrived in
Canada in the 1500s and 1600s for land claims and
building power

15. What happened in the crisis?
March 1990
• Mohawks erected two
barricades
•Main one on westbound
intersection of St. Michel St.
and Girouard St.
•Anti-tank barricade on other
side of reserved land to be
used by the golf course
called “The Pines”

16. What happened in the crisis?
June 11, 1990
• 100 officers from the Surete du Quebec were sent upon
order from the mayor to storm the barricades
• Tear gas was thrown onto the Mohawk side
• Both groups opened fire when the gas flew back at the
officers
Soon, the Mohawks were joined by other Mohawk groups across
Quebec, Canada and upstate New York.

17. What did the supporters do?
The supporting Mohawks blocked
the following:
•Mercier Bridge on the Kahnawake
Reserve side
•Quebec Route 132, 138 and 207
Kahnawake Reserve is located on the
South Shore of Montreal.
The picture on the right shows the
Mohawk’s blockage to the Mercier
Bridge.

18. What happened next?
An offer was made by the
Government of Canada:
•Mohawks would earn $5.3 million in
using their land for the expansion of
the golf course
•Mohawks rejected the offer
because of their resistance to lose
memories of their ancestors and not
being able to be close to them when
praying since the course would not
allow the Mohawks to enter and
pray

19. What happened next?
SQ lost control of the situation
• Marcel Lemay, one of the
officers, was killed
• SQ fled when Lemay was shot
• Mohawks used the leftover police
cruisers and a front-end loader to
build another barricade
The photo on the right shows part of
the barricade erected by the
Mohawks.

20. What did Canada do?
Robert Bourassa, premier of Quebec, called:
• the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) because neither group was
willing to dismantle their barrcades
• Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to have 4000 troops on standby for
reinforcement on August 8
SQ called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
• Arrived on August 14, 1990
• Not allowed to use force
• Soon overwhelmed by the Mohawks and the mobs created by the
blocked traffic

21. What did Canada do?
The CAF:
• rolled into the scene in tanks about
two weeks after standby
• part of the army was the Royal 22nd
Regiment a.k.a Van Doos
• stormed the three barricades and
reduced the rebellion to one small
perimeter on August 20
• marked the perimeter with razor wire
The picture on the right shows one
Mohawk and one CAF soldier come
face-to-face

22. What happened in the last days of the crisis?
August 29
• Mohawks blocking the Mercier Bridge negotiated an end to their protest
with CAF Lieutenant Colonel Robin Gagnon
• Gagnon also monitored the blockades on the South Shore
• Mohawks felt betrayed as the the Government of Quebec rejected all
further negotiations
September 25
• Mohawks taunted the soldiers and threw water balloons
September 26
• Last barricade was taken down

23. September 26, 1990
Mohawks were defeated
• 50 Mohawks dropped their weapons and walked to the
soldiers
• Some threw their guns onto a fire
• Ceremonially burned tobacco
• Walked back to their reserves
• Many were arrested by the SQ and taken into custody by the
CAF

24. Was the conflict resolved?
The conflict has been resolved.
What caused it to end?
• Quebecors earned enough backup to break the barricades and bring the
Mohawks into custody
• Took weeks after the SQ withdrew from the battle when Marcel Lemay
was shot
• Chiefs were gathered during the crisis
• Some accomplishment was made by the roadblocks and RCMP’s
restriction to use force, but did not last very long
• CAF can overcome the setbacks because they are part of modern Canada
which overpowers Aboriginal traditions

25. Extra Content
If you want to know what was the experience during the Oka Crisis and/or
what happened the day the CAF pushes the Mohawk territory, watch this
video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61ldZTjlfgE
This video is 3 minutes 11 seconds long. It is the recording of a news report
by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) that went across to the people
who became aware of the crisis and even the people who faced the
roadblocks on the Mercier Bridge and Quebec Routes 132, 138 and 207 as
well as Mohawk supporters, the CAF, the inhabitants of Oka and the
surrounding towns that experienced the Oka Crisis.
This video is for educational purposes only.

26. Oka Crisis Credits
Development and Presentation by
Gregory Desrosiers
Developed using
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
Assignment Created by
Ms. Yaworski of Heritage Regional High School
Riverside School Board (Consulting Services for Contemporary World)
Published by
Ms. Yaworski

27. Oka Crisis Credits
Legal Information
All information is not owned by Gregory Desrosiers. It has been written in the
developer’s own words from original sources. Original sources can be found in the
“Contemporary World – Conflict Research Notes” document.
All photos are not owned by Gregory Desrosiers except the “NovaBUS owned by RTL”
photo. They have been saved from original sources. The “NovaBUS owned by RTL”
photo is owned and taken by Gregory Desrosiers, but the bus is of trademarks
and/or copyrighted material of Reseau de Transport de Longueuil, Agence
metropolitaine de transport and NovaBUS Inc.
The “Riverside School Board” photo was saved by Gregory Desrosiers originally on
August 12, 2007, but at the time of production of this PowerPoint Presentation, it
was no longer on the school board’s website.

28. Oka Crisis Credits
Legal Information
Photos are saved from the following websites:
• http://concordia.ewb.ca/sisterschools/?p=332
• http://www.archivefire.net/2010/08/kanesetake-mohawks-resisting.html
• http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorial-cartoons/Video+Remembering+Kanesatake+July+1990/32592
• http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do
%3Bjsessionid=D3302A808E15C41876FBCCB63104009D?method=preview&lang=EN&id=1072
• http://www.cyberarts.ca/site/studentgallery/multimedia/history/queeniechow/picpages/oka_all.htm
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2010/07/06/montreal-oka-crisis-south-shore-
anniversary.html
• http://bermudaradical.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/twenty-years-after-the-oka-crisis-injustice-continues/
(Need Google Image Search for full resolution picture)
• http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/2010/07/28/004-OKA-reserve-fonciere.shtml
• http://caledoniawakeupcall.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/is-oka-round-2-about-to-erupt/
• http://pages.slic.com/mohawkna/mnprel.htm
• http://www.traverseoka.qc.ca/carte.html

29. A PowerPoint Presentation by Gregory Desrosiers
© 2011 Gregory Desrosiers, Riverside School Board. All rights,
including some visuals and text are trademarks and/or
copyrighted material of their respectful owners. All rights
reserved.
Assignment created by Riverside School Board and Ms. Yaworski.
Published to Heritage Regional High School by Ms. Yaworski.