Kanehsatake, 270 Years of Resistance

This documentary by Abenaki activist Alanis Obomsawin emerged as a real time response to the 1990 Oka Crisis in which a Mohawk protest of the expansion of a golf course onto their land was met with a police barricade and later military siege of the Mohawk reserves which lasted 78 and led to two fatalities - one on each side. Obomsawin inserted herself and her shifting crew into the crisis as it occurred, documenting events from the Mohawk side. The film served as a key counter to the portrayal of the conflict in Canadian mass media, and the crew’s presence is thought to have partially de-escalated matters. A landmark in Indigenous filmmaking, we include Kanehsatake to remind our audience that Canada is not innocent of colonialism or oppression. We dedicate this film to the Indigenous leaders and activists of Canada who find themselves continually forced to fight for recognition of their legal rights.

Written by Ben Rowe.