Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance

On a July day in 1990, a confrontation propelled Native issues in Kanehsatake and the village of Oka, Quebec, into the international spotlight. Director Alanis Obomsawin spent 78 nerve-wracking days and nights filming the armed stand-off between the Mohawks, the Quebec police and the Canadian army. This powerful documentary takes you right into the action of an age-old Aboriginal struggle. The result is a portrait of the people behind the barricades.

From the playlist : Manifesto for Interventionist Media - because Art is a Hammer

Manifesto Point # 1: The original project idea and goals come from the community partner. Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance is arguably Alanis Obomsawin's most important film, documenting the military 1990 siege of a Mohawk reserve near Oka, Quebec, and its causes. I chose this film here because the celebrated Abenaki filmmaker told me recently: "For me a real documentary is when you are really listening to somebody. They are the ones that tell you what the story is. Not you." Alanis said these words in the short the film I made about her, called Dream Magic (2008). I actually first saw Alanis in person behind the barricades at the Oka Crisis, back in 1990. She was there with her camera, and with army helicopters and madness swirling all around, she was an apparition of hope. I was a student journalist, furious with the disparity unfolding between the reality I saw before me, and the mainstream media's skewed interpretations of it. But because of Alanis, I was also witnessing the power of documentary firsthand. It is Alanis who first showed me almost two decades ago how collaborative the process can — and should — be. And from whom to draw inspiration.

— Katerina Cizek

From the playlist : Alanis Obomsawin Retrospective

I was in my car when the shooting occurred, on my way to another film shoot. I changed directions right away. I was working on something else that I completely dropped and raced to capture the stand-off on film. People outside of Canada were shocked when they saw this movie. They couldn't imagine that something like this was taking place here. The only negative reaction came when the film was released in French in Quebec.

— Alanis Obomsawin

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Comments

  • Noor

    “such a courage, such a spirit, such a unity, and strenght never seen it before. i salute the native people and i pray for them and for humanity to save us from evil's eye. ” — Noor, 8 Dec 2012

  • thewrathofkhanh

    “Such a powerful film! A testament to the strength of the human spirit! Long live the Resistance!” — thewrathofkhanh, 31 Mar 2012

  • jojoblueeyes

    “I am shocked and horrified of the treatment of the Natives by the military. I can't believe this happened in this day and age especially in Canada. The film really opened my eyes. It really saddens me to be a white person.” — jojoblueeyes, 2 Mar 2012

  • inte

    “As an Uyghur, I did not expect this happen in a country like Canada. I'm shocked by this film and the current issues with Native Rights. I hope the Natives will not stop fighting for their rights. ” — inte, 3 Feb 2012

  • Pipestone

    “Alanis Obomswain is a Modern day Storyteller. The true stories of the unjust treatment is not taught in our schools, not in our History books,and our Governments exceed Hitler in Human Rights Abuse. Each day we must be thankful for the fighting Warrior Spirit Grandfather has instilled in us! It is through the media as Alanis proves up that we are capable of change! Aho Alanis for your Warrior Spirit! ” — Pipestone, 30 Apr 2011

  • KrashCoarse

    “I shared a link to this film and a friend noted that subtitles and audio description available for the French version, but not the English one. Any chance we could get them? This film needs more exposure :)” — KrashCoarse, 15 Apr 2011

  • Kevin

    “As with much of first nations' history, I was ashamed to see the persistance of the greed brought by the European visitors in Columbus's time. The foreign power holders continue the assimilation process (cultural and racial). Canada has not honoured all of its agreements with its first nations allies. In the face of such pressures, many first nations throughout the 'new world continents' have managed survival. They are to be admired for their courage.” — Kevin, 17 Mar 2011

  • mtricks

    “I remember one of the commentators on CBC interviewing a bystander who said "We're all natives now. If they can do this here they can do it anywhere." Twenty years later they did the same to the citizens of Toronto at the G20.” — mtricks, 3 Jan 2011

  • Gman

    “This is documentary filmmaking at its best.” — Gman, 11 Jul 2010

  • 0hawkeyes0

    “Wow... Its a treasure to have this film accessible. a tool which we can draw strength from to open up all the possibilities for a brighter future for everything on this planet,” — 0hawkeyes0, 5 Feb 2010

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Film Credit

director
Alanis Obomsawin
script
Alanis Obomsawin
narrator
Alanis Obomsawin
producer
Wolf Koenig
Alanis Obomsawin
camera
Roger Rochat
Jean-Claude Labrecque
Philippe Amiguet
Susan Trow
François Brault
Barry Perles
Zoe Dirse
Jocelyn Simard
André-Luc Dupont
Savas Kalogeras
sound
Raymond Marcoux
Marie-France Delagrave
Robert Verebely
Ismaël Cordeiro
Catherine Van Der Donckt
Serge Fortin
Juan Gutierrez
editing
Yurij Luhovy
sound editing
Tony Reed
Don Ayer
re-recording
Jean-Pierre Joutel
music
Claude Vendette
Francis Grandmont

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