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You Are on Indian Land

Mort Ransen, 1969, 36 min 48 s
The film shows the confrontation between police and a 1969 demonstration by Mohawks of the St. Regis Reserve on the ...
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The film shows the confrontation between police and a 1969 demonstration by Mohawks of the St. Regis Reserve on the bridge between Canada and the United States near Cornwall, Ontario. By blocking traffic on the bridge, which is on the Reserve, the Indians drew public attention to their grievance that they were prohibited by Canadian authorities from duty-free passage of personal purchases across the border, a right they claim was established by the Jay Treaty of 1794.

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  • You Are on Indian Land

    You Are on Indian Land

    A film report of the 1969 protest demonstration by Mohawk Indians of the St. Regis Reserve on the international bridge between Canada and the United States near Cornwall, Ontario. By blocking the bridge, which is on the Reserve, and causing a considerable tie-up of motor traffic, the Indians drew public attention to their grievance that they were prohibited by Canadian authorities from duty-free passage of personal purchases across the border; a right they claim was established by the Jay Treaty of 1794. The film shows the confrontation with police, and ensuing action.

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In the summer of 1990, the Kahnawake Mohawks had blocked the Mercier Bridge near Montreal, in support of the Kanehsatake Mohawks at Oka. The resulting fury from harried commuters is captured in frightening detail. National Film Board cameras were there to capture a dramatic confrontation.

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Related films

Albert Ohayon By Albert Ohayon
Part of the seminal series Challenge for Change, You Are on Indian Land was one of the first films to voice the concerns of First Peoples in Canada. Filmmaker Mort Ransen, shooting in the style of direct cinema, records the blocking of the international bridge that cuts through the St. Regis Reserve. While the news media focused on altercations with the police, Ransen showed what led to these altercations and let the Mohawks of the Reserve speak for themselves and tell their own story.
Gil Cardinal By Gil Cardinal
This film documents the protest demonstration by Mohawk Indians of the St. Regis Reserve on the international bridge between Canada and the United States near Cornwall, Ontario. The story is told from an Indian point of view, with Mike Mitchell of the NFB’s Indian Film Crew himself a primary subject of the film. Mike narrates as well, and the Aboriginal voice is central to the storytelling. Hearing a narrator using terms like “we,” “many of us,” “our land, our people” is much more intimate and inviting than the detached, observational, anthropological narration that can only say, “the Indians...”
Director
Mort Ransen
Producer
George C. Stoney
Photography
Tony Ianzelo
Sound
Hans Oomes
George Croll
Jean-Pierre Joutel
Editing
Kathleen Shannon
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By Genre Documentary  

By Related keywords aboriginal perspectives   Akwesasne Reserve   Challenge_for_Change   Customs duties   land   Mohawks   Mohawk First Nations People   Ontario   protests   reserves   St Regis  

By Director Mort Ransen