effectiveresistance:

In 1990 Canada laid siege to sovereign Mohawk territory, in Kanehsatà:ke. With helicopters and tanks and soldiers they showed Indigenous people everywhere how far they will go to steal the land out from under our feet. The Mohawks stood firm and showed the world how strong we are.

It is 30 years since the start of the “Oka Crisis,” and the fires of Indigenous resistance are still burning.

The Mohawks did not start this crisis. It began when the Mohawks were ignored as the true owners of their lands. It continued when the army rolled in with tear gas and rubber bullets. It has continued ever since, every time the state asserts its genocidal force on sovereign Indigenous territories. When we fight back, when we stand up for our lands and our people, we are painted as criminals.

Nothing has changed. Canada is still waging war on Indigenous people.

When we observed the colonial invasion of Wet’suwet’en territory in February 2020, the RCMP took over local communities and transformed them into staging grounds for their siege on our lands. They deployed dozens of militarized police, with dogs, with automatic weapons, with sniper rifles and snow mobiles and helicopters. They spent millions of dollars to arrest a handful of our matriarchs, our relatives, and supporters. They tore down our tower where we stood to bear witness to their violence.

Today we burned the remains of the tower in a ceremonial fire.

We know there is a time to build and a time to burn it down.

30 years ago, the Wet’suwet’en blocked Highway 16 in solidarity with the Mohawks of Kanehsatà:ke. Months ago, the Mohawks stood with us to shut down Canada after our lands were invaded.

We stand united today.

We were born in the fires of resistance, our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents and ancestors fought this fight.

We defend the land for our ancestors, for our children, for future generations.

We will not lose.