‘Bring people together’: pow-wow in Kahnawake marks 35 years since Oka Crisis

Thirty-five years after the start of the Oka Crisis, the Kahnawake Pow Wow aims to build bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Allison Deer attends the pow-wow in Kahnawake every year.

“It’s an opportunity for us to bring people together, to share culture,” the elder says, adding that she makes sure to bring her family along, including her granddaughter.

As sounds of the drums filled the air on Saturday, dancers moved with the rhythm for a celebration of Indigenous culture.

But on Deer’s mind, it takes her back 35 years to the Oka Crisis when on July 11, 1990, the Sûreté du Québec and Mohawks of Kanesatake and Kahnawake met at barricades following plans to build a golf course on land known as the Pines.

There was a 78-day standoff between police, the military and the Mohawk community. Deer, who was 29 at the time, says she knew what she had to do.

“Drop what you’re doing. We are going to that front line,” she recalled.

Her granddaughter, Iakotonhnhetshera’:ion Marquis, feels proud of her.

“I’ve grown up my whole life hearing stories about it, hearing experiences,” Marquis said.

Elder Joe Deom was a spokesperson during the crisis.

“It’s important that our people know about the history and understand that we can’t allow this to happen again,” Deom said.

The pow-wow is a way to build bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and Deer says “we can always remember to bring people together, not divide.”

And for the young ones who might not fully understand its significance, the pow-wow is a chance to learn about their traditions.