Kanehsatake, 270 Years of Resistance

Alanis Obomsawin's 1993 documentary records the Oka crisis of the summer of 1990 in Quebec. A decision to extend a golf course onto Kanien'kehaka land and into a pine grove holding a burial ground ended in barricades and an armed siege. Obomsawin stayed behind the barricade and went on filming from inside for seventy-eight days. The force of the documentary comes from that position; the army and the police are seen from outside while the daily life of the people waiting within is recorded. The film traces the origin of the crisis back two hundred and seventy years and presents the land dispute as the last link in a long process. Obomsawin is of Abenaki descent and does not conceal her position; the narrative openly takes a side. Who it's for: those who watch documentary on indigenous rights and Canadian history. Who it's not for: viewers expecting neutral reporting; the film stands with the besieged and says so plainly.