From: Harry Swain Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 12:45 AM To: Harry Swain Subject: Oka book
Thought you might be interested-my book "Oka: a political crisis and its legacy" will be in your local book store by September 18, but is available now on www.amazon.ca. It's an attempt to tell the story of that hot summer, twenty years ago, from the point of view of someone who was inside the government. Most of the contemporary accounts, by contrast, have a tinge of the romantic about them. Regards, Harry ============================================ HARRY SWAIN worked in nine federal departments between 1971 and 1995, serving as deputy minister of Indian and Northern Affairs from 1987 to 1992. He is currently director of the Canadian Institute for Climate Studies and a research associate at the University of Victoria's Centre for Global Studies. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia. ================================= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka_Crisis The Oka Crisis was a land <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_rights> dispute between the Mohawk nation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohawk_nation> and the town of Oka <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka,_Quebec> , Quebec, Canada which began on July 11, 1990. It lasted until September 26, 1990. At least one person died as a result. The dispute was the first of a number of well-publicized conflicts between First <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Nations> Nations and the Canadian government <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_government> in the late 20th century which were associated with violence. The crisis developed from a local dispute between the town of Oka <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka,_Quebec> and the Mohawk <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohawk_nation> community of Kanesatake <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanesatake,_Quebec> . The town of Oka was developing plans to expand a golf course <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_course> and residential development onto the land which had traditionally been used by the Mohawk. It included pineland and a burial ground, marked by standing tombstones of their ancestors. The Mohawk nation had filed a land claim <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_land_claims> for the sacred grove and burial ground near Kanesatake, but their claim had been rejected in 1986. ========================= >From Amazon description http://www.amazon.ca/Oka-Harry-Swain/dp/1553654293/ref=pd_nr_b_5?ie=UTF8 <http://www.amazon.ca/Oka-Harry-Swain/dp/1553654293/ref=pd_nr_b_5?ie=UTF8&s= books> &s=books An insider's account of the OKA crisis and its lessons for Canada today, where Aboriginal reconciliation has become imperative. On July 11, 1990, tension between white and Mohawk people at Oka, just west of Montreal, took a violent turn. At issue was the town's plan to turn a piece of disputed land in the community of Kanesatake into a golf course. Media footage of rock-throwing white residents and armed, masked Mohawk Warriors facing police across barricades shocked Canadians and galvanized Aboriginal people from coast to coast. In August, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa called for the Canadian army to step in. HARRY SWAIN was deputy minister of Indian Affairs throughout the 78-day standoff, and his recreation of events is dramatic and opinionated. SWAIN writes frankly about his own role and offers fascinating profiles of the high-level players on the government's side-Quebec Native Affairs Minister John Ciaccia, federal Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon, Chief of the Defence Staff General John de Chastelain, Premier Robert Bourassa and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. In OKA, SWAIN offers rare insight into the workings of government in a time of crisis, but he also traces what he calls the 200-year tail of history and shows how the Mohawk experience reflects the collision between European and Aboriginal cultures. Twenty years on, health, social and economic indicators for Aboriginal Canadians are still shameful. The well-funded "Indian industry" is a national disgrace, SWAIN says, and the Indian Act is in urgent need of replacement. Identifying current flashpoints for Aboriginal land rights across the country, he argues that true reconciliation will not be possible until government commits to meaningful reform.
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