Alanis Obomsawin’s Kahnesatake: 270 Years of Resistance is an in-depth account of the day-to-day events that unfolded in the summer of 1990, when a takeover of a planned golf course by the Mohawk Tribe, as an act of resistance to the government’s actions, led to a wide scale standoff between the Mohawk people and the Canadian government. Kahnesatake: 270 Years of Resistance is a tale of escalation, documenting how the conflict over this small piece of land become an armed standoff between the Mohawk people and the Canadian army, one where painful negotiations between these two factions made international news and threatened to tear the country apart. A stunning document of the Mohawk people, Kahnesatake: 270 Years of Resistance contextualizes the contemporary act of resistance with the sordid past of the Mohawk people, one in which they have found themselves repeatedly displaced over-and-over again by the imperialistic forces of government, including both the French and English. The struggle to retain control of their land and their political destiny is nothing new for the Mohawk tribe, and this knowledge only makes the current situation during the summer of 1990 even more compelling, with Alanis Obomasawin providing an incredibly detailed documentary about the growing hostility between the Mohawkian people, the anti-Indian feelings felt by the community of Oka, and the oppressive state which uses the police and military to suppress the Mohawk community for the sake of the majority. Alanis Obomasawin’s Kahnesatake: 270 Years of Resistance provides a humanist look at this conflict, providing in-depth examination of many of the resistors, people who simply wish to hold onto their heritage, land, and way of life. Perhaps the most stunning aspect of this film is how it captures the inhumanity that can exist in democracy, where the majority dictates the actions of the state. The tyranny of the perceived majority is felt throughout Kahnesatake: 270 Years of Resistance, with the Mohawk people simply wishing to have their culture and way of life intact, a minority group who continues to be more and more suppressed by the government through the act of military action and intimidation. Simply observant yet incredibly detailed, Obomasawin’s film is shot and edited in a borderline chaotic way, providing a host of perspectives about this conflict, capturing the chaotic nature of this situation in a very powerful yet nuanced way. An incredibly intricate examination of the events of Summer of 1990, Kahnesatake: 270 Years of Resistance is a powerful and humanistic portrait of resistance, the power of the people, and a daunting reminder of the corrosive and oppressive nature which the state can have over the individual and smaller factions that make up the land in which they govern.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|