Thirty years after Siege of Kanehsatà:ke, Sqilxw peace runner says ‘we’re still fighting’ – WellandTribune.ca
July 21, 2020
In the summer of 1990, Anna Tonasket, a Sqilxw woman, joined over 70 Okanagan Nation members in the Run for Peace. It travelled from the Okanagan to Oka, Que., and those who made it to their final destination ran for six weeks.
Their journey was in response to and during the 1990 Siege of Kanehsatà:ke, also known as the Oka Crisis, a 78-day stand-off that began on July 11. It was between the Kanien’kehá:ka (People of the Flint, or commonly known as Mohawk people) of Kanehsatà:ke, the Quebec police and the Canadian military over a land dispute in Oka.
Now, Tonasket reflects back on the past 30 years and explains that First Nations people are still fighting.
“Unfortunately, things haven’t changed, you know, our people are still fighting the fight. The crisis was 30 years ago, but our people have been fighting for hundreds of years,” Tonasket says.
