The Oka Crisis: A Summer of Discontent
By Bill Peacock & Len O'Connor

Military intervention was the worst news for the warriors who realized there would be no way of defending themselves against an overwhelming number of soldiers who, unlike the police, could summon a whole arsenal of weapons that could neutralize the protesters in one attack.

The police finally left but their replacements arrived in tanks and helicopters. The army set up camp and instructed the Mohawks that if negotiations failed they would take matters in their own hands.

For the people of Kanesatake, the siege had turned normal life into a nightmare.Food supplies had to be smuggled into the reserve usually by boat and at great risk. Medical supplies were scarce and the elders who suffered from arthritis and hepatitis were the first casualties. The women and children already traumatized by the siege conditions, including the daily helicopters flying at low levels; the constant threat of police attack, now with the army ready to attack; pressed the tribal council to come to an agreement that would end the siege.

'The federal and provincial governments recognize the band council as the only legitimate representatives of the people on our territory and we are not even on the negotiating committee," a frustrated Chief George Martin told reporters. He was growing more impatient as conditions worsened on the small reserve.

Kahnawake Grand Chief Joseph Norton was feeling the same pressure from his people who also feared the army could attack at any moment. They wanted the chief to make a separate deal. Norton, along with traditional Chief Billy Two Rivers renewed negotiations. The warriors made an amendment to their amnesty demand, which Norton hoped would make the difference. The new clause read if the army allowed small planes to airlift men and women out of the territory, the warriors would abandon the Mercier Bridge.

Government negotiators were quick to agree that this was the first time a solution without violence seemed attainable. If the barricades were removed from the Mercier Bridge traffic would return to normal and the white protesters would be appeased. They would have to renegotiate with the warriors in The Pines before the whole matter was settled, but everyone agreed that removing the barricades from the bridge was a huge step in the right direction.

On August 29 three small Cesna airplanes came and went from the reserve and several warriors went with them. The remaining warriors on the bridge waited for the soldiers to remove the barricades from the bridge.

"As far as I'm concerned we've reached a very historical period, and we can look forward to a peaceful, calm settling of this situation from here on in,'' Joseph Norton told the Montreal Gazette. Unfortunately the warriors in the Pines didn't feel the same way and would not give up under any circumstance. The result was aggravated tension on both sides: the army sensing victory at hand, were ready to move in and the warriors with no options left, were ready to make a last stand.

On September 6, the Mercier Bridge was open to traffic. Tempers in Chateauguay had cooled but most residents were still angry at the warriors who occupied the bridge. When a convoy of women and children left Kahnawake in their vehicles, they were met by an angry mob of more than 500 yelling anti-Mohawk slogans. The mob threw rocks and bricks at the cars that shattered windshields and injured nine people, including an eight-month-old baby.

The violence spread to Tekakwitha Island, which served as a marina for the Kahnawake reserve, located south of the Mercier Bridge. On September 16, a confrontation between soldiers, police and several hundred band members became ugly. The police fired tear gas at the Mohawks, who charged the ranks of the soldiers. Seventy-five Mohawks would end up in the hospital while 19 soldiers received medical attention.