Acts of Defiance

The Act of Defiance clearly shows that the Canadian government has discriminated against Indigenous people living in Canada in the past, but it also actively shows how the Canadian government still is abandoning the brotherly relationship that Indigenous people want to have with Canada. During this viewing, the Mohawks were having their lands stripped from them which then led to the Mohawks creating a barrier to avoid the government from continuing to add onto their land called Kahnawake to expand on a golf course. The government and the police authorities did not approve of the barrier being built by the Mohawks, therefore they used force to try to obtain the land, which resulted in the premiere releasing a statement for the Mohawks and the authorities to come to an agreement. This action ended up turning into more violence as the government was lying about reaching out and communicating with the Mohawk community. Authorities are seen in the video using weapons such as tear gas and guns, as well as a lot of force against the people standing for the Kahnawake land some Indigenous people reside on. After the army had got involved, the violence and suffering caused by the authorities were pushing beyond the limits by limiting everything the Mohawks could do such as vehicle check stops and inspections, denying food and not allowing the Mohawks to travel. Throughout this entire video, it is justifiable that there was a major lack of communication from the Government, but also that the relationship between Indigenous people living in Canada and the government is based on next to nothing as Indigenous People residing in Canada, and elsewhere, are still being treated very poorly to this day. When the Two Row Wampum Belt was brought upon to create peace between the Mohawks and the authorities, it had done nothing. Indigenous people living in Canada are still not being acknowledged and are still continuing to be discriminated against.

References:

Alec Macleod, 1992, Act of Defiance, https://www.nfb.ca/film/acts_of_defiance/

Two Row Wampum Belt. (1613) Dutch and the Haudenosaunee