There was also growing concern that Indigenous youth in particular were no longer willing to play by Canada's rules — especially regarding the potential use of political violence — when it came to advancing their communities' rights and interests.
The responsibility for this rests solely on the state. Native activists, artists and professors say while it's difficult to draw direct links, the Oka uprising in inspired First Nations movements across the country such as the Idle No More protests in and the ever-increasing calls for a federal inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.
I offer this short analysis of the historical context that led to RCAP in an effort to get a better sense of the transformative possibilities in our present moment of struggle.
Saavedra-Vargas added that at powwows and other celebrations around the continent, "you can always meet Mohawk Warriors talking about how they are proud of what happened.
Indeed, their actions point to exactly the opposite, that they see indigenous people as something that might get in the way of making Canada an energy superpower with the export of dirty oil.
There continues to be a great need for this dialogue.
Galvanized by the Mohawk resistance, Indigenous peoples from across the continent followed suit, engaging in a diverse array of solidarity actions that ranged from leafleting to the establishment of peace encampments to the erection of blockades on several major Canadian transport corridors, both road and rail.