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Review
"Swain's account is honest and forthright and well worth the read for insight into a rarely examined aspect of government...The text should form a foundation for the education and training of federal and provincial officials working in aboriginal affairs. In his sojourn into this important domain, Harry Swain has learned some things from which others in similar circumstances ought to benefit." (David Newhouse, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Indigenous Studies, Trent Universit Canadian Public Administration 20110301)
"The book is written in refreshingly lively language, and is peppered with occasionally blunt formulations that make it clear that Swain is anything but a bloodless bureaucrat." (Literary Review of Canada 20100925)
"As an outspoken insider without a political reputation to protect, Swain isn't shy to talk about the oversights, mistakes and miscues that triggered the [Oka] crisis...[He] provides useful insights into Ottawa's version of events and thoughtful analysis of what still needs to be done to right the wrongs of 500 years, at Oka and in scores of other aboriginal communities across the country." (Montreal Gazette 20110411)
"This excellent book should be read by every Canadian." (The Hill Times )
"The book is written in refreshingly lively language, and is peppered with occasionally blunt formulations that make it clear that Swain is anything but a bloodless bureaucrat." (Literary Review of Canada 20100925)
"As an outspoken insider without a political reputation to protect, Swain isn't shy to talk about the oversights, mistakes and miscues that triggered the [Oka] crisis...[He] provides useful insights into Ottawa's version of events and thoughtful analysis of what still needs to be done to right the wrongs of 500 years, at Oka and in scores of other aboriginal communities across the country." (Montreal Gazette 20110411)
"This excellent book should be read by every Canadian." (The Hill Times )
Product Description
On July 11, 1990, tension between white and Mohawk people at Oka, just west of Montreal, took a violent turn. At issue was the town's plan to turn a piece of disputed land in the community of Kanesatake into a golf course. Media footage of rock-throwing white residents and armed, masked Mohawk Warriors facing police across barricades shocked Canadians and galvanized Aboriginal people from coast to coast. In August, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa called for the Canadian army to step in.
Harry Swain was deputy minister of Indian Affairs throughout the 78-day standoff, and his recreation of events is dramatic and opinionated. In Oka, Swain writes frankly about his own role and offers fascinating profiles of the high-level players on the government's side -- Quebec Native Affairs Minister John Ciaccia, federal Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon, Chief of the Defence Staff General John de Chastelain, Premier Robert Bourassa and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Swain offers rare insight into the workings of government in a time of crisis, but he also traces what he calls the 200-year tail of history and shows how the Mohawk experience reflects the collision between European and Aboriginal cultures.
Twenty years on, health, social and economic indicators for Aboriginal Canadians are still shameful. The well-funded "Indian industry" is a national disgrace, Swain says, and the Indian Act is in urgent need of replacement. Identifying current flashpoints for Aboriginal land rights across the country, he argues that true reconciliation will not be possible until government commits to meaningful reform.
(20111020)
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Swain's Oka Represents Status Quo,
By
This review is from: Oka (Hardcover)
Perhaps more so than John Ciaccia's memoir of the Oka Crisis, Swain offers some interesting and invaluable insight into what was happening behind the scenes amongst provincial and federal officials during the Crisis. However, the book is riddled with factual and historical errors, which are often used to justify the author's clearly conservative conclusions.To his credit, Swain does attempt to paint a complete picture of the historical events and circumstances that led to the Oka Crisis, but falls short when attempting relay the Mohawk/Iroquois background and internal affairs - seemingly relying on other books and news articles on the issue. Geoffrey York and Loreen Pindera's People of the Pines still remains the definitive and most accurate account of the Oka Crisis in respect to Mohawk/Iroquois background and history. Perhaps most disappointing are Swain's conclusions, which are no doubt subject to the belief of the reader, but are nonetheless lacklustre as they offer no real insight into resolving or improving Canadian/Mohawk relations other than asking the Mohawk to concede to Canadian sovereignty. His failure to offer any tangible or creative solution to improve Canadian/Mohawk relations represents a familiar status quo made famous by politicians of his stature. In his final chapter "Condolence", Swain seems to be elated and honoured by the Oneida who included him in ceremony of closure. I don't think the Oneidas will be too pleased with his book.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Keeping our Word,
By Robin Glass (Victoria B.C.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Oka (Hardcover)
This is a well written, accessible and thoroughly documented book by Harry Swain, the former federal Deputy Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, who was at the epicentre of the Oka Crisis in 1990. Swain prepares the reader for the analysis of the complex, rapidly evolving events with concise, historical background chapters on the alienation of Indian lands, the conflicted symbiotic relationship Indians have with the Department of Indian Affairs, and the anarchy unloosed by the growth of gambling, smuggling and armed radicals in Mohawk Territories."All for a Bloody Golf Course", the pivotal chapter, recounts how obtuse self-interest, ignorance,and incompetence resulted in inflamed passions, two deaths and an armed insurrection which rocked the entire country. Mohawk demands, backed by armed men in fortified positions, escalated from possession of land planned for a golf course to full international sovereignty. How a well-led disciplined, methodical Canadian Army and steady governments wound down the immediate confrontation is a source of pride in a story where the sources of pride are few. What did it lead to? Twenty years later Canadians are more aware of the issues, and their governments seem, haltingly, to be preparing to address them, as they must, if future social cataclysms are to be averted. "Did We Learn Anything?", the final chapter, is the best in the book. The author's powerful mind and expansive spirit focus on the appropriate use of armed force, government crisis management, the importance of history and land, the Mohawk claim to sovereignty, the agenda for change and, above all, the importance of keeping our word. In a final two page "Condolence" Swain describes, in words made moving by their plain unaffected directness, why he wrote this book.
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