"We were going to hold our ground": Behind the lines of a Mohawk protest
Filmmaker Tracey Deer's indigenous community were involved in a 78 day siege with the Canadian government. Now she's made a film about it.
Tracey Deer is an award-winning director who grew up on a Mohawk reservation near Montreal, Canada. When she was 12-years-old, a nearby reservation became involved in a land dispute known as the Oka Crisis. Developers wanted to build a golf course on an indigenous burial ground, and the Mohawk organised a protest camp. Things escalated into an armed standoff, and the violence that ensued would deeply traumatise Tracey. Now she’s made a film, Beans, a semi-fictional account of her experiences during the crisis.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Harry Graham
(Photo: A Mohawk man during the Oka Crisis. Credit: Getty Images/Christopher Morris-Corbis)
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