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Our land or no land - A qualitative study of power and land disputes between Canada and Indigenous Mohawks

Gieda, Michal LU (2017) SOCK04 20162
Sociology
Abstract
The Mohawks and Indigenous people of Canada have historically suffered substantial land concession against European settlers. As the settlers cemented their power over the territory that is now Canada, the Indigenous groups have been pushed to live upon increasingly less land, forced to concede both their cultures and the territories important to their development as a Native people.
This study investigates the relationship between Indigenous Mohawks and the country of Canada to the background of the land dispute and violent clashes which occurred in Oka, Quebec in 1990. The thesis aims to uncover the ambiguous power dynamics that were at play by analyzing aspects of the case from a set of theoretical approaches. The goal is to address... (More)
The Mohawks and Indigenous people of Canada have historically suffered substantial land concession against European settlers. As the settlers cemented their power over the territory that is now Canada, the Indigenous groups have been pushed to live upon increasingly less land, forced to concede both their cultures and the territories important to their development as a Native people.
This study investigates the relationship between Indigenous Mohawks and the country of Canada to the background of the land dispute and violent clashes which occurred in Oka, Quebec in 1990. The thesis aims to uncover the ambiguous power dynamics that were at play by analyzing aspects of the case from a set of theoretical approaches. The goal is to address the national assertions of the Mohawk people as a potentially destabilizing factor to the power of the Canadian state. In this regard, the study argues that by analyzing the historical and discoursive factors of the events through a range of analytical concepts of power, a deeper understanding will be gained of the assertion of Mohawks as sovereign nations.
The research concluded that, by possessing a strong and persistent contention to their ancestral territories, by demanding a sovereign nationhood, and by claiming the legitimacy of self-governance and law upon the territory, the Mohawk communities possessed relative power to resist the physical, political and social invasion by the Canadian nation. Their rebellion was not simply a temporary social movement, but also a nation contesting its existence on a historical identity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Gieda, Michal LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOCK04 20162
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Canada, indigeneity, Mohawk, Power, treaty rights
language
English
id
8902934
date added to LUP
2017-04-10 10:51:00
date last changed
2017-04-10 10:51:00
@misc{8902934,
  abstract     = {{The Mohawks and Indigenous people of Canada have historically suffered substantial land concession against European settlers. As the settlers cemented their power over the territory that is now Canada, the Indigenous groups have been pushed to live upon increasingly less land, forced to concede both their cultures and the territories important to their development as a Native people.
This study investigates the relationship between Indigenous Mohawks and the country of Canada to the background of the land dispute and violent clashes which occurred in Oka, Quebec in 1990. The thesis aims to uncover the ambiguous power dynamics that were at play by analyzing aspects of the case from a set of theoretical approaches. The goal is to address the national assertions of the Mohawk people as a potentially destabilizing factor to the power of the Canadian state. In this regard, the study argues that by analyzing the historical and discoursive factors of the events through a range of analytical concepts of power, a deeper understanding will be gained of the assertion of Mohawks as sovereign nations. 
The research concluded that, by possessing a strong and persistent contention to their ancestral territories, by demanding a sovereign nationhood, and by claiming the legitimacy of self-governance and law upon the territory, the Mohawk communities possessed relative power to resist the physical, political and social invasion by the Canadian nation. Their rebellion was not simply a temporary social movement, but also a nation contesting its existence on a historical identity.}},
  author       = {{Gieda, Michal}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Our land or no land - A qualitative study of power and land disputes between Canada and Indigenous Mohawks}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}