How Culture can be detrimental

The Oka Legacy

Being tied to a culture can be detrimental because different situations can occur. In this situation, The Oka crisis was detrimental to the mohawk people and the Canadian Government. The battle between the two started July 11, 1990 and lasted 78 days right up until September 26, 1990. The battle was over a piece of first nation land that the Canadian Government wanted to claim and turn/extend into a golf course. Obviously the First Nations people fought against this idea leading them to rebel and protect their land, this caused a massive fight to break out leaving many dead and injured. This is detrimental because the Mohawk people lost their land in the end leaving them to travel to somewhere else. Another reason that this situation is detrimental is because not only did they lose a piece of land, they also lost a piece of their culture and the way Canadian citizens looked at them. First Nations people were strongly hated by Canadians at this time, for example as the Mohawk people attempted to cross the freedom bridge to move away, crowds of Canadian people stood watching, cheering, and also many were throwing large rocks at the cars trying to injure and scare them away for good.  I believe that being tied to a culture can be detrimental, but also in a way very helpful because if everyone sticks together and fights for their beliefs, they can take action and make a difference. After the crisis was finished, it left many Mohawk people feeling a lot of different emotions, but also inspired many in a way, a way that would help them become stronger as a culture. First Nations people and the Canadian Government have not always got along together, a good example of this is residential schools. First Nations people were sent to these schools when they were little. Residential schools were government-sponsored and were created to strip the native religion out of the first nation children, seperate them from their families and homes, and also take away their traditions. This relates to cultures being detrimental because if you were native, your religion was thought to be unequal and interfiorial. Native and indigenous people have been faced with challenges their entire life and continue to be, but as time went on they have learned to come together and fight for equality. Many adults involved in the Oka Crisis were not only fighting for their cultures rights, but also for their children's, so their children would not have to go through this as they grew old. The Oka Crisis may only sound like they were robbed of a piece of their land, but in my opinion it was much more than that, Mohawk people and First Nations people were  being attacked because of their culture and religion, but showed that they were relentless and had great perseverance to continue to believe in their culture and fight for their rights.