Patrycja Nowakowska, Jean Francois Chartrand-Delorme, Lara Worcester

Sandra JeppesenComms 435/516

Group PresentationNovember 1, 2007

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Kanehsatake: 270 Years of ResistanceResistance

Our ArgumentOur Argument

• A meta-narrative of (neo)colonialismA meta-narrative of (neo)colonialism

• Debunking racial stereotypes through her Debunking racial stereotypes through her

portrayal of subjects (Churchill, 1992)portrayal of subjects (Churchill, 1992)

• Alanis Obomsawin as “Participatory” or Alanis Obomsawin as “Participatory” or

“Activist” Reporter (Atton, 2002)“Activist” Reporter (Atton, 2002)

““What is the role of the press, the police What is the role of the press, the police and the army in a neo-colonial state?”and the army in a neo-colonial state?”

Who Are the Mohawks?

History

Dates Leading Up to Crisis

The Oka Crisis:

Phase One:

The Dirt- Road Barricade

The Oka Crisis:

Support and Opposition

The Oka Crisis:

Phase Two:

The Police Take Action

The Oka Crisis:

Phase Three: The Brotherhood

The Oka Crisis:

Phase Four: the Politics

The Oka Crisis:

Phase Five: Militarization

The Oka Crisis:

Phase Six:

Break in Brotherhood—The Loss of the Mercier

Card

The Oka Crisis:

Phase Six: The road to Surrender

The Oka Crisis:

Final Phase: The Aftermath

Representations of Natives in fictional and non-fictional media:

• Homogenously

• Eurocentric

• “Devoid of all cultural grounding and explanation”

• “Strange, irrational, cruel and unintelligent” (Churchill, 1992)

Traditional journalist practices Within colonialism

“Local communities under colonialism found themselves unable to participate in the media…they were alienated from the methods of production [and] the nature of reporting” (Atton, 2002)

Final Phase: The Aftermath

Final Phase: The Aftermath

Final Phase: The Aftermath

Traditional journalist practices within colonialism • “Mohawk Sympathizers”

• "The Mohawks never told us what to write or what to shoot. They only pressured us on identification issues” (MacLeod tells Ryerson, 1991).

• “Traditional journalists [are] placed either above or at the center…yet apart from [the subjects]” (Atton, 2002).

Traditional journalist practices Within colonialism

• Military Media Managers

• "What really struck me was that we were taking all the criticism for being too close to the Mohawks, but that criticism was not leveled at the journalists who were on organized tours run by the army. Those journalists were subjected to the most evident limitations…yet they did not say anything…nobody criticized them" (Ted Cash tells Ryerson, 1991).

Final Phase: The Aftermath

Final Phase: The Aftermath

Final Phase: The Aftermath

Obomsawin’

s

Relationship

with her

Subjects

An Activist Reporter is “at the center of things as [a] participant” (Atton, 2002).

“The issues addressed are specifically relevant to the community [where the

reporter works]” (Atton, 2002).

Historical Narrative

Final Phase: The Aftermath

Historical Narrative“…This land was given to you

in trust of the tribe to whom it belongs. And how have you betrayed that trust? By selling the timber and filling your treasury with the proceeds of stolen property. This land is ours! Ours as a heritage, given to us as a sacred legacy. It is the place where our fathers lie beneath those trees. Our mothers sang our lullaby. And you would tear it from us and leave us wanderers at the mercy of hate....”

Concludes with Chief Joseph’s Concludes with Chief Joseph’s QuoteQuote

“If you take an arrow, [you can] break it. If you take a whole bunch [of arrows], you can’t break it. And that’s the people sticking together.”

• Historical narrative paralleled with 1990

• Representations of solidarity and group autonomy

The Activist Reporter “…feeds discussion and debate from the perspective of the colonized and crucially, [provides] information for action” (Atton, 2002).

• Props, soundtrack, subjects and Mohawk language

• Expository-Hand-held cameras, archival images, interviews, and voice-over. • Direct Cinema

• Target Audience- Canadians

The Activist Reporter “…present news that is relevant to those communities’ interests, in a manner that is meaningful to them…” (Atton, 2002).

Depiction of the army: a key role in the Kahnesatake crisis

-Obomsawin is a native: taking position against the army?   Contrast: the pacifist Natives and the violent army.

-Nature versus war-Lullaby song versus helicopter sound 

Incompetence of the army:

-The journalists who got easily into the reserve-The “eggs attack”-The beer for the soldiers-Not respecting their promises

                        Lack of communication

-Different cultures-Different values-Different history-Different language (Cree, English, French)

Questions & Answers• Invite questions from the audience

Conclusion• Provide a brief summary of your

presentation