The 1990 Oka crisis began when the Quebec Government announced plans to expand a golf course that already occupied a segment of Kanien’kéhaka, or Mohawk, land. The expansion would severely infringe upon sacred burial ground. In response, the Mohawk community began to obstruct the work and roads leading to the site, in particular across the Mercier Bridge – a significant artery of the local road system. With the arrival of the police, tensions heightened and a siege unfolded, all of which was captured by Obomsawin. Her film is not just a record of what took place, it became a landmark in a movement that had long seen indigenous peoples in the region subject to prejudice and the whims of bureaucracy. Moreover, the film challenged media representations of indigenous lives, instead presenting a complex, compassionate and powerful portrait of a rich and varied culture.