Name/Title
1990 - Mohawk Council of Kahnawake chief Ryan Montour - joined Canadian Grenadier Guards and was impacted by the Oka CrisisDescription
Born 11 May, 1972, Ryan Montour is a leading First Nations and Mohawk Chief and band member who joined The Canadian Grenadier Guards at the age of 17. That Summer, The Oka Crisis occurred complicating his service and resulted in his departure along with several other First Nations Members of CGG.
The Oka Crisis, also known as the Kanesatake Resistance or the Mohawk Resistance at Kanesatake, was a 78-day standoff (11 July–26 September 1990) between Mohawk protesters, Quebec police, and the Canadian Army. It took place in the community of Kanesatake, which includes a commons area known as “the Pines.” It is near the Town of Oka, on the north shore of Montreal. Related protests and violence occurred in the Kahnawake reserve, to the south of Montreal. The crisis was sparked by the proposed expansion of a golf course and the development of townhouses on disputed land in the Pines that included a Mohawk burial ground.
"Ryna Montour Served with The Canadian Grenadier Guards (1990) and the US Marines (1991). As many as 12,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit have served Canada in major conflicts of the 20th century. The Kanien'kehà:ka are no exception."
For a community like Kahnawake, 15 kilometres south of Montreal, the rich military history spans both sides of the Canada-United States border.
Operational Salon:
During the 1990 Oka Crisis, under Operation SALON, the Canadian Forces (CF)
deployed 4,500 personnel with a peak of 3,700 s0oldiers at it's height in the function of Aid to the Civil Power to confront heavily armed Mohawk Warriors at Kanesatake (Oka) and Kahnawake, Quebec.
On 20 August, the armed forces’ Operation Salon began. Four thousand soldiers took up positions in and around Kanesatake and Kahnawake, along with armoured military vehicles, helicopters, artillery, police vessels on the Ottawa River, and other equipment. Members of the Royal 22e Regiment (the “Van Doos”) took over from the SQ at the Kahnawake and Kanesatake barricades. They assumed a position only metres from the Mohawk warriors. (For context, around 5,100 Canadian military personnel served in the Persian Gulf War, with a peak of about 2,700 in the region at one time. According to military historian Timothy C. Winegard, the armed forces’ operation at Oka was so extensive it used up their entire national stockpile of barbed wire.)
Deployment of CGG Soldiers as aid to civil power:
Roughly 40 Canadian Grenadier Guards participated in several detachments of Canadian Operation Salon and were deployed in both Kanesatake and along the Mercier Bridge. Other locations included deployment in the Montreal suburbs of Saint-Benoit, Blainville, Saint-Rémi, Saint-Hubert, Longue-Pointe and Farnham.Created By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Create Date
January 10, 2022Updated By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Update Date
October 10, 2024