..i remember watching much of the oka invasion on my tv. it was televised. one image that was imprinted on my mind was that of soldiers facing off with warriors. the situation was very intense that could explode at any moment. from out of nowhere came a mohawk matriarch riding a 3 wheeler. she jumped off the machine yelling and swearing. what the fuck is going on was the gist.
..yelling at warriors she ordered them to back off and you saw them meekly slip into the trees. yelling at the soldiers to back the fuck off. the mohawks are a matriarchal society. even after the implementation of the indian act bands..which is male dominated.
..all though it takes a collaborative effort, this whole situation that we see today..the wet'suwet'en struggle, the resistance..originated and continues to be influenced by a matriarch. a matriarch like i described above. i watched the unist'ot'en camp form with tents in the direct path of the pipeline then move when the pipeline path changed. this was what, founded 10 yrs ago. today we see a few buildings and a wonderful healing centre.
..the picture above in #463 Mohawk- Wet'suwet'en alliance, 2 men clasping hands. well the meeting where this pic came from was partially in a video/press conference. you saw these 2 men speak you also saw the direction provided by the matriarch who did not speak.
..so while it's true on the surface you see men speaking, men meeting with ministers it's the matriarchs who are the authority in much of indigenous life. imho.
..healing centre that was built by crowd funding. built as a very positive part of the resistance and back to the land.