Canada’s military has been embarrassed over a draft counterinsurgency manual that identified the Mohawk Warrior Society as a terrorist threat. A Globe and Mail report detailed strategies to defeat hypothetical insurgencies and noted that the Mohawk Warrior Society was involved in the 1990 Oka crisis in Quebec, which spawned a 78-day confrontation with police and the military that left a police officer dead.
The draft manual’s 164 pages outline a wide range of measures that could be used to assess, manage and defeat an insurgency. On the 11th page, under the heading “Overview of insurgencies and counter-insurgencies,” a paragraph is highlighted, which states: “The rise of radical Native American organizations, such as the Mohawk Warrior Society, can be viewed as insurgencies with specific and limited aims. Although they do not seek complete control of the federal government, they do seek particular political concessions in their relationship with national governments and control (either overt or covert) of political affairs at a local/reserve (“First Nation”) level, through the threat of, or use of, violence.”
The wording upset many Aboriginal leaders and the government has now said no such wording would be included in the final report. The AFN said this could hinder travel by First Nations people.
