On July 11, 1990, tension between white and Mohawk people at Oka, just west of Montreal, took a violent turn. At issue was the town's plan to turn a piece of disputed land in the community of Kanesatake into a golf course. Media footage of rock-throwing white residents and armed, masked Mohawk Warriors facing police across barricades shocked Canadians and galvanized Aboriginal people from coast to coast. In August, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa called for the Canadian army to step in.

Harry Swain was deputy minister of Indian Affairs throughout the 78-day standoff, and his recreation of events is dramatic and opinionated. In Oka, Swain writes frankly about his own role and offers fascinating profiles of the high-level players on the government's side -- Quebec Native Affairs Minister John Ciaccia, federal Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon, Chief of the Defence Staff General John de Chastelain, Premier Robert Bourassa and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Swain offers rare insight into the workings of government in a time of crisis, but he also traces what he calls the 200-year tail of history and shows how the Mohawk experience reflects the collision between European and Aboriginal cultures.

Twenty years on, health, social and economic indicators for Aboriginal Canadians are still shameful. The well-funded "Indian industry" is a national disgrace, Swain says, and the Indian Act is in urgent need of replacement. Identifying current flashpoints for Aboriginal land rights across the country, he argues that true reconciliation will not be possible until government commits to meaningful reform."As an outspoken insider without a political reputation to protect, Swain isn't shy to talk about the oversights, mistakes and miscues that triggered the [Oka] crisis [He] provides useful insights into Ottawa's version of events and thoughtful analysis of what still needs to be done to right the wrongs of 500 years, at Oka and in scores of other aboriginal communities across the country." -- Montreal Gazette

"Harry Swain's Oka: A Political Crisis and Its Legacy...is written in refreshingly lively language, and is peppered with occasionally blunt formulations that make it clear that Swain is anything but a bloodless bureaucrat." -- Literary Review of Canada

Harry Swain worked in nine federal departments between 1971 and 1995, serving as deputy minister of Indian and Northern Affairs from 1987 to 1992. Retired and living in Victoria, Swain continues to write on public policy issues and occasionally to advise Indians and governments.

Harry Swain's profile page

• Runner-up, Donner Prize