barricade to keep the police out and exchange gun-
fire with troops that attempt to enter Ganienkeh.
April 17
Oregon v. Smith supports laws against
peyote use.
In the case Employment Division, Department of
Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, two Indian
drug and alcohol counselors, Alfred Smith and Galen
Black, sue Oregon’s human resources department
when they are denied unemployment compensation.
The men were fired from their jobs after ingesting
peyote as part of a religious ceremony held by the
Native American Church (see entry for OCTOBER 10,
1918), which Oregon defined as “misconduct” that
disqualified them for benefits by state law.
Maintaining that Oregon’s laws against peyote
use do not contradict the First Amendment’s pro-
tection of religious freedom, the Supreme Court
finds in favor of Oregon. The decision is criticized
by many Native American leaders, who see it as in-
consistent with the religious rights guaranteed by
the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (see
entry for AUGUST 11, 1978).
April 24
A militant Mohawk faction takes over the
Akwesasne reservation.
On the Mohawk’s Akwesasne reservation on the
border of New York State and Canada, members of
the heavily armed Mohawk Warrior Society overrun
roadblocks set up by the Antis, a group of antigam-
bling traditionalists, to prevent non-Indians from
patronizing the reservation’s gambling parlors. The
Mohawk Warrior Society is a radical political force
that favors tribal gambling operations and opposes
the Iroquois leadership structure represented by the
various tribal councils.
As the Mohawk Warrior Society takes con-
trol of the reservation, about 2,000 Antis flee from
Akwesasne, fearing for their lives. The standoff
continues for four days, during which two men are
killed in a gun fight. The shooting stops only after
hundreds of New York state troopers storm the area
and restore order.May 29Duro v. Reina weakens the power of
tribal courts.
In the case of Duro v. Reina, the Supreme Court
finds that the tribal court of the Quinault’s reserva-
tion in Washington State does not have jurisdiction
over Indians who live on the reservation but are
not enrolled in the tribe. The decision threatens
the ability of tribal courts to maintain law and
order, especially on reservations on which nonen-
rolled Indians make up a large percentage of the
population.June 23The Meech Lake Accord is defeated.
The Meech Lake Accord, which proposes that the
Canadian government consider Quebec a “distinct
society” (see entry for APRIL 30, 1987), has earned
the contempt of Native leaders who believe Native
groups deserve the same recognition. The accord
must be approved by all provincial legislatures by
June 23, 1990, to be accepted as law.
As the deadline approaches, the only holdout
is Manitoba, where by law the accord must be ap-
proved by all legislators. Cree Indian Elijah Harper,
the province’s only Native legislator, refuses to par-
ticipate in a debate of the issue. When asked for his
vote, he holds up a white feather and declines to
answer. With Harper’s abstention, the accord is not
approved by the Manitoba legislature and thereby
fails to pass. Its defeat is considered a victory in the
fight for Native rights.SummerMohawk activists and Canadian police
face-off in Oka, Quebec.
The mayor of the town of Oka, Quebec, located 25
miles west of Montreal, approves a plan to expand
a municipal golf course into a neighboring forest.