Joseph Tehawehron David facts for kids
Joseph Tehwehron David (1957–2004) was a Mohawk artist. He became well-known for his role as a warrior during the Oka Crisis in 1990.
Early Life and Art
Joe David grew up in Kanehsatake. This is a small Mohawk community about 70 kilometers west of Montreal, Quebec. David came from a large traditional family. They followed the Longhouse traditions, which are the traditional ways of life for the Mohawk people.
Joe David created many types of art. He focused on installations, sculpture, painting, and mixed media. By the late 1980s, he was a recognized artist. He sold artwork to the Public Service Commission. He also showed his art in the "PHOTOMATON" exhibition in Montreal in 1989. David studied studio art and art education at Concordia University in Montreal.
The Oka Crisis (1990)
In 1990, Joe David's life changed because of the Oka Crisis. This was a 78-day stand-off between the Kanehsatake Mohawks and the Canadian army. It started in the summer of that year.
The Oka Crisis began as a peaceful protest. Mohawks occupied an area called the Pines in Kanehsatake. These Pines were ancient trees planted by their ancestors. The protest was against a golf course expansion. This expansion would have built a parking lot over a cemetery. The ancestors of the Kanehsatake Mohawks were buried there.
The land dispute became an armed conflict on July 11, 1990. The Quebec provincial police, called the Sûreté du Quebec (SQ), attacked the Mohawk protesters' barricade. During this attack, SQ Corporal Marcel Lemay was killed. Mohawk men, acting as warriors, then showed they had weapons to defend their community.
To support the Mohawks in Kanehsatake, warriors from Kahnawake blocked highways. They also took control of the Mercier Bridge. This bridge connects Kahnawake to Montreal. It usually carried 65,000 vehicles daily. On August 16, the Canadian army surrounded the Mohawk protesters in Kanehsatake. Soldiers were also near the Mercier Bridge. The Mercier Bridge stayed closed until late August 1990. The Kahnawake Mohawks then reached an agreement with the army.
On September 26, the Mohawks who were still behind the barricade in Kanehsatake ended their protest. They took apart their guns and threw them into a fire. They burned tobacco, a traditional ceremony. Then, they walked out of the Pines holding their ceremonial masks. Many were held by the Canadian Forces. The SQ arrested many, including Joe David. David and other defendants decided to use Mohawk sovereignty as their main defense in court. This meant they argued that Mohawk people are an independent nation.
To show their independence, the Mohawk defendants did not stand when the judge and jury entered or left the courtroom. They also swore in witnesses using a string of wampum (traditional beads) instead of a bible.
Joe David wrote about the trial in a magazine called Cultural Survival. He said that the judge called the conflict a "dispute between two peoples." This was very important. In the United Nations, the word "peoples" can mean "nations." The jury understood this and found the Mohawks "Not guilty."
Life After Oka
After the Oka Crisis, Joe David's art career grew quickly. Within two years, his work was in six major group exhibitions. These included "Solidarity: Art after Oka" in Ottawa in 1991. His art was also shown at the National Gallery of Canada in 1991. He participated in the 1991 Havana Biennale. His work was also part of "INDIGENA: Perspectives of Indigenous Peoples on 500 Years" in 1992. This exhibit was at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec.
Two of David's paintings, made between 1990 and 1993, were bought by the Indigenous Art Centre. Another painting was bought by the Woodland Cultural Centre.
David also received attention from the media. He was featured in an article called "The Making of a Warrior." He was also written about in books like People of the Pines and Stolen Continents. He appeared in Alanis Obomsawin's documentary about the Oka Crisis, Kanehsatake, 270 Years of Resistance.
In the years after the Oka Crisis, David lived alone in his farmhouse in Kanehsatake. Many protesters, including David, faced challenges after the stand-off.
Despite these challenges, David continued to paint and create installation art. His work was shown in the 1998 exhibit "Irokesen Art" in Frankfurt, Germany. His art was also displayed in Montreal in 1998. This was part of the International Human Rights Festival.
In 1998, Jeff Thomas, an Ottawa-based Onondaga artist, photographed David. Thomas showed David, a modern "warrior," next to a portrait of a Mohawk emissary. This emissary visited the Queen of Great Britain in 1710. At that time, the Iroquois were allies of the British.
In June 1999, Joe David was injured during an incident at his home in Kanesatake. This left him with limited use of his arms and hands for the rest of his life.
After his death in May 2004, David's ashes were scattered over Blue Mountain. This was his favorite place in Kanesatake. His friend, artist Carole Beaulieu, created an online tribute to Joe David.
