In recent years it’s become more common for golf courses to post land acknowledgement statements, as if that somehow excuses turning ancestral lands into an artificial European idyll.

This is particularly egregious when we know native land was seized for the express purpose of building a golf course. No, we’re not kidding.

Mohawk warrior attacks Canadian soldiers during Oka crisis

In 1989 the town of Oka, Quebec approved the development of a golf course on land that was in dispute with the Mohawk. Members of the Mohawk people protested this development, as the land was home to a traditional burial ground.

Quebec’s Minister of Indian Affairs noted the injustice, writing: “these people have seen their lands disappear without having been consulted or compensated, and that, in my opinion, is unfair and unjust, especially over a golf course.” (From this excellent documentary, at the 10:14 mark).

Canadian soldiers were eventually deployed to Oka to disperse the protests. Shots were fired at the protesters. Near the end of the protests, a teenage girl was stabbed through the chest with a bayonet.

A teenager nearly died - for what? Golf? Apparently it’s not enough that golf itself is inherently violent - golfers desire for more and bigger courses requires military action against protesters.

We can stop this from ever happening again. We can ban golf.

P.S. The Oka Golf Club is still in operation today. They do not have a land acknowledgement statement on their website.