W–062 · 26 September 1990 - 2019 · Kanehsatà:ke and Toronto, Canada; Sydney, Australia
After Oka
Fourteen-year-old Waneek Horn-Miller was carrying her four-year-old sister, Kaniehtiio, towards the barricade where reporters were gathered. On 26 September 1990, people were leaving the army-encircled camp at Kanehsatà:ke when fighting broke out between those leaving and the soldiers. Waneek recalled recognising one of the soldiers and speaking to him; a moment later she was struck in the chest. The sisters fell to the ground and were dragged back towards the perimeter.
1. Leaving Kanehsatà:ke
Provenance and sources for frame 1
File and rights
Public 2048 × 1759 reproduction on the Oka Legacy film website, retained without additional cropping. The file is WebP despite the jpg URL suffix. APTN confirms the Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press credit. No free licence is stated. This selection combines three separate shoots by different photographers in 1990, 2000 and 2019. Direct file: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6745e2f787f3053b091bf655/fb4849ea-17bc-419c-a118-dba045061cfc/RezolutionPictures-OkaLegacy-CP-WANEEK%2BLAST%2BDAY-880708.jpg
The standoff began over plans to expand a golf course on traditional Mohawk land beside a Mohawk cemetery. The blockade at the pine grove known as the Pines grew into a 78-day confrontation with Quebec police and the Canadian Army. The sisters' mother, activist Kahentinetha Horn, remained behind the barricades with her daughters. On the final day, she recalled, the military proposed that women and children should leave first. At a community meeting, those inside decided to leave together and then made their way towards the reporters.
A soldier's bayonet had wounded Waneek. She remembered noticing the blood on her shirt as people were being put onto buses. She was then held in custody. In her CBC interview, she said about 22 hours passed before she was released and returned to Kahnawake, where a doctor examined her. The wound was at her breastbone, close to her heart. Ryan Remiorz's photograph shows her still holding Kaniehtiio; it does not show the blow itself.
In 1999, Horn-Miller helped Canada win water polo gold at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg. The following year, she co-captained Canada's first women's Olympic water polo team. The team finished fifth in Sydney and won world championship bronze in 2001. Horn-Miller graduated from Carleton University, where she was named Athlete of the Year three times.
2. Sydney match
Provenance and sources for frame 2
File and rights
Complete public 1992 × 1466 file published by Team Canada; Associated Press retains rights. No free licence is stated. Direct file: https://olympic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/team-canada-waneek-horn-miller.jpg?quality=100
After her years on the national team, she helped the Assembly of First Nations develop programmes for sport, fitness and health, encouraging Indigenous young people to combine sport with education. In 2015, she returned to the Pan American Games as an assistant chef de mission for the Canadian delegation. She was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
3. Sports Hall of Fame
Provenance and sources for frame 3
File and rights
Complete public 2160 × 1438 file published by Team Canada; The Canadian Press retains rights. No free licence is stated. Direct file: https://olympic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/team-canada-waneek-horn-miller-HOF.png