Current members:
Chris Hannah – vocals, guitar (1986–present)
Jord Samolesky – drums (1986–present)
Todd Kowalski – bass, vocals (1997–present)
Sulynn Hago – guitar, vocals (2015–present)
Former members
Scott Hopper – bass, vocals (1986–89)
Mike Braumeister – bass (1989–91)
John K. Samson – bass, vocals (1991–97)
David Guillas – guitar, vocals (2006–2015)
1993 - How to Clean Everything
1996 - Less Talk, More Rock
2001 - Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes
2005 - Potemkin City Limits
2009 - Supporting Caste
2012 - Failed States
2017 - Victory Lap
Oka Everywhere
Propagandhi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But it seems the degree of (only) racial slurs is their gauge (and it defines tolerance as hate). and there's 27 million girls-at-work here. imagine fighting that for 500 years. and golly-gee! how valient! how the white oppressor makes allowance for calculated gestures of insurgence (all tightly tethered to their purses/purpose). oka had this orchestra(tion) aborted. oka fucked their rules to choose a future self-determined and I, for one, support it... ...and the smartest thing I think I ever said: if a kevin kostner kavalry is your means to their end, then the struggle is dead. why do we pretend that our approval is upon what they depend?
The song "Oka Everywhere" by Propagandhi is a political statement that seems to directly address the Canadian government's involvement in the Oka Crisis of 1990. The song describes how the songwriter saw a Sûreté du Québec police officer catch a bullet with his teeth on television, and then uses this image to springboard into a critique of the Canadian government's treatment of its Indigenous populations. The line "condolence, madame canadiana, but your husband was a fucking (stuck) pig" seems to refer to the Canadian government and those who defend its actions against Indigenous peoples.
However, the song is not merely an account of the Oka Crisis itself; instead, it is a meditation on the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights that has been taking place in Canada for centuries. The lyrics describe a "native kid flipping her lid just trying to keep some self-respect intact," and go on to reference "an oka the size of a fist in resistance and a will to fight back." The struggle described in the song is not the stuff of romanticized history - it is a present-day reality that the songwriter is intimately familiar with.
The final lines of the song are perhaps the most pointed: "if a kevin kostner kavalry is your means to their end, then the struggle is dead. why do we pretend that our approval is upon what they depend?" Here, the songwriter is making a deliberately provocative statement about Hollywood's tendency to appropriate Indigenous stories and iconography for Western consumption. The message is clear: Indigenous peoples do not need outsiders to tell their stories for them. They need allies who will stand with them and support their self-determination.
Line by Line Meaning
The best thing I ever saw on tv was that s.q. (securite quebec) cop catching a bullet with his teeth.
The singer admires the physical feat of a cop on TV, but this is not the topic of the song.
Condolence, madame canadiana, but your husband was a fucking (stuck) pig.
The singer has no sympathy for the police officers involved in the Oka crisis, and insults their behavior.
But this song’s not about some romantic account of history.
The singer wants to focus on the events that happened in Oka, rather than repeating idealistic, embellished stories of the past.
It’s not about martyrs or mythos or heroes or burnings-in-effigy.
The artist is not interested in glorifying historical figures, but rather in depicting events accurately.
It's about a native kid flipping her lid just trying to keep some self-respect intact.
The song is about a young Indigenous person who becomes angry due to the invaders' disrespect.
It’s about an Oka the size of a fist in resistance and a will to fight back...
The song is about the Oka crisis and the Indigenous peoples' determination to resist colonialism.
And the girls at work, they still deny their racism.
The singer's coworkers still harbor prejudiced opinions towards Indigenous people.
They claim tolerance for all.
Despite their views, these coworkers believe they are open-minded and accepting towards all communities.
But it seems the degree of (only) racial slurs is their gauge (and it defines tolerance as hate).
The coworkers' supposed acceptance is defined by how many racial slurs they use, which really represents their intolerance.
And there’s 27 million girls-at-work here. Imagine fighting that for 500 years.
The vast majority of North Americans still hold racist beliefs today, which makes it very difficult for Indigenous people to overcome these prejudices.
And golly-gee! how valient! how the white oppressor makes allowance for calculated gestures of insurgence(all tightly tethered to their purses/purpose).
White people often label Indigenous protests as violent, but still support covert actions that benefit them economically or politically.
Oka had this orchestra(tion) aborted. Oka fucked their rules to choose a future self-determined and I, for one, support it...
The Oka crisis obstructed Canadians' intention to control the land, and empowered the Indigenous people to attain their self-determination.
...And the smartest thing I think I ever said: if a Kevin Kostner cavalry is your means to their end, then the struggle is dead.
Using white saviors like Kevin Kostner in Dances with Wolves would in fact be antithetical to the struggle for Indigenous self-determination.
Why do we pretend that our approval is upon what they depend?
Why do people assume that their validation is necessary for Indigenous people or any other group to gain freedom and equality?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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