Tekehentahkhwa, who goes by the nickname "Beans", is a bright preteen who lives in
Kahnawake, a Mohawk reserve along the St. Lawrence River. She is encouraged by her mother, Lily, to try to apply to a prestigious, predominantly white school in
Montreal, something her father opposes. After seeing their cousin Karahwen'hawi on TV protesting
the expansion of a golf course into Kahnesatake territory, another Mohawk reserve upriver, the entire family drives to the area to support the protestors. The Mohawk land is surrounded by the town of
Oka, Quebec, which was seeking to expand its golf course into a historic Mohawk cemetery. Beans and her little sister are quickly caught up in a police raid, which strengthens her parents' resolve to stay and help during the protest. Tensions grow fast. Barricades are built and the Kahnesatake territory is isolated. Food runs short and women and children are given the possibility to evacuate. Outside, protesters throw rocks at the evacuating cars. In the meantime, Beans befriends April, an older girl she seeks to emulate in smoking, cursing, and friendships with boys. April teaches Beans to toughen up, often violently. The army is brought in to replace local police, and tensions rise among protesters and the military. Beans, her younger sister Ruby, and her mother Lily are relocated to a nearby hotel with other Mohawk women and children from the community. Beans attends a party in the hotel with April and some older teens, where she drinks alcohol and has her first kiss with April's older brother. In the hotel lobby, Beans starts a fight with a white girl around her same age, causing Beans and her family to be removed from the hotel. Beans, Ruby, Lily, April, and April's brother return home by sneaking through the barricade, just as Lily is about to give birth. As Lily is in labor, Beans attends a campfire with April and her friends. April's brother takes Beans aside and asks for a blowjob, then becomes aggressive when Beans refuses. When Beans goes to April for help, April implies that her father (and possibly her brother) has been sexually abusing her. Beans returns home, where her mother has given birth safely. Some time later, Beans helps April sneak out of her father's place so that her friend can move in with her grandmother. Beans and her family meet with their cousin Hawi, who declares that an agreement has been reached with the government to protect the native burial ground and prevent the city's golf course expansion. Beans starts at the prestigious private school in the fall, where she proudly introduces herself as Tekehentahkhwa, her full Mohawk name. ==Cast==