Aboriginal Rights

Video #1 Incident at Restigouche



     The film Incident at Restigouche was filmed by an mi'kmaq women named Alanis Obomsawin, she film the video in the first nation community called Restigouche in 1984. The event that had occurred in Restigouche in 1981 was that the Quebec government decided to restrict fishing for mi'kmaq people in the  community. The Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raided Restigouche on June 11,1981 and then again on June 20th 1981. They had seized and destroyed all the fishing nets that they had discovered in the community and also in the river. The QPP had invaded the whole community and the mikmaq people had no choice but to listen to the police officers, they had arrested twelve people including two minors and beaten any person who did not listen or asked questions.

      

     The second raid on June 20, 1981  the Mikmaq people had been ready for them to try and raid the community again. Many other mikmaq communities had heard what had happened in Restigouche and were anger and wanted to help and show support so they had organized to fight back.  The Quebec government and parties involved had seen that the mikmaq people were prepare and were not going to let them take over the community again. They then came to an agreement that they will left the boundaries on both side of the river and they were able to fish freely with rules that they had to follow.

Video #2 Our Nationhood


 

       

The film took place in the Restigouche community, it  was film by Alanis Obomsawin in 2003. The film is about mikmaq land, the community wanted the land that the government had claimed the land  where the government hired his people to cut this land belong to mikmaq community called Restigouche and they wanted it back. When the government did not agree to just give the land back. The community then protested for the land and made road blocks up. The mikmaq people demanded that the government negotiate some kind of fair agreement that the whole community will agree a pond. They made two agreements with the community but they did not accept the two. They made a third agreement which was for 500 cubic metres that the community can have and after the whole community had a meeting to discuss the agreement the community agree to the offer. Many of the members in community were not happy with this agreement and not satisfied with the offer. The leaders in the community told the members "that even though it was not as much as they wanted, they will continue to fight for more".   Three years later from when they had protested change has occurred in the community but not about the land right issue. They still  have not made any real good progress and still have not reached their goal in how much land they want back.

       

     The community is now doing really well in commercial fishing, they had purchased more fishing boats for the community, more employment availability, fishery program that educate new employee, fishier building, larger areas to fish and they are making more money . Since 1981 the community has come a long ways and for the better and many people are happy with the results in the decisions made with their fishing rights the community will continue to make changes for the better and grow stronger. 

 Video #3 Is the Crown at war with us?

 

 

Alanis Obomsawin made this film in 2002 in Burnt Church First Nation Community. In the summer of 2000 was the start of war with DFO and non native people about fishing rights. The Mikmaq people of the Burnt Church community were restricted to fish in a small area but the community did not listen to these rukes and fish outside the boundaries . When the DFO seen the mikmaq people in the water and fishing they were beaten, ran over by other boats , pepper spray, sworn by police officers and DFO, boats and nets were destroy. The mikmaq fishermen that were caught were arrested and charged and some of the men were faced with serving time in jail. The non native were not happy as well and protested that Mikmaq not have any fishing rights, they did not want to share any lobster with the mikmaq people. They made a threat that if they continue to fish they will take action in to their on hands. In which they did as well also destroying nets, name calling and fighting.

 

It cost the tax payers 15 million dollars in one year to try to stop the mikmaq people from fishing because the government will not negotiate a fair agreement. The government agree to give Mikmaq people a boundary to fish but it was small and it was in a place where their were no lobster. The community did not agree with this aggreement made by the government and did not listen to it and fished outside the boundaries. On August 1, 2002 the Burnt Church community finally made an agreement with department of fisheries and Oceans one they felt they will benefit from. The department gave the community 21 new commercial licenses and in the fall fishing was only for food and ceremonial purposes and were not allowed to sale any catch this aggrement was something that the community like better and agree to it.