Incident at Restigouche (Old)

Director: Alanis Obomsawin | Canada | English Mi’gmaq, French with English subtitles | 1984

VERSION UPLOADED BY STEPHANE IN 2013

In 1981, the Quebec government sent in the Surete Quebec into the Listiuguj Mi’gmaq reserve in order to enforce new restrictions on First Nations fishers. Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin arrived shortly after the second raid to chronicle the events with her NFB crew. Determined to tell the truth, Obomsawin recounts the events and in one of the most famous incidents in NFB history, defied directives in order to interview then Minsiter of Fisheries Lucien Lassard, confronting the Parti Quebecois politician over land rights and statements he made about First Nations rights to sovereignty., ultimately winning a rare apology. Establishing Obomsawin’s characteristic doggedness and imbedded approach to documentary, Incident at Restigouche remains a defining moment for First Peoples Cinema.