Incident at Restigouche

198445 min 57 secFilm: Documentary

PG

Direction: Alanis Obomsawin

Production: Andy ThomsonAlanis ObomsawinRobert VerrallAdam Symansky

Script: Alanis Obomsawin

On June 11 and 20, 1981, the Québec Provincial Police (QPP) raided Restigouche Reserve, Québec. At issue were the salmon-fishing rights of the Mi’kmaq. Because salmon has traditionally been a source of food and income for the Mi’kmaq, the Québec government's decision to restrict fishing aroused consternation and anger. 

Released in 1984, this groundbreaking and impassioned account of the police raids brought Alanis Obomsawin to international attention. The film features a remarkable on-camera exchange between Obomsawin herself and provincial Minister of Fisheries Lucien Lessard, the man who’d ordered the raid.

Subject categories


  • Fishing and Hunting Industries > First NationsQuebec and OntarioSalmonTraditional Fishing
  • Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations and Métis) > FishingLand Claims and RightsQuébec and OntarioRelations with Government and Security ForcesReserves
  • Law and Crime > Human RightsIndigenous PeoplesSecurity forces
  • Politics and Government - Canada > Indigenous ConcernsProvincial Politics and GovernmentQuébec
  • Indigenous Studies > History/PoliticsIssues and Contemporary Challenges
  • Social Studies > Law
  • Geography > Territory: Indigenous
  • Rights & Title > Aquatic & Fisheries Quebec
  • Nature & Ecological Knowledge > Fisheries & Aquatic Animals
  • Indigenous Peoples: Canada > Mi'kmaq (L'nu)
  • Indigenous Governance General (Modern, Contemporary) > Protests, Activism, Popular Political Movements, Resistance, Conflicts

Credits


director
Alanis Obomsawin
script
Alanis Obomsawin
narrator
Alanis Obomsawin
producer
Andy Thomson
Alanis Obomsawin
executive producer
Robert Verrall
Adam Symansky
camera
Roger Rochat
Savas Kalogeras
sound
Yves Gendron
Bev Davidson
editing
Alan Collins
Wolf Koenig
sound editing
Bill Graziadei
animation
Raymond Dumas