The film is about the conflict between Federal Fishery and the Burnt Church fishermen.
The film takes place from the year 2000-2001.
The story it shares is the continued injustices we face at the hands of the White Gov't, and the Gov't's total lack of understanding of native rights and ways. The people of Burnt Church just wanted to live peacefully, side by side the non-natives sharing the water and providing for their families. They wanted to continue their right to fish and pass on these teachings to their children.The Whiteman's Gov't must think it is above the law as they totally disregard the Supreme Court ruling.
Yes I heard about the incident before.
I remember watching the footage on t.v. especially the part where the native fishermen are getting run over on the water.
The main characters were the fishermen. James Ward stands out to me as well. He's a Warrior with a Political Science Degree and military background.Before watching all these videos I thought the warriors were all a bunch of hot heads. I've since asked around about the Warrior Society and I've been told that they are educated about our rights and treaties. I have more respect for them now.
The Gov't again acted in a manner that was totally uncalled for. Their actions exasperated the situation.They fueled the fire between the native and non-native fishermen. The two communities still have to carry on as neighbors long after this dispute. There will always be a sore festering between them.There will always be anomosity underneath the surface.
After watching the film I feel angry and discouraged that these kinds of events keep going on. They make me laugh that they think the natives are going to deplete the fishery.The amount that the non-native fishermen are allowed to fish is so much more than the drop in the bucket that we're allotted.I think the Gov't feeds lies to the non-native fishermen to get them going.
I am proud that 2 native women started the fishing.It took the ladies to make things happen.Again I was glad to see other bands come together to support them.Also we got a glimpse into their lives and they face the same things as we do. The lack of jobs, loss of language, effects of residential school. The unwanted dependence on the welfare system and the importance of a supplementary income to make ends meet. We experienced a similar situation with the white fishermen in the surrounding communities. It spilled over into our schools and made for a difficult school year for our children. I think there is still that same anomosity present here as well.
Again this is a video that needs to be shared. You won't learn about these incidents in school, in fact you won't learn very much about our people in school.
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