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EPISODE FIVE :
LISTUGUJ MI'GMAQ FIRST NATION
At the mouth of the Restigouche River on the Gaspé Peninsula lies Listuguj, Québec’s largest Mi’gmaw community. Following a pivotal 1983 standoff with the provincial government over fishing rights, Listuguj has become a model for rematriated traditional resource management and has since stewarded a thriving fishery. Meet Deven and Emma, two leaders preserving traditional cultural knowledge and advancing modern-day Mi’gmaw sovereignty.
OUR STORYTELLERS
SALMON
Plamu
(Mi'gmaq)
For the Mi’gmaq people on the eastern shores of Turtle Island, salmon have always been central to their society. The people call it plamu. It has been a key food and a cultural mainstay, carefully looked after. Plamu are spiritual beings offering themselves as food—a profound gift from the Creator that sustains the Mi’gmaq. In Mi’gmaq cosmology, Kluskap, a central figure, called on the river and sea salmon to give their lives for the people.
Long before European settlers arrived in present-day Atlantic Canada, salmon was not only a staple food for the Mi’gmaq but also central to their connection to the natural world. Each spring and fall, communities would gather along the rivers of their territory to fish, continuing a long-standing tradition.
To ensure everyone benefited from this gift, the Mi’gmaq developed sophisticated conservation and traditional management systems. Building on communal fishing practices, they maintained robust salmon runs by establishing strict guidelines on when fishing could occur and on the size and types of fish that could be harvested.
Some harvesters let large salmon spawn because they have more eggs and experience. Others saw this as maybe the salmon’s last spawn, since they would die soon after. These approaches, grounded in tradition, allowed sustainable population growth. It also led to strong future catches.
But European colonization soon ended these reciprocal land relations. As this era began, settlers encroached on Mi’gmaq territory, and residential schools removed youth, stripping them of traditional education and values.
Provincial and federal governments later banned Mi’gmaq from fishing salmon on traditional territory. Elders recall fishing illegally at night and hiding their catch to continue their way of life.
On June 11, 1981, Québec sent 500 police to Listuguj to enforce new salmon-fishing bans after fish stocks had declined due to decades of commercial overfishing on the Restigouche River. Mi’gmaq fishermen were arrested and brutalized for refusing to remove nets, citing treaty rights to fish. This standoff led to the 1999 Marshall agreement, which reaffirmed Mi’kmaw fishing rights.
Since then, the community has built its own systems for conservation and enforcement. June and July bring the salmon season. During this time, Listuguj Rangers patrol their territorial waters to ensure fishing quotas are respected. Since the raid, Listuguj has revived salmon fishing as a way of life.
This has restored food sovereignty, strengthened community ties, and revived traditional knowledge, reigniting shared Mi’kmaw cultural pride. Today, the enduring bond between the Mi’gmaq and plamu not only nourishes bodies and spirits but also inspires ongoing resistance and renewal for generations to come.
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