Cree Hunters of Mistassini

The hunters are the Innu people and the bombers are the air forces of several NATO countries, which conduct low-level flights over the Innu's hunting terrain. The impact of the jets is hotly debated by peace groups, Indigenous Peoples, environmentalists and the military. But what is often overlooked are the many complex changes underway in Innu society, as social and technological changes confront a traditional hunting culture.

L'immense territoire sis dans le nord du Québec abrite la vie et la culture des Cris. Ces Autochtones ont reçu, pendant quelques mois, la visite de cinéastes de l'ONF qui, de concert avec eux, ont entrepris de tourner un film sur leur mode de vie. Le film nous en présente les principaux aspects enrichis de commentaires dits par les Cris eux-mêmes dans leur propre langue. C'est un témoignage d'une rare actualité qui demeurera tel longtemps encore. Film sous-titré en français.

Since time immemorial, the goose hunt has been of central importance to the Cree people of the James Bay coastal areas. The hunt is not only a source of food for the people, but it also plays an increasingly important role in the transmission of Cree culture, skills and ethics. Filmmaker Paul M. Rickard takes us along with his family on a fall goose hunt in the surrounding areas of Moose River in northern Ontario. The Okimah are the hunting leaders whose life experiences and observations as hunters enable them to teach customary rules for exploiting the resource base. We see how these hunting excursions are not only about harvesting but about the need to respect the land and the animals, and the transmission of the Okimah's knowledge from one generation to the next.