Why Two Films?

The End of the Line and In Defense of our Treaties can be viewed separately; but those of us who have been involved in the making of the film - on both sides of the camera - feel the stories have a special power when screened together.

I first met fishers from Southwest Nova Scotia in 2002. The Supreme Court’s Marshall Decision had come down about two years before, recognizing the Treaty Rights of the Mi’kmaq’s to fish commercially. Tensions on Canada’s east coast were running high; but around Bear River First Nation, Mi’kmaq and non-native fishers had begun working together.

I wanted to show the grounds for solidarity between Mi’kmaq and non-native communities, but in a way that honors the very different role fishing plays in both cultures. Two parallel shorts seemed a good way to connect both points of view without glossing over their differences.

For non-native fishers like Terry Farnsworth, saving what’s left of the in-shore fisheries means fighting the corporate take-over of their industry. For Bear River First Nation, fisheries privatization is a threat; but resistance is connected to the much older struggle of having the Treaties honored, and the Mi’kmaq’s Inherent Rights respected. 

The End of the Line and In Defense of our Treaties show the determination of each these communities to hold on to their livelihoods and traditions. Once the films were finished, it was obvious to all of us involved that the films were two halves of one larger story told in a way that lets audiences make the connections between two sides that are not so different after all.