Agency - English program:.Atlantic. Agency:.Co-produced by Triad Film Productions Ltd., John Walker Productions Ltd. and the NFB in association with the CBC and with the participation of Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation.

Director, John Walker ; producer, John Walker, Mike Mahoney, Peter d'Entremont ; executive producer, Marilyn A. Belec ; script, John Walker, David Macfarlane ; cinematography, Nigel Markham ; sound, Jim Rillie, Alex Salter ; editing, Angela Baker ; re-recording, Allan Scarth, René Boudrey ; music, Guy Trépanier.

Narrator, Shirley Cheechoo.

Recorded 1996.

In the mid-1960s, the Mushuau Innu, one of the last hunter-gatherer peoples of North America, were forced to abandon their 6,000-year nomadic life style and settle in the village of Davis Inlet on the coast of Northern Labrador--a place the Innu named Utshimassits (ooh-she-mah-seet), or the Place of the Boss. Their relocation resulted in physical dislocation and cultural collapse. In February, 1992, six children died in a house fire in the settlement. The national media seized upon the story as a stark example of the pain and despair associated with the loss of traditional culture. For the people themselves, the tragedy was the starting point in a process of reflection and change. This behind-the-headlines look at the recovery weaves a profound sense of place through the use of archival footage of the breathtaking Labrador landscape juxtaposed against haunting present-day images of the dilapidated conditiong of Davis Inlet. First-person testimony from elders, band leaders and youth allows the voices of the community to express their own rarely heard point of view. The result is a documentary that delves beyond the national headlines of substance abuse, suicide and rural slum conditions to provide a profile of a people confronting the tragedy of their current circumstance by summoning the traditions, memories and culture of their proud past.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Rex Tasker Award for Best Atlantic Documentary - with a cash prize of 1,500$, 1996 Donald Brittain Award for Best Documentary Program, 1997 Golden Sheaf Award - Category: Best Film of the Festival, 1996 Golden Sheaf Award - Category: Best Documentary over 30 minutes, 1996 Golden Sheaf Award - Category: Best Original Music, 1996

Description based on online resource; title from title screen (National Film Board of Canada, viewed 2023-08-10).