The history of the Mi'kmaw lobster fishery in the Atlantic region
To better understand what has changed - and what has not - since the 1999 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Mi'kmaw fisherman Donald Marshall Jr., CBC Indigenous reviewed two decades of coverage on Mi'kmaw fishing rights.
Take a look through the CBC News Archives in this original video from CBC Indigenous
A few kilometers offshore from the Saulnierville wharf, up to 50 lobster fishing boats from numerous non-Indigenous fishing communities circle the first Mi’kmaw vessels drop the moderate livelihood lobster trap in September. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)
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There have been many developments for Mi'kmaw lobster harvesters in Nova Scotia since the Sept. 17 launch of Sipekne'katik First Nation's rights-based lobster fishery in St. Mary's Bay, N.S., but the controversial and complex issues surrounding it, and the push by Mi'kmaq for Canada to uphold 18th-century treaty rights, is far from new.
To better understand what has changed — and what has not — since the 1999 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Mi'kmaw fisherman Donald Marshall Jr., of Membertou First Nation, CBC Indigenous reviewed two decades of coverage on the issue in the CBC News Archives.
The interviews and scenes captured by Atlantic region reporters as far back as 1983 show Mi'kmaw fishers have long fought to establish and protect their rights to earn a living on the water in Nova Scotia.
The history of the Mi'kmaw lobster fishery
4 years ago
Duration 9:40
To better understand what has changed - and what has not - since the 1999 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Mi'kmaw fisherman Donald Marshall Jr., CBC Indigenous reviewed two decades of coverage on Mi'kmaw fishing rights.
Nic Meloney is a mixed heritage Wolastoqi videojournalist raised on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia/Mi'kma'ki. Email him at nic.meloney@cbc.ca or follow him on Twitter @nicmeloney.
