Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation

The "Battle of the Restigouche", was the last naval battle between the British and the French during the Seven Years' War. In 1760, after the fall of Quebec, the French hurried to send reinforcements across the Atlantic. 400 troops were sent in merchant ships from Bordeaux. However, when they reached the Saint Lawrence River, the fleet commander discovered that the area was already occupied by a strong British fleet. He decided to sail south to the bottom of the Bay of Chaleur, and established gun batteries on the shore of the Restigouche River, near Listuguj. Eventually, they were spotted by British Captain John Byron, who engaged battle there. The battle opposed 3 French ships and ground batteries and a coalition of Mi'gmaq, French and Acadian irregular troops, against a 70-gun British ship and 2 frigates. The French and their allies lost this battle, ending the hopes of reconquering Quebec.

On June 11 and 20, 1981, the Quebec Provincial Police conducted controversial raids on the reserve to stop the Mi'gmaq from asserting their control over their native fishery. Federal Indian Affairs Minister John Munro was among those critical of the manner in which the Quebec government and provincial minister Lucien Lessard had acted. All convictions resulting from the arrests were eventually overturned.{{cite book|last=Notzke|first=Claudia|title=Aboriginal Peoples and Natural Resources in Canada|publisher=Captus Press|location=Toronto|year=1994|isbn=1-895712-03-3|page=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6VbIJTDlZIoC&dq=Restigouche+police+1981&pg=PA64}}

The raids and their aftermath were documented by Alanis Obomsawin in her 1984 film Incident at Restigouche.{{cite web|url=http://www.nfb.ca/film/incident_at_restigouche|title=Incident at Restigouche|last=Obomsawin|first=Alanis|year=1984|work=NFB.ca|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|accessdate=2009-04-08}}

The community is depicted in the 2021 documentary series Gespe'gewa'gi: The Last Land.Eric Dicaire, [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/docuseries-mi-kmaw-commercial-fishers-1.5912966 "New docuseries opens a window into the lives of eastern Mi'kmaw fishers"]. CBC News Montreal, February 14, 2021.

Of the members of the Listuguj First Nation, 2,076 persons reside on the federal Indian reserve that was set aside by the legislature of Lower Canada in 1853, for the exclusive use of the majority of Mi'gmaq in this region.{{Cite web|url=http://fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/FNP/Main/Search/FNMain.aspx?BAND_NUMBER=51&lang=eng|title=First Nation Detail: Listuguj Mi'gmaq Government|website=Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada|date=14 November 2008 |access-date=June 25, 2019}}{{cite web | url=https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1634312499368/1634312554965 | title=Indigenous communities in Quebec | date=15 October 2021 }} The remaining Mi'kmaq live off-reserve in the eastern United States and across Canada, but stay connected to the community through modern communications and travel to Listuguj for annual events such as the salmon harvest in June, St. Ann's Day in July, or the traditional powwow in August. All community members, regardless of residence, participate in democratic elections held every two years to elect one Chief and twelve Councillors in accordance with Canada's Indian Act Election Regulations, however only community members with residence in Listuguj could participate in the Ratification Vote for the Settlement Agreement which took place on December 13, 2014.[http://www.listuguj.ca/listuguj-canada-settlement-agreement/ listuguj.ca: "Listuguj – Canada Settlement Agreement"] The community is also allied to other Mi'gmaq communities in the Gaspé region of Quebec and in northern New Brunswick. Together, their elected Chiefs advance ancestral claims to self-government and to the traditional territory called Gespe'gewa'gi ('Kespékewáki), the last land.

Gespe'gewa'gi is the Mi'gmaq Nation District that extends from the Miramichi River to the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, a land area that straddles the modern day Quebec/New Brunswick border. The First Nation is a strong advocate of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and Aboriginal and treaty rights. Its main resource is the Atlantic salmon and other fruits of the waters and forests, including modern harvest of timber. Political representatives of the Mi'gmaq of Listuguj and the greater district of Gespe'gewa'gi continue talks with the Government of Quebec over access to traditional lands.

• List of anglophone communities in Quebec

• [https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/292?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22REINS+Act%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=98]

• http://www.listuguj.ca/
• [https://naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/subcommittee-for-indigenous-peoples-of-the-united-states]
• [https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/ditca.pdf]
• http://www.mikmaqonline.org/
• https://archive.today/20130809225607/http://www.migmaqnation.com/
• [http://www.migmaqresource.org Gespe'gewaq Mi'gmaq Resource Council]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051109161440/http://sdiprod2.inac.gc.ca/fnprofiles/FNProfiles_DETAILS.asp?BAND_NUMBER=51 Government of Canada's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs First Nation profile]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930055731/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006793 Canadian Encyclopedia entry: Listuguj]

{{Geographic location

| Centre = Listuguj

| North = Pointe-à-la-Croix

| Northeast =

| East = Pointe-à-la-Croix

| Southeast = Restigouche River
Campbellton, New Brunswick

| South = Restigouche River
Atholville, New Brunswick

| Southwest =

| West = Pointe-à-la-Croix
Ristigouche-Sud-Est

| Northwest =

}}

{{Mi'kmaq}}

{{First Nations in Quebec}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Communities in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine

Category:First Nations in Quebec

Category:Mi'kmaq governments

Category:Algonquian ethnonyms