The Basques: Protecting the Land

The Basques community is known for its activism around social and environmental issues.

Co-produced by Julien Gagnon-Rouillard and Robert Majewski

 — Posted April 5, 2022
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The Basques community is known for its activism around social and environmental issues. Mikael Rioux and Sébastien Rioux, two Trois-Pistoles natives, have been raising awareness there for a long time. In 2002, Mikael Rioux suspended himself over the Trois-Pistoles River to prevent the construction of a hydroelectric reservoir of over 100,000 square meters. From 2003 to 2014, Trois-Pistoles also hosted ÉchoFête, the first environmental festival in Quebec. Today, more activist projects are emerging, and members of the growing community continue to defend social and environmental causes.

Watch the whole series

The Basques: Rurality, Resistance, Resilience

Documentarians Julien Gagnon-Rouillard and Robert Majewski explore different facets of rural life by documenting alternative projects taking root in the Basques of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region.

The Basques: Embracing Rurality

In this introduction to the documentary “The Basques : Rurality, Resistance, Resilience,” several members of the community — including Soraïda Caron, Wina Forget, and Nicolas Falicimaigne — offer their reasons for moving into a rural area.

The Basques: Returning to the Land

In this interview with Maurice Vaney, back-to-the-lander, city councillor and important actor in the local cultural scene, we compare how things were in Trois-Pistoles back in 1974 with how they play out today.

The Basques: Taking Part in Culture

In the past 60 years, the Quebec region of Les Basques has had a strong relationship with the arts.

The Basques: Retracing History

The regional county municipality of the Basques is located in Mi’kma’ki and Wolastokuk territory, in the heart of the Wabanaki confederation.

The Basques : Telling the Tale

Gabrielle Ayotte Garneau carries on the Basque storytelling tradition with a legend that has thrilled her neighbours for decades.
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