The arrival of misionaries and traders changed life for the Innu. For a time, they were pulled between the nomadic life and the town life, but increasingly they became resigned to the sedentary life of the settlement.

Philip Piwas butchers a caribou in his brother, Sebastian’s kitchen.
Elder Elizabeth Napeo rests on the sofa while her great-nephew Kirby watches a space shuttle launch on TV.

In 1967 a community of 200 Innu were relocated to a remote town called Davis Inlet. The Canadian government promised them running water, sanitation, schooling and social services, things which previously the Innu never had or needed. However, only some of the promised amenities materialised leaving the new town without running water or a sewage system. The squalor, which was to infect the community for years began to develop within a matter of weeks.