In the years following their relocation, the community in Davis Inlet became increasingly dysfunctional. Violence, substance abuse, illness and suicide became part of life as the Innu became more divorced from their traditional ways of life.

In 1992 six young children were left home alone when their parents went out drinking. Their house caught fire, and despite the neighbours efforts all six children died. The following year a video of six Innu youths stoned and frozen,

threatening to commit suicide was aired on national tv and created a national outrage. Whatever the root cause of the Innu's misery no-one disagreed that the living conditions in Davis Inlet were a contributing factor, and one that many felt the Canadian government had a moral responsibility to deal with. After years of negotiation between the Innu and the government an agreement for a new town was finally signed in 1996. The Innu proposed a nearby site on the mainland,
a place called Natuashish.