Attempts by the Barriere Lake leadership to sit down with government and industry representatives were continually rebuffed. In 1988, under the leadership of Chief Jean-Maurice Matchewan, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake held a series of peaceful demonstrations to raise awareness of their plight. They set up camp on Parliament Hill but were arrested and dragged off by police.

In the summer of 1989, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake realized that direct action was the only recourse. They peacefully, but physically, blocked the way to the logging companies which were working in the territory. The Algonquins set up a series of blockades and attracted international attention in their fight to save the forest.

The community made it clear that they were not opposed to logging, per se, but, as inhabitants of the forest since time immemorial, they wanted to have a say in how the logging was going to be carried out.

Unfortunately, the protests and blockades brought the Algonquins of Barriere Lake into direct conflict with the Sureté du Quebec. Relations with the police deteriorated and in October 1989, the SQ, equipped with riot gear and batons, violently stormed a peaceful logging blockade set up by the Algonquins near Le Domaine in the middle of the La Verendryé Wildlife Reserve.

In 1991, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake managed to bring both the Feds and Quebec to the table for the signing of a historic Trilateral Agreement. The agreement, which recognized the role of the Algonquins in land decisions, was the first of its kind in Canada. The plan was based on the principals outlined in the United Nations Bruntland Report for sustainable development.

The agreement set out the obligation to identify sensitive areas of the forests, including sacred and critical wildlife habitat areas. This identification process was geared to the development of a conservation strategy of forestry and wildlife management -- a plan that would take the Algonquins into account, as well as the interests of the forestry industry, the tourist industry and nature lovers.