Hydro Quebec offered compensation to the two Innu reserves that will be affected by the dam. Uashat is
one of these reserves, located within the town of Sept-Iles. They voted by majority to accept the deal. In
Mani-Utenam, the second reserve located 14 km outside of the town, a majority opposed the building of the
dam.
In the summer of 1994 a group of Innu from Mani-Utenam set up a blockade on the road leading to construction of the dam. The North America Project was asked by these protesters to provide an international, non-partisan presence.