A dispute between a group of teens and a homeowner has led a number of Tobique First Nation residents to camp out on a piece of land along the Tobique River which they say belongs to them.

Just above the Tobique dam, it's a common sight to see kids playing in the river, where they can jump from a platform on one side, pull themselves up on a dock and walk down a road to a rope that swings back out to the other side of the river.

On Sunday, a group of teenage swimmers from the Tobique First Nation got into a dispute with the couple that owns the dock. The couple says it normally isn't a problem if people use the dock.

"They were saying stuff and giving the fingers, and I was washing my husband's vehicle at the time, and I looked at my husband and said, 'What's that all about?" and he went over," said homeowner Sandra Hudson.

Her husband and a neighbour ended up exchanging words with the Tobique teens, she said.

A video of the encounter has surfaced. A teen can be heard saying that he belongs there, while Hudson's husband tells him to go back to where he came from, which was interpreted by the teenagers as being a racist remark.

'A whole new firestorm'

Hudson says her husband's comment meant the teens should have went back to the other side of the river and get off their property. She says it did not have any racist meaning.

Tiffany Perle and other mothers have set up a campsite on the river bank. She says the remark triggered the protests.

"That starts a whole new firestorm," she said.

As more people joined the protest in the evening, the police were called. According to both sides, one of Hudson's neighbours was arrested and taken to jail.

The protest is also bringing out bigger issues.

Maliseet elder Wayne Nicholas says thousands of hectares belong to the band and that this is a peaceful reminder.

"We mean no harm and they should understand just exactly what they own, and what our rights are here," he said.

Both sides say they would like to have the matter resolved peacefully.

Nicholas says the First Nations community is expected to vote on a referendum on a $40 million land claim this October.