Some Cree may not realize that it has been 50 years since the Grand Council of the Crees was created to speak for all Eeyou Istchee when the first hydroelectric dams in the territory were being planned and constructed by Hydro-Québec.
A Cree organization that represented all the Eastern James Bay Cree was needed to negotiate on their behalf. Stories abound of those negotiations, both good and bad. If you haven’t heard them, ask your Elders. They probably won’t whitewash how it was.
In those days there were very few Cree with the level of education that is prevalent today. The bush was a great part of the Cree economy. Most communities were not accessible by roads and what roads existed were usually gravel at best. Phones were few and far between. Band offices were small, unlike the imposing structures we now take for granted. The Grand Council offices back then were in a Val-d’Or mall.
Nevertheless, the Grand Council and their lawyers and consultants managed to negotiate the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA), which will have its 50th anniversary next year. It was touted as the first modern treaty. One, which we suspect, the federal and provincial governments wouldn’t have signed if they understood all its implications and associated costs.
Many actions taken throughout the ensuing years involved court cases trying to get the federal and provincial governments to live up to their obligations under the JBNQA. Then there were additional agreements, some of which were hotly debated within the Cree world.
Two things stood out for me that the Grand Council undertook. The first being the fight to save the Great Whale River. Insiders said the decision wasn’t taken lightly but, in the end, they decided to go ahead. It was this battle that brought the Cree onto the international stage. The fight was on many fronts – court cases in Quebec, papers presented to the United Nations and an appeal to the citizens of New England.
The battle moved to the US because the Grand Council felt that they would have a better chance addressing the people Hydro-Québec was planning to sell the power that the Great Whale Hydroelectric Project would generate.
At times, the US campaign was chaotic as Americans organized or banded together to assist us. Some looked at environment, cultural and other consequences in a scientific manner, other just wanted to protest and others to lobby their political leaders. Some days saw the Cree acting as moderators between the factions more than speaking. In the end, the Great Whale project was shelved, at least for the foreseeable future.
Another moment came in 1995 when Quebec’s separatist government was looking to secede from Canada. They planned on taking the Cree and their territory with them. Apparently, the Québécois had a right to self-determination, but the Indigenous population did not. A referendum was planned by Quebec. The Grand Council decided that if Quebec could hold a referendum, then the Cree could do the same.
In Val-d’Or, a local resident asked what I thought of separation. He was surprised to hear me say I was for separation. Then I explained that I was talking about the Cree separating from Quebec. I assured him that non-Cree communities would become reserves for him and his people, they wouldn’t have to pay taxes as we would nationalize the dams much the same way that Quebec did when they created Hydro-Québec.
Alas, the Grand Council didn’t add that option to the Cree referendum ballot. Besides the polling station in each community and various towns and cities with a Cree population, helicopters for three days traveled to bush camps with advance ballots so Cree hunters and trappers could have their say. When it was all over 96% of the Cree voted “No” against being separated without their consent from Canada.
We might not have always agreed with everything the Grand Council has done but those two actions, if nothing else, established the Cree as a force to be reckoned with. Congratulations on their 50 years of existence and all the work they have done.