Today’s post is by Alumni Council member Daniel, who took part in this year’s Camp Heritage Fair. You can also read Daniel’s CHF journal here.
On November 11, 1975, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) was signed by representatives of Northern Quebec’s Cree and Inuit populations, the Quebec government, and the federal government. It was, in its simplest form, a compromise meant to resolve a difficult question regarding land rights.
A few years before, the Quebec government had decided to construct some hydroelectric dams in the area of James Bay. They then announced their plans to do so and set to work. However, they had proceeded without the permission of the region’s Indigenous Peoples, which included Cree and Inuit groups. In response, Indigenous activists formed an organized front against this expansion. They asserted that they had never ceded their rights to this land, and that earlier agreements obligated the government to take part in negotiations before land rights could be relinquished. Leaders of this movement included Malcolm Diamond (Cree), Grand Chief Billy Diamond (Cree), Chief Robert Kanatewat (Cree), Charlie Watt (Inuit), Zebedee Nungak (Inuit), Robbie Tookalook (Inuit), among many others. The fact that many of them were young people only further contributed to the remarkable nature of their achievement. The Cree and Inuit peoples were represented in the signing of the JBNQA by the Grand Council of the Crees and by the Northern Quebec Inuit Association.
In essence, the JBNQA outlines how to share this region between Indigenous Peoples and the government; the compensation and services to which the Indigenous Peoples are entitled; and Indigenous self-governance in the area. Perhaps most importantly, it established in law Indigenous rights having to do with land usage, language, and more. Indigenous land usage rights were affirmed for over half of Quebec’s surface area. However, construction of the James Bay hydroelectric dams continued—bringing with it a host of repercussions for the region’s ecosystems.
The leadup to the signing of the JBNQA was a complex and often counterintuitive process. There were times when some of the Indigenous parties could not come to an agreement with one another. The Indians of Quebec Association ended their involvement in summer 1974 due to a point of contention with Cree representatives regarding the scope of the land claims. Indigenous parties often found themselves dealing with a government that stubbornly refused to acknowledge Indigenous land rights. At one point, Cree and Inuit representatives visited the office of Quebec’s Premier, Robert Bourassa. Partway through a speech by Cree leader Malcolm Diamond, the Premier stood up, dismissed their concerns, and walked out of the office. After a lack of meaningful responses from the Quebec government, the Indigenous activists turned to the legal system to make their voices heard. In November 1973, they won a major victory when Superior Court judge Albert Malouf paused dam construction and called upon the government to begin talks with the Indigenous parties. Though an appeals court quickly overruled this injunction, it was an important spark for constructive negotiations.
The legacy of the JBNQA is only more difficult to wrap one’s head around. The JBNQA has been called the “first modern treaty”—and like the treaties signed in Canada’s early days, it has had significant consequences for Indigenous Peoples. For instance, George Manuel (Secwépemc), who was the president of the North American Indian Brotherhood, felt that the JBNQA gave rise to a trend of Indigenous Peoples essentially selling their land rights. Some Indigenous groups had been left out of the agreement, and had to continue fighting for recognition of their own rights as a result. Additionally, a 2008 Institute for Research on Public Policy analysis found that while the quality of life among the Cree and Inuit in Northern Quebec had improved in the wake of the JBNQA, it was roughly similar to Indigenous communities elsewhere in Northern Canada that were not part of a “modern treaty” or have not been part of one for as long.
At the same time, it is important to acknowledge the JBNQA as an important milestone for Indigenous activism in Canada. The Naskapi people became another signatory to the JBNQA in 1978, and several years later the historic 1984 Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act was passed, providing a major boost for Indigenous independence efforts nationwide. When relations between the Indigenous signatories and the Quebec government grew fragile, particularly against the backdrop of the 1995 independence referendum, the Cree decided to re-assert their political rights. They stated that they could choose to remain in Canada regardless of Quebec’s decision. In 2002, another agreement between the Cree and the Quebec government was signed. The agreement was called La Paix des braves, or Peace of the Braves. Friendlier relations were established, and the Cree gained more autonomy in the process. The JBNQA has overall been a major factor in the political development of the Cree and Inuit.
Today, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement remains a complicated part of our history, laws, and government. The Indigenous signatories knew that through the agreement they were sacrificing some important aspects of their lives. But somewhat paradoxically, the agreement also protected many of their rights, and has contributed to their growth. Crucially, the Indigenous parties never gave up their understanding that the land in question was theirs. As the Inuit activist Zebedee Nungak said, “We have no doubt in our mind that we own the land. We are not going to go around trying to prove that we own it. It’s up to the people who are invading it to try to disprove our ownership.”
BC Heritage Fairs Alumni 