The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement--An Overview

Joseph, Shirley
Publisher:  United Native Nations, Vancouver, Canada
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX876

The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement - An Overview is a booklet produced by the United Native Nations, an organization dedicated to developing a community-based voice for status and non-status Indians in British Columbia.

Abstract: 
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement - An Overview is a booklet produced by the United Native Nations, an organization dedicated to developing a community-based voice for status and non-status Indians in British Columbia. While recognizing that Quebec Cree and Inuit had little choice but to surrender their rights, the Introduction states:

"In summary, the agreement referred to as Canada's first modern treaty" is little more than a sophisticated, updated version of treaties signed in the past…Considering inflation and the change in values, the James Bay Settlement is comparable to the plows and beads that Indian people received in early treaty settlements.

The booklet is basically a chronology of the events leading to the James Bay Settlement, from January, 1969 to October, 1973, when the Agreement became law. It includes in tabloid form a comparison of the Quebec, Alaska, and COPE (Committee for Original People's Entitlement) Settlements. It also contains photographs from the Department of Indian Affairs on various aspects of development in the James Bay and Northern Quebec region, e.g. roads through muskeg, the hydro project.

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