Aboriginal Autonomy and Development in Northern Quebec and Labrador

The Canadian North is witness to some of the most innovative efforts by Aboriginal peoples to reshape their relations with “mainstream” political and economic structures. Northern Quebec and Labrador are particularly dynamic examples of these efforts, composed as they are of First Nations territories that until the 1970s had never been subject to treaty but are subject to escalating industrial demands for natural resources. The essays in this volume illuminate the process of indigenous autonomy and development in northern Quebec and Labrador. Contributors include academic specialists, Aboriginal leaders, and professionals employed within Aboriginal governments who address key conditions for autonomy and development: the definition and redefinition of national territories as cultural orders clash and mix; control of resource bases and maintenance of environments upon which northern regional economies can depend; renewal and reworking of cultural identity; and the healing of community as people cope with the damage inflicted by continued colonial intrusion into Aboriginal lands and lives. This book will be important to all those who seek a deeper understanding of northern and Aboriginal realities. It concerns issues that we cannot, as a society, afford to neglect.

Table of Contents:
Foreword and Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: On Autonomy and Development / Colin H. Scott 2 Healing the Past, Meeting the Future / Peter Penashue Part One: (Re)defining Territory 3 Shaping Modern Inuit Territorial Perception and Identity in the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula / Ludger Müller-Wille 4 Writing Legal Histories on Nunavik / Susan G. Drummond 5 The Landscape of Nunavik/The Territory of Nouveau-Québec / Peter Jacobs 6 Aboriginal Rights and Interests in Canadian Northern Seas / Monica E. Mulrennan and Colin H. Scott 7 Territories, Identity, and Modernity among the Atikamekw (Haut St-Maurice, Québec) / Sylvie Poirier Part Two: Resource Management and Development Conflicts 8 Voices from a Disappearing Forest: Government, Corporate, and Cree Participatory Forestry Management Practices / Harvey Feit and Robert Beaulieu 9 Conflicts between Cree Hunting and Sport Hunting: Co-Management Decision-Making at James Bay / Colin H. Scott and Jeremy Webber 10 Becoming a Mercury Dealer: Moral Implications and the Construction of Objective Knowledge for the James Bay Cree / Richard T. Scott 11 Media Contestation of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement: The Social Construction of the Cree Problem / Donna Patrick and Peter Armitage 12 Low-level Military Flight Training in Quebec-Labrador: The Anatomy of a Northern Development Conflict / Mary Barker 13 The Land Claims Negotiations of the Montagnais or Innu of the Province of Quebec and the Management of Natural Resources / Paul Charest Part Three: Community, Identity, and Governance 14 Community Dispersement and Organization: The Case of Ouje-bougoumou / Abel Bosum 15 Gathering Knowledge: Reflections on the Anthropology of Identity, Aboriginality, and the Annual Gatherings in Whapmagoostui, Quebec / Naomi Adelson 16 Building a Community in the Town of Chisasibi / Sue Jacobs 17 Cultural Change in Mistissini: Implications for Self-Determination and Cultural Survival / Catherine James 18 The Decolonization of the Self and the Recolonization of Knowledge: The Politics of Nunavik Health Care / Josée G. Lavoie 19 Country Space as a Healing Place: Community Healing at Sheshatshiu / Cathrine Degnen 20 The Concept of Community and the Challenge for Self-Government / Hedda Schuurman 21 The Double Bind of Aboriginal Self-Government / Adrian Tanner 22 Afterword: Reflections on Strategy / Colin H. Scott Index