Wachiyak Uustchinnijuuch, What are your thoughts on this coalition? La Presse Published November 13, 2014 at 7:38 a.m. | Updated at 7:38 a.m. Aboriginals want to renegotiate the James Bay Agreement Marie-Michèle Sioui La Presse To mark the 40th anniversary of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, today the chiefs of the Innu, Atikamekw, and Anishnabeg communities will announce the creation of a political coalition whose ultimate goal is to compel the provincial and federal governments to renegotiate this historic agreement. The coalition plans, in particular, to affirm the rights of the communities it represents within the territory covered by the Agreement and to seek solutions so that these rights are recognized by the governments. The Innu, Atikamekw, and Anishnabeg (also called Algonquin) nations deplore the fact that the James Bay Agreement was negotiated solely with the Cree nations, because the territory covered by this agreement includes some of their communities as well. The James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Claims Settlement Act, pursuant to the Agreement, stipulates that “All native claims, rights, title and interests, whatever they may be, in and to the Territory, of all Indians and all Inuit, wherever they may be, are hereby extinguished.” The coalition plans to put pressure on elected officials, with whom the Aboriginals hope first and foremost to negotiate. “A joint claim [in court] will be filed only if necessary,” stated a source who is well aware of the dossier. Up to now, the nations have received “a flat no” from the governments, she lamented, adding that the communities had “greater chances” of altering government decisions by presenting a common front. Establishing a process for sharing land in certain sectors claimed by two nations is the coalition’s second goal. The announcement of the creation of the coalition is to take place today, in Montreal. PHOTO: HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 19:35:32 +0000
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