Political Articulations of Hunters to the State: Means of Resisting Threats to Subsistence Production in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

• Main Author: Feit, Harvey A.
• Other Authors: Anthropology
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Association Inuksuitiit Katimajiit, inc. 1979
• Subjects: Hunting Societies; Political Articulations; Linkages to a Nation State; Local Autonomy; Aboriginal Rights; Recognition of Rights; Guaranteed Incomes; James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement; Baie James; Cris; James Bay
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11375/23938

Data on the land claim negotiations were gathered since 1972 while serving as a consultant to the Cree and the the Grand Council the Crees (of Quebec) during their court case against the hydro-electric project on their land, and during the negotiation and initial implementation of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (1975). Hunting peoples are with increasing frequency trying to actively respond to the repeated threats to their subsistence activities from nation state governments and resource developers by creating linkages to existing national political and economic structures. The present paper presents an account of one instance of this phenomenon, the articulations sought and established by the Eastern James Bay Cree during the negotiation of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. Approximately a dozen articulatory responses are identified, including: legal definition of rights and obligations binding on governments; government recognition of Cree cultural and social structures and practices; guaranteed allocations of wildlife and exclusive species and hunting areas; and guaranteed annual incomes for hunters. The paper indicates how these articulations were designed to respond to perceived threats to Cree hunting society, given the general political and power setting of the negotiations with the state. Questions for further analysis are raised concerning the macro-political effectiveness of such articulations, and their social and cultural consequences for local integrity and autonomy. - - De plus en plus souvent les peuples de chasseurs tentent de s'opposer activement aux menaces répétées que les gouvernements nationaux et le système économique international font peser sur leurs activités de subsistance en s'articulant aux structures politiques et économiques déjà existantes des États-nations. Cet article expose un cas de ce phénomène, l'établissement de rapports politiques avec l'État par les Cris de l'est de la baie James durant la négociation de la Convention de la Baie James et du Nord ...