The Income Security Program for Cree Hunters in Quebec, Canada: An Experiment in Increasing the Autonomy of Hunters in a Developed Nation State

• Main Author: Feit, Harvey A.
• Other Authors: Anthropology
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Aboriginal Studies Press. Added to MacSphere with the permission of the publisher, 2019/04/09. 1983
• Subjects: Income Security; Guaranteed Annual Income; Indigenous Autonomy; Aboriginal Land Claims; Subsistence Economies; Welfare Dependency; Hunting Societies; James Bay Cree; Baie James; Canada; Cris; James Bay
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11375/24239

This paper was prepared for the “Land Rights Symposium” held by the Australian Institute for Aboriginal Studies, now the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), in Canberra, May 21-22. 1980. I want to thank the AIATSIS for funding that enabled me to travel to the Northern Territory of Australia after the conference. Nicolas Peterson generously arranged, with others, for me to visit a range of Aboriginal communities and organizations, to attend land claims hearings, and to meet with participants from all the involved parties. The paper is also published in the Canadian Journal of Anthropology, 3 (1):57 70 (dated 1982). An analysis of the Income Security Program (ISP) negotiated by James Bay Cree as part of the James Bay and Northern Quebec aboriginal land claims agreement. The origins, purpose, design and structure of the ISP are presented, as well as a description of its eligibility and benefits rules. This negotiated program for guaranteed annual incomes for hunting activities was designed to increase the autonomy and self-determination of the James Bay Crees as an alternative to welfare dependency. The program may be relevant for addressing similar problems facing other contemporary Indigenous societies. - - Le but de cet article est l'analyse du Programme de la Sécurité du Revenu négocié par le peuple Cri lors des Accords de la Baie James et du Nord Québécois sur les revendications territoriales des Autochtones. L'origine, but, aspects et structure du programme, ainsi qu'une description des règlements regardant l’éligibilité et les bénéfices sont ici présentés. Cette entente sur la sécurité du revenu annuel en ce qui concerne la chasse hivernale a été conclue en vue d'accroître l'autonomie et l'auto-détermination des Cris de la Baie James et d'offrir une alternative valable à l'assistance sociale. D'autres groupes de chasseurs faisant face à ce genre de problèmes pourraient profiter des résultats de cette étude. Canada Council Killiam Post-doctoral Scholarship and ...