Ally or Colonizer?: the Federal State, the Cree Nation and the James Bay Agreement

Abstract

The James Bay Agreement is the only "comprehensive land claim" that has an implementation history and also covers an area where provincial governments control lands and resources. As such it represents an important test-case for evaluating government pledges on Aboriginal rights. This paper reviews selected aspects of the implementation of the Agreement, providing an update on earlier works. The discussion is limited to the James Bay Crees and deals primarily with the federal state. The analysis reviews the government record while also attempting to account for the resistance to recognizing Cree rights. It is argued that the role and priorities of the state in Canadian capitalist society must be emphasized: treaty obligations which restrain capitalist development or which establish expensive precedents are chronically ignored. Aboriginal rights are generally subordinate to other public policy priorities, and as a result distinct cultures are threatened

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