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The first pillar is governance. We need to apply our creativity to build new governance structures for our Cree Nation, new ways of regulating our affairs, new and effective relationships between the individual First Nations and the Cree Nation. We need new kinds of laws and regulations which reflect the reality of our increasingly dominant economic and political role in the region. To do this we will need to use our creativity to translate our traditional forms of political organization, social organization and values into a contemporary legal and political reality. This, in fact, is the objective of our current initiative in the Federal negotiations in which we are involved. We are hopeful that we will soon be able to make some important announcements in this regard in the near future.
The second pillar is laying the Economic Foundation for the Nation. Our task is to build our local community economies to ensure basic needs, prosperity and hope for the future. This was the objective and the achievement of the New Relationship Agreement with Quebec. There is a recognition that significant effort needs to be placed on training and education through our Cree Human Resources Dpartment and other institutions, to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities of the “paix des braves”.
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement together with the New Relationship Agreement have provided us with the recognition of our interest to the land and its natural resources, and now, the New Relationship Agreement will provide us with the financial resources to become major economic players in our traditional territory. We now have a recognition of our interest in any resource development which takes place on our traditional lands and this agreement will provide us with the financial tools to leverage this recognition into future benefits. The New Relationship Agreement represents a pivotal turning point in the historic direction of aboriginal policy and a turning point in the history of the Cree Nation.
After many years of doing battle with the Province of Quebec over our fundamental rights, Quebec finally came to understand the importance of our relationship to the land and our need to be involved in all matters related to the development of the resources within our lands. We have now entered a new relationship with Quebec based on mutual understanding and mutual respect.
Part of this new relationship has been that we have had our fundamental rights within our traditional territory finally acknowledged.
Our historic claim to the ownership of our traditional territory has had as its objective to be able to exercise a significant measure of control over development, and to also derive benefits from the resources within our lands. This “paix des braves”, this New Relationship Agreement between the Crees and Quebec, has provided us with a recognition of our claim and we are now ready—as we have always maintained—to participate as active players in the economy of the region.
This agreement represents a radical departure from history. Historically, our ability to be seriously involved in mainstream economic development was denied to us. The Crees, as other indigenous peoples in Canada, were systematically excluded from economic development through policy and practice. There was no acknowledgement of our social, cultural and economic ties with the land. And consequently there was no provision of the full range of tools necessary to allow for our serious involvement in the region’s economy.
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