Wemindji, Quebec

Last updated April 28, 2019

Coordinates: 53°0′N78°48′W / 53.000°N 78.800°W / 53.000; -78.800

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Wemindji (Cree : ᐐᒥᓂᒌ/Wîminicî) is a small Cree community on the east coast of James Bay at the mouth of the Maquatua River in Quebec, Canada. Its legal name is the Cree Nation of Wemindji. Wemindji is apart of the Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou district which is presented by NDP [Romeo Saganash] .The community has a population of approximately 1400 people. 1600 are affiliated to the Cree Nation of Wemindji, around 200 do not reside on the territory of Wemindji.

Cree language Algonquian language spoken by people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Labrador, making it the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada

Cree is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to Labrador. If classified as one language, it is the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. The only region where Cree has any official status is in the Northwest Territories, alongside eight other aboriginal languages. There, Cree is spoken mainly in Fort Smith and Hay River.

James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost part. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Islands within the bay are part of the Nunavut territory.

Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.

The Chief and Council is consistent of a Chief, Deputy Chief and 5 councillors. The chief and council are all elected by the beneficiaries of the Cree Nation of Wemindji. The current chief is Christina Gilpin, alongside Arden Visitor as Deputy Chief. The current councillors are Elmer Georgekish, Bradley A.J Georgekish, Paul John Murdoch, Stanley Shashweskum, Ernest Tomatuk.^[1]The Chief & Council get elected every four years, the current Chief & Council was elected in September 2017.

Wemindji is accessible by air (Wemindji Airport) and, since 1995, by car over a gravel road linking it to the James Bay Road. The nearest largest city is Montreal which is about 1,400 kilometres south of Wemindji.

Wemindji Airport,, is located near the town of Wemindji, Quebec, Canada.

The James Bay Road is a remote wilderness highway winding its way through the Canadian Shield in northwestern Quebec and reaches into the James Bay region. It starts in Matagami as an extension of Route 109 and ends at Radisson. The road is fully paved, well maintained, and plowed during the winter. It was originally constructed to carry loads of 300 tons, and has mostly gentle curves and hills with wide shoulders. The road is maintained by the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government. Connecting to other routes such as the Trans-Taiga Road and the Route du Nord, the highway draws tourists interested in reaching the remote wilderness surrounding James Bay, part of Hudson Bay.

Although Wemindji is a fairly small community about 3,266 hectares, it has variety of services a schools (an elementary and high school), clinic, wellness department, motels, bed and breakfast, mini mall (shopping centre), police station, two daycares, after school program (C.O.O.L.), tradition centres, sports facilities, fire station and more.

History

Wemindji is a fairly new community comprising Cree families originally living at the trading post in cree named “Paakumshumwashtikw”, in French Vieux-Comptoir River, known as Vieux-Comptoir or its English equivalent "Old Factory". This trading post was founded in the 17th century and was alternately under British or French control. In 1959 the community was relocated about 45 km north to its present location (where Wemindji is now).

Vieux-Comptoir or Old Factory was a small Cree community at the mouth of Vieux-Comptoir River off James Bay in Quebec, Canada. The community was established as a trading post in the 17th Century, but abandoned when the Cree were relocated to Wemindji, Quebec 45 kilometres (28 mi) to the north in 1959.

Wemindji (Cree for "red ochre mountain") gets its name from the red pigment found in the hills surrounding it. It has also been known in French as "Nouveau-Comptoir".

The Cree Nation of Wemindji is one of the 9 communities under the [James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement] signed on 1975 by the Cree, Inuit, Quebec Government and Federal Government. The crees went on an injunction to make an agreement on the project of Hydro development because the Quebec government and hydro development failed to recognized the cree rights to their land.^[2]

In 1975, The [James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement] between the Crown and the indigenous people in Canada was the first leading agreement since the numbered treaties of the 19th and early 20th centuries. From 1973 to 1975, this agreement was negotiated and on November 11, 1975, it was signed. As specified in the agreement, the Aboriginal people traded their rights and territorial interests for different rights and benefits. Special membership was insisted by the Aboriginal people to allow them to take charge in their local and regional government, The creation of their own health and school boards, measures for economic and community development, special regimes for police and justice and environmental protection.

The agreement allowed them to gain a technical definition of the La Grande Project which included limitations on water levels and a remedial works corporation for social, environmental damages, and relocation of the first dam. In the agreement, the land was divided into three categories. The first category of land is controlled mainly by the residents in and around the aboriginal communities. The second category known as crown land is used as hunting, fishing, and trapping territories shared between the Cree and Inuit. Lastly, the third category of land is used for traditional hunting and harvesting which was designated exclusively for Aboriginal people to use.^[3]

Culture and traditions

Cree have always identified themselves as "Iyiyuuch" which means "the people". The Cree have continued practising their traditions way of hunting, trapping and fishing. Parts of Wemindji's populations still lives off the land year round.^[4]

Languages

There are two mainly languages in Wemindji, which are Cree and English.^[5]

Education

The Cree School Board is a regional entity that presents all 9 cree communities. In Wemindji, Cree School Board operates the Maquatua Eeyou School (ᐧᒫᑯᐧᑖᐤ ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᑑᑭᒥᒄ)/ Joy Ottereyes Rainbow Memorial School. The Maquatua Eeyou School is a high school, and Joy Ottereyes Rainbow Memorial School is an elementary school. the high school and elementary school have an importance of Cree language. English is the second language within both of these institutions.^[6]

Health

The Cree Board of Health operates the clinic within the Cree Nation of Wemindji. The clinic provides services a variety of programs such as the awash (child) program, the uschinisuu (youth) program, chishayiuu (elder) program, Multi Service Day Centre (MSDC), Physiotherapy, Psycho-education, Nutritionist, Youth protection, Dental Services, Administration.^[7]

Cree First Nations Communities

Wemindji is one of the nine Cree First Nations Communities from The Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee. The Cree Nation live on the land of Eeyou Istchee, which means people’s land. The people call themselves “Eeyou”. Along with their eleven Cree Communities, there are over three hundred traditional family hunting and trapping grounds which they call “Traplines”. Each of the Cree First Nations Communities has their own different and individual history. Every community through their local government is administered independently, while Cree Nation issues are discussed by the elected chiefs on the board of directors of the Grand Council of Cree and the Council of the Cree Nation Government. ^[8]

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Cree Nation of Wemindji First Nation in Quebec, Canada

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Abel Bosum is a Cree leader and negotiator who is currently serving as Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees of Northern Quebec. He has worked for the Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec since 1977 in various capacities. From 1984 to 1998, Bosum served as the Chief of his home nation the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation. During his time as chief, he was able to negotiate a multimillion-dollar deal with the governments of Quebec and Canada to build a new village for the nation following the peoples' seventh forcible relocation due to mining and forestry activity in Northern Quebec. In 1998, he became the head negotiator of the Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec. Since 2015, Abel Bosum has also served as President of the Aanischaaukamikw Foundation and of the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural institute.

References

↑ Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada Retrieved on November, 10th 2018
↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bay_and_Northern_Quebec_Agreement James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement Retrieved on November, 10th 2018
↑ https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/james-bay-and-northern-quebec-agreement
↑ "Maquatua Eeyou School." Cree School Board. Retrieved on November, 10th 2018
↑ https://www.cscree.qc.ca/en/youth/wemindji Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay Retrieved on November, 10th 2018
↑ "Maquatua Eeyou School." Cree School Board. Retrieved on November, 10th 2018
↑ “” [Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay] .Retrieved on November 10th 2018.
↑ https://www.cngov.ca/community-culture/communities/

James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement Wiki
Cree School Board
Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay
Cree Nation of Wemindji Cree Nation of Wemindji website
Indigenous Northern Affairs Canada