The Crees of Northern Québec

Ethnographic Portraits

On April 30th, 1971, the Québec Provincial Government announced that Hydro-Québec, a Crown Corporation, would develop the river systems draining into James Bay, Canada, for hydroelectric power. Since that time the landscape has undergone a significant change including the diversion and daming of major rivers and the formation of huge reservoirs. This geographical alteration has also transformed the life of the indigenous Crees - an Algonqian-speaking people who moved into the region long before the arrival of Europeans. Today, controversies continue to rage over the need for increased hydroelectric power versus energy conservation as well as protracted contestations over Native rights, mercury pollution, loss of wildlife habitat, and other forms of cultural and environmental disruption.

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