Division within the Cree nation, created by a recent dam project in northern Canada, has grown into a major obstacle for the cultural revival efforts of this former nomadic tribe. The dam project is part of the government's hydroelectric expansion plan. It seeks to increase the capacity of the La Grande River project which was approved amid huge controversy almost 30 years ago and now provides half of all Quebec's electricity.
The new extension, approved in a late-February referendum by the majority of the Cree nation, constitutes an attractive though controversial deal. The Cree nation will receive $2.2.billion in Quebec funds over the next 50 years, by way of compensation for allowing the new scheme to proceed. In addition, 8,000 construction jobs will be created. Nevertheless, several claims filed by the Cree against the government still remain in the courts, but they are expected to drop these in the event that an agreement is reached between the Quebec government and the Cree nation.
According to one source, since 1971 members of the Cree nation have suffered from continuing assimilation pressures at the hands of the Canadian government. It was that year when the Quebec provincial government announced the development of the river systems draining into James Bay for producing hydroelectric power. The projects have since brought about significant damage to the landscape and the disruption of traditional life. Nevertheless, the Cree are still connected very closely to their ancestral lands. Hunting for moose, caribou, geese and other wildlife continue to comprise a significant part of their daily routines. There are hundreds of members of the Algonquian-speaking Cree living in the affected area, which is four to eight hundred miles north of Montreal.
The approval of the project, with commencement planned in 2004-2005, will inundate the hunting area in which many families have subsisted unopposed for hundreds of years. This threat has caused many among the Cree to feel that their leaders have not done enough to ensure preservation of traditional ways of life.
