A look back
This will be the 17th Christmas the Nation has shared with its readers. It still feels like only yesterday that we put out our first issue. That was on December 1, 1993. Our launch party in Montreal included fiddlers from Hughboy Records who were on The Best Cree Fiddlers of James Bay album. It wasn’t a typical Montreal launch party. I think we freaked out some passersby who joined in the party.
Our first interview with then and now Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come was the cover story of the issue. It was one of the most candid interviews on the record and set the tone for years to come. Even back then Coon Come talked about the restrictions and laws Ottawa had put on the Cree people. He had concerns on how the government made the decisions for us.
He questioned it then and said, “My belief is that we cannot just stand back and take it. We have to stand up and fight for what we believe in. We will no longer accept the plunder of our lands, the flooding of our lands.”
Certainly looking back you can see the roots of self-determination. Those roots have grown over the years and we have seen the results in the new agreement/relationship with the federal government. There is a timetable for Cree sovereignty and a lot of that work will be done during Coon Come’s second time in office.
Seventeen years ago, Coon Come said that Crees would have to fight to get what they want. He said issues weren’t just about how they would affect Crees but were instead a global issue affecting fundamental human rights.
He always acknowledged though the strength came from the Cree people. He said because we still lived on the land it made us strong.
Coon Come felt too much of the natural resources extracted from Eeyou Istchee weren’t benefitting the Cree. Today, to a certain extent, that has changed because of the steps that were taken by our leaders.
Another change that has happened is that annual reports by Cree entities, such as Creeco and Cree Construction, are now freely available to all Crees. Coon Come had complained that they weren’t reaching the people back then.
As you can see the intervening 17 years have seen many changes that have had great benefits for the Cree. We have more information in which to make decisions on what shape our future will take. We are participating in the development of Eeyou Istchee though regional and community businesses as well as Cree individuals who have started their own businesses. We have seen daycares, gyms, community centres and other social centres created to benefit Cree communities.
It isn’t all rosy as Crees will have to deal with such threats as the James Bay Municipality and their control over our territory, but we are in a much stronger position than we were 17 years ago to handle these challenges. Our record certainly shows we are capable of dealing with the issues facing the Cree Nation.
I hope you enjoyed this look back as much as I did.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our readers from all of us here at the Nation. May we spend many more together!