History
The Council was formed in 1974 in response to the James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict, which had already been underway since 1971. When the James Bay Project was first announced the Iyyu of Iyyu-Isci were still governed by a traditional political structure. That political structure was organized to exploit the resources of Iyyu-Isci by their traditional hunting, fishing and trapping way of life. Cree lands were divided into family harvesting territories, each headed by a hunting leader or "ucimâw", that were resource management units and a means of distributing the Cree people over a vast territory. So the Cree organized themselves at a council of Cree leaders to represent the Cree and their rights at the negotiations between the Iyyu and the Quebec and Canadian governments, which led to the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in November 1975.
On July 24, 2012, the Quebec government signed an accord with the Cree that would result in the abolition of the municipality of Baie-James and the creation of a new regional government Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory.
Read more about this topic: Grand Council Of The Crees
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