April 22, 2011

Together We Stand Firm

New film documents James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement

“It was always about the land"

By Sarah Rogers
When Billy Diamond returned home from the spring goose hunt in April 1971, his wife told him to turn on the radio.

The report he listened to said Quebec planned to build a multi-billion-dollar hydroelectric project, which would dam the rivers flowing into James Bay, from Eastmain to the south to the Great Whale river in the north.
And:“Together We Stand Firm” tells about the Cree and Inuit efforts to halt the plan, which are still relevant today, when more hydroelectric projects are expected flow from Quebec’s Plan Nord scheme.

The 90-minute film follows the rocky negotiations which led to the 1975 signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, mostly from a Cree perspective.
Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.

No comments: