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The James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict refers to the resistance by James Bay Cree to the James Bay Hydroelectric Project and the Quebec Government, beginning in 1971.
The Quebec government announced plans in 1971 for a hydroelectric project in the Baie-James region of northern Quebec. The James Bay Cree, fearing the project would flood lands traditionally used for hunting and trapping, lobbied against the project.
The Quebec Association of Indians, an ad hoc association of native northern Quebecers, won an injunction on 15 November 1973 blocking the construction of the hydroelectric project until the province has negotiated an agreement with the First Nations. Although the judgement was overruled by the Quebec Court of Appeal seven days later, the judgement confirmed Quebec's legal obligation to negotiate a treaty covering the territory, even as construction proceeded.
The Grand Council of the Crees, representing the Cree villages of Northern Quebec, was created in 1974 to better protect Cree rights during negotiations with the governments of Quebec and Canada.
The governments of Canada and Quebec and representatives from each of the Cree villages and the most of the Inuit villages signed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement on November 11, 1975.
The new village of Chisasibi, on the southern shore of La Grande River, replaced the Fort George settlement on an island at the mouth of the river in 1981.
The construction of first phase of the James Bay Project was completed in 1986. In 1986 the Quebec government announced plans for the Grande-Baleine hydroelectric project involving the creation of three power plants and the flooding of about 1,700 square kilometres of land (3% of the Grande-Baleine watershed) upstream from the Whapmagoostui village.
In 1991, under the direction of Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, the Cree launched a very visible protest of the Grande-Baleine project in New York City.
Following agreements in 1989 and 1992 with the Governments of Canada and Quebec, a new Cree village, Oujé-Bougoumou, was created in 1992 for the 600 Cree of the Chibougamau area.
The Quebec government canceled the Grande-Baleine hydroelectric Project in 1994.
The Cree and the Government of Quebec signed the landmark Agreement Concerning a New Relationship, also known as Paix des Braves, in 2002. Far more than an economic deal, this was seen as a "nation to nation" agreement. The agreement paved the way for the construction of a final element of the original James Bay Project, the Eastmain-1 power station. The Cree and the Government of Quebec signed an agreement in 2004 providing for the joint environmental assessment of the Rupert River Diversion. The Rupert River Diversion was approved in 2007 and construction began.