Caring for Eeyou Istchee: Protected Area Creation on Wemindji Cree Territory, Paperback

How do Indigenous communities in Canada balance the development needs of a growing population with cultural commitments and responsibilities as stewards of their lands and waters? Caring for Eeyou Istchee recounts the extraordinary experience of the James Bay Cree community of Wemindji, Quebec, who partnered with a multidisciplinary research team to protect territory of great cultural significance in ways that respect community values and circumstances. This volume tackles fundamental questions, such as: What is "environmental protection"? What should be protected? What factors inform community goals? How does the natural and cultural history of an area inform protected area design? How can the authority and autonomy of Indigenous institutions of land and sea stewardship--and the knowledge integral to them--be respected and reinforced? In answering these questions, Indigenous and non-Indigenous contributors present a comprehensive account of one of the world's most dynamic coastal environments. More particularly, they demonstrate how protected area creation is a powerful process for supporting Indigenous environmental stewardship, and cultural heritage.

About author(s):Monica E. Mulrennan is a geographer and associate vice-president of research at Concordia University. Colin H. Scott is an anthropologist at McGill University. He directs the Centre for Indigenous Conservation and Development Alternatives and the Indigenous Stewardship of Environment and Alternative Development research program. Katherine Scott is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University and a heritage research coordinator in the Cree Nation of Wemindji's Department of Culture and Wellness.