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25-688: On November 10, 2020, the James Bay Road was renamed in honour of Billy Diamond , former Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees and chief Cree negotiator of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement . There is currently a proposal supported by the region's Cree communities to build a gravel extension some 250 kilometres (160 mi) farther north to the twin communities on the Great Whale River :

50-402: A full-service station at 381 kilometres (237 mi) from Matagami. The station, located at kilometre marker 381, is operational 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and is complete with a cafeteria and rudimentary lodging. Because of the remote nature of the road, there is a registration office along the side of the road for travellers to register. Located a few kilometers north of Matagami, it

75-681: A referendum within Eeyou Istchee on the question of whether the Crees should be authorized to separate from an independent Quebec , in order to remain part of Canada. Over 96% of participating voters chose to remain in Canada. Grand Chief Matthew Mukash is considered a traditionalist and fought against the Great Whale hydroelectric project in the 1990s, alongside the Grand Chiefs Matthew Coon Come and Billy Diamond . In 2002, he opposed

100-494: A traditional political structure. That political structure was organized to exploit the resources of Eeyou Istchee by their traditional way of life. The land of Eeyou Istchee was divided into smaller territories, each headed by a leader or "ucimâu", that were resource management units and a means of distributing the Eeyou people over a vast territory. So the Crees organized themselves at a council of Cree leaders to represent their rights at

125-517: A variety of academic topics. As a teenager, he attended high school in Sault Ste. Marie , Ontario, where he organized an Indian Students Council. Diamond returned to Waskaganish after high school, serving as the Band Manager during the 1960s. Although he personally hoped to attend law school, Diamond followed his father's wishes and successfully ran for Chief. He was elected in 1970 at 21 years old,

150-618: Is Norman A. Wapachee. The Grand Council's head office is located in the Cree community of Nemaska , with other offices and embassies in Montreal , Ottawa and Quebec City . The Grand 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, Eeyou Istchee was still governed by

175-503: Is considered the first "Modern Treaty" and provided the James Bay Cree and Inuit with $ 225 million in compensation, in addition to investment infrastructure. Diamond established Air Creebec in 1982, and served as its president. Since it connects coastal communities to larger urban centres such as Timmins, Val D'or, and Montreal, the airline fulfills Diamond's vision of allowing the people of James Bay greater mobility. To this day it

200-576: Is entirely Cree-owned. Billy Diamond and his wife Elizabeth had six children. Later in life, he became a devout Christian. Grand Council of the Crees The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) or the GCC(EI) (ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ in Cree ), is the political body that represents the approximately 18,000 Cree people (who call themselves "Eeyou" or "Eenou" in the various dialects of East Cree ) of

225-518: Is now a United Nations, with a Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a vast array of international human rights instruments that should protect us, a process has been set in motion that would forcibly remove the Crees from Canada, and incorporate us and our lands in this new state. A few days prior to the October 30, 1995, province-wide referendum on secession from Canada, the Grand Council facilitated

250-400: Is paved for most of the way). The Trans-Taiga Road (French: Route Transtaïga ) was built and reached Caniapiscau in 1979. The 406 kilometres (252 mi) long Route du Nord (North Road), which also is not a numbered route, connects from km 275 (measured from Matagami) southeast to near Chibougamau , Quebec . There are no services and development along the James Bay Road except for

275-511: Is staffed 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and also serves as a tourist office for the communities along or off the James Bay Road. As further safety provisions, there are six roadside emergency telephones, which connect with staff in the registration office. Billy Diamond Billy Diamond (May 19, 1949 – September 30, 2010 ) was the Chief of the Waskaganish, Quebec Cree from 1970 to 1976,

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300-635: The Cree village of Whapmagoostui and the northern (primarily Inuit ) village of Kuujjuarapik , in the Nunavik region. The James Bay Road was conceived as an access road for the hydroelectric projects developed in the James Bay region in the 1970s and onwards. Construction began in 1971 and was completed in October 1974. Gravel branch routes have since been built from the highway, including four roads west to Cree villages on or near James Bay (the one to Chisasibi

325-479: The Eastmain River in Cree and Inuit territory, which he coined the "project of the century". The project was planned without consulting Cree and Inuit stakeholders, and would have flooded traditional Cree and Inuit hunting grounds. Diamond organized a meeting of James Bay Crees to discuss the urgency of this project, wherein they decided to challenge the government legally. Initially, the court ruling in favour of

350-700: The Cree Nation. An accord signed between the Cree Nation and the Quebec government on July 24, 2012, called for the status and name of the Cree Regional Authority to be changed to the Cree Nation Government. The Cree Nation Government currently has 309 employees. Founded in 2011, the Eeyou Eenou Police Force (EEPF) operates under the administration of the Cree Nation Government and covers

375-470: The Crees and other Aboriginal Peoples of Canada", which stated, in part: Now in 1995, although we live in a modern and democratic state, protected by the Canadian Constitution with its Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our people and our territory may once again be transferred from sovereign to sovereign, this time from Canada to what may become the newly independent state of Québec. And although there

400-646: The Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees from 1974 to 1984, and a successful businessman who founded Air Creebec . Diamond was elected Chief of the Cree Nation of Waskaganish at the age of 21. On November 11, 1975, he signed The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement with the Canadian government. Using funds from the settlement, he created Air Creebec , Cree Construction Company Limited, and Cree Yamaha Motors. For his outstanding achievements, Billy Diamond

425-549: The Inuit and Cree case was overturned. However, Diamond and other Indigenous activists such as the Northern Quebec Inuit Association were able to secure an out-of-court settlement with Hydro Quebec now known as the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) in 1975. This agreement allowed an altered hydroelectric project to be built in exchange for solidified land rights and financial compensation. The JBNQA

450-563: The entirety of the Eeyou Istchee territory. It has regional detachments in nine of the Cree Communities in Quebec with the headquarters being in Chisasibi. The Grand Council of the Crees has been active in asserting the right of the Cree Nation to determine their own future, in the event that Quebec secedes from Canada. In October 1995, the Grand Council issued a "Message regarding the rights of

475-600: The name Cree Regional Authority (CRA) and serves as the administrative authority of the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee and provides programs and services to its communities. The CRA is responsible for environmental protection and is also the legal body representing the nation to provincial and federal administrations. While the CNG is a separate legal entity from the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee), they have identical membership, board of directors, governing structures and are de facto managed and operated as one organization by

500-721: The negotiations between the Cree Nation 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 Eeyou Nation that would result in the abolition of the municipality of Baie-James and the creation of a new regional government, the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government . The Cree Nation Government (Gouvernement de la nation crie, ᐄᓅᑎᐯᔨᐦᒋᒉᓲ, ᐄᔨᔫᑎᐯᔨᐦᒋᒉᓲ) formed in 1978 under

525-593: The shore of James Bay . He grew up in the Cree Nation of Waskaganish (then Rupert House) until being forced to attend Bishop Horden Hall, a residential school in Moose Factory , Ontario . Diamond recalled that his hair was cut for the first time in his life immediately upon arrival, and the clothes his mother gave him were confiscated. Additionally, the students were punished if they attempted to communicate to each other in Cree. Despite these circumstances, Diamond achieved leadership awards while becoming interested in

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550-616: The signing of the Agreement Respecting a New Relationship Between the Cree Nation and the Government of Quebec ( Paix des Braves ), a comprehensive 50 year political and economic agreement with the Government of Quebec, and as well as the 2002 and 2004 agreements with Hydro-Québec on the joint development of the hydroelectric resources of the Rupert River. Elected in late 2005 as Grand Chief, in replacement of Ted Moses, Matthew Mukash

575-564: The territory called Eeyou Istchee ("The People's Land") in the James Bay and Nunavik regions of Northern Quebec , in The Grand Council has twenty members: a Grand Chief and Deputy-Grand Chief elected at large by the Cree people, the Chiefs elected by each of the ten communities, and one other representative from each community. The newly elected Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty was elected on July 29, 2021. The newly elected Deputy Grand Chief

600-558: The youngest Chief in Canada at that time. He helped to establish the Grand Council of the Crees in 1974, of which he was elected Grand Chief at age 23. As such, he represented Quebec Crees in the Assembly of First Nations . Diamond also helped to negotiate Sections 25 and 35 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms from 1980 to 1983. In 1971, Premier Robert Bourassa announced that $ 6 billion hydroelectric dam would be built on

625-456: Was appointed as a Chevalier into the Ordre National du Quebec in 1987. On March 19, 1990, Diamond was a guest on 100 Huntley Street . Diamond died at the age of 61 from a heart attack. In accordance with his instructions, his tombstone reads: "Gone to a meeting - will return." Billy Diamond was born to Hilda and Malcolm Diamond on May 17, 1949, in a tent near Rupert House , Quebec, on

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