Grand Council of the Crees

The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) or the GCCEI, is the political body that represents the approximately 18,000 Crees or “Eeyou” ("Eenou", Inland dialect) of the territory called Eeyou Istchee ("The People's Land") in the James Bay and Nunavik regions of Northern Quebec, Canada. 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 Grand Chief, Matthew Coon Come, and the Deputy-Grand Chief, Ashley Iserhoff, were elected in 2009. 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.

History

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 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 ECree leaders to represent their rights at 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.

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Grand Council

Grand Council may refer to:

Grand Council (Qing dynasty), an important policy-making body in the Qing Empire

Great Council of Venice, legislative body that existed from 1172 to 1797

Grand Conseil, two institutions during the Ancien Régime in France

Grand Council (Switzerland), a unicameral legislative style adopted by a number of cantons in Switzerland

Grand Council of Fascism, the main body of Mussolini's Fascist government in Italy

Grand Council of the Crees, the political body that represents the approximately 14,000 Crees of the James Bay and Nunavik regions

Grand Council (Mi'kmaq)

The Grand Council (also known as Santé Mawiómi) is the traditional senior level of government for the Mi'kmaq people, based in present-day Canada, until passage of the Indian Act in 1876, requiring elected governments. After the Indian Act, the Grand Council adopted a more spiritual function. The Grand Council was made up of representatives from the seven district councils in Mi'kma'ki. The Grand Council was composed of Keptinaq, or captains in English, who were the district chiefs. There were also Elders, the Putús, the women's council, and the Grand Chief.

The Putus recorded the Mi'kmaw Grand Council meetings through stories and the creation of wampum belts, a kind of visual history. They also dealt with the treaties with other Native tribes and non-native groups.

The hereditary chiefs of the traditional Grand Council continue to have a role, but the legal authority to govern has been largely transferred by the Indian Act to the elected Chiefs and Councils.

Grand Chief

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Grand_Council_(Mi'kmaq)

Grand Council (Switzerland)

The Grand Council (German: Grosse Rat, French: Grand Conseil, Italian: Gran Consiglio, Romansh: Cussegl grond) is a unicameral legislature style adopted by most Cantons of Switzerland.