Wrestling with Colonialism on Steroids Quebec Inuit Fight for Their Homeland

For decades, the Inuit of northern Québec were among the most neglected people in Canada. It took The Battle of James Bay, 1971-1975, for the governments in Québec City and Ottawa to wake up to the disgrace. In this concise, lively account, Zebedee Nungak relates the inside story of how the young Inuit and Cree “Davids” took action when Québec began construction on the giant James Bay hydro project. They fought in court and at the negotiation table for an accord that effectively became Canada’s first land-claims agreement. Nungak’s account is accompanied by his essays on Nunavik history. Together they provide a fascinating insight into a virtually unknown chapter of Canadian history.

Zebedee Nungak is a writer and broadcaster, an outspoken defender of the Inuktitut language and a leading figure in the building of Nunavik. He helped negotiate, and is a signatory to, the 1975 James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. He later held several leadership positions in Nunavik, and was Co-Chairperson of the Inuit Committee on National Issues during the Aboriginal Constitutional conferences, 1984-87. He lives in Kangirsuk with his wife and their seven children. Tagak Curley was the founding President of Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC). He held several Cabinet posts in the North-West Territories and Nunavut. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and of Nunavut, and received an Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.