Afterword: Two World Views of Eeyou Family Hunting Territories

Abstract

The article looks at the origins and the importance for Quebec Eeyou hunters of the recognition of family hunting territories in the Paix des Braves. The testimonies of Eeyou hunters are a rare victory for Indigenous knowledge. In both the 1973 injunction brought by the Cree and Inuit against the Quebec government and the 1999 Mario Lord case, hunters' evidence resulted in favourable judgments for the Eeyou and for the recognition of family hunting territories. Even though both were overturned on appeal, I argue that these judgments led to two out-of court settlements, establishing and solidifying gains for Eeyou hunting and land management rights. These rights not only benefit each Eeyou First Nation collectively, but they also provide for the rights of certain individuals and families. Since the territories cover most of the traditional homeland, they represent renewed Indigenous land rights in lands over which Aboriginal title had previously been extinguished, and may represent a precedent for other Indigenous groups that also have family hunting territories.