The Impact of Economic Development in James Bay, Canada

Abstract

Although there has been a tremendous amount of past and future development in the James Bay region of northern Canada, there has been very little empirical research that examined the impact of economic development on Cree tallymen, who are the senior grassroots managers of this vulnerable ecosystem. This oversight is particularly important because the region is currently facing the possibility of additional large-scale hydroelectric development and there is no existing baseline information on past impacts on Cree tallymen. In addition, tallymen continue to have important cultural significance to the Cree Nation and also broader significance to the field of sustainable management. This article attempts to fill this gap by providing ethnographic research on the impact of past development on Cree tallymen from the perspectives of the tallymen themselves. The author also draws implications for environmental impact assessments in the region and, more broadly, for the future study of ecologically embedded managers such as the Cree tallymen.