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| | The Cree communities had very little contact with the outside world in the early 1970s. Few supplies were procured from outside, and the only “strangers” in the villages were Hudson’s Bay Company employees, members of religious communities and teachers or medical professionals.
The rapid spread of the telephone, radio and television starting in the 1970s opened the Cree communities to the outside world. An expanding road network and air connections had a similar effect.
Today, Crees travel frequently to urban centres in the south (Chibougamau, Vald’Or, Rouyn-Noranda, Montréal, Ottawa, etc.) for a variety of reasons such as business, shopping, recreation, healthcare and studies. For the communities of Chisasibi and, to a lesser extent, of Wemindji, Radisson is also a centre for services due to its proximity. However, the fact that Crees can buy alcohol there and play video poker is a source of concern for the communities.
By the same token, Cree communities are receiving a growing number of visitors, particularly tourists, semi-skilled workers, delivery people, travelling salespersons and preachers. Many more strangers than in the past are staying, usually short-term, to work in educational, social and health services or for the local or regional governments.
The camps that housed workers during completion of Phases I and II of the La Grande complex had a limited effect on exchanges between the Cree communities and the outside world. The workcamps closest to Cree villages were at Nemiscau, some 20 km from Nemaska, and at the La Grande-1 jobsite, more than 25 km from Chisasibi. Access to the workcamps was restricted to workers and other authorized people, so most of the Crees who went there were working on the project.
The Cree communities now have more constant relations with governmental bodies and public or private promoters from “the south.” The Crees are becoming more interested in promoting tourism, economic partnerships and cultural exchanges. However, they point to higher numbers of non-Native hunters to explain the rise in theft and vandalism in hunting camps. They also bring up the influence of the way of life of “southerners” to explain the breakdown of social ties, the rise of alcoholism and drug abuse, and the increase in obesity and diabetes. | |
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