Leadership or Complacency

The 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement was made possible with the hard work and conviction of a collective group of Indigenous leaders. The agreement is fundamental in getting the Quebec government to recognize the specific rights of the Cree and Inuit Peoples. We just need to look at the world around us to see that the rights people have fought so hard for can easily be taken away. This presentation will be a message to the current and future Indigenous leaders to do what Konrad Sioui encourages - “to not be complacent and to be mindful that these agreements should not be taken for granted.” This event will be held in French.

About Konrad Sioui

Konrad Sioui is a hereditary chief of the Bear Clan of the Huron-Wendat Nation, Grand Chief of the Council of his Nation, and has been elected three consecutive times as Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador. During that time, he represented the region on the Executive Council and acted on numerous occasions as Grand Chief under the leadership of George Erasmus. He was also the official and national spokesperson on constitutional reform issues between 1984 and 1994. In 1991, he won a landmark, unanimous decision at the Supreme Court of Canada against Quebec and Canada known as the Sioui Decision. This ruling acknowledged that treaties between the Crown and First Nations are international agreements entered into by sovereign nations. Konrad is a dedicated humanitarian and diplomat and is a respected and skilled negotiator. He pursues a simple and traditional lifestyle with his wife, Linda Rock of the Innu Nation, and his four children on the Huron Reserve at Wendake, Quebec.