By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation Following moving presentations at the Cree annual general assembly in August, momentum is building to finally establish a village for the Washaw Sibi community. As the long-displaced people secure Category 1A lands transferred from other Cree communities, construction may soon begin on a site near Matagami. Historically occupying lands south of Waskaganish – between La Sarre and the mouth of the Harricana River – Washaw Sibi members were divided between Hudson Bay posts on both sides of the Quebec-Ontario border when the Canadian government pushed them onto existing reserves in the 1960s. Many were forced to join the Algonquin reserve of Pikogan near Amos. While living under a different First Nation resulted in culture loss and incidents of racism over the…
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