ABSTRACT
In 2015, Nemaska Lithium’s Whabouchi Project was the first lithium project in the Cree territory to receive provincial and federal environmental approvals. Based on the results of a doctoral research in public communication, this chapter consists of a case study of the Cree community of Nemaska and the Whabouchi Project. In collaboration with local organizations, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, direct observation, a focus group, and document analysis. We aimed to better understand how the perception of the mining project, the emotions it generated, and its impacts on social cohesion might influence a community’s capacity for deliberation. A typological analysis allowed us to situate the data collected within the broader historical, structural, and social context from which it emerged, and to identify two ideal types of relationships between mining companies and Indigenous communities: Forced union and control shift.
Within the forced union relationship, mining activities elicit emotions and relational dynamics related to the impacts of colonial policies (political and intergenerational conflicts) and are seen as a threat to the Cree way of life and culture. On the other hand, when they are part of a control-shift relationship, mining activities are perceived as an economic lever, strengthening the social cohesion and cultural vitality of the community, in particular by preventing the exodus of young people and generating income for the purchase of hunting and fishing equipment. This type of relationship can take the form of a strategic alliance and result in the signing of an impact and benefit agreement.
