Ted Moses, (born 1950) is a
Cree politician from
Eastmain
Eastmain ( ; cr, ᐄᔅᒣᐃᓐ/Îsmein) is a Cree community located on east coast of James Bay at the mouth of the Eastmain River, Quebec, Canada. It is a small coastal Cree village with a population of 924 people in the 2021 Canadian Censu ...
, a small remote village in northern
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada. He is a former Grand Chief of the
Grand Council of the Crees.
In addition, Mr. Moses is a recipient of the title of "Officer" of the
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...
.
Profile
Moses was born in
Eastmain
Eastmain ( ; cr, ᐄᔅᒣᐃᓐ/Îsmein) is a Cree community located on east coast of James Bay at the mouth of the Eastmain River, Quebec, Canada. It is a small coastal Cree village with a population of 924 people in the 2021 Canadian Censu ...
, in the
James Bay
James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost pa ...
region of Quebec. After studying at
Ryerson University
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Tor ...
in Toronto and
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
in Montreal in school administration, he was Chief and Mayor of the village of Eastmain from 1987 to 1990. He was elected Grand Chief of the Crees in 1984. Moses is active on the international stage, speaking at numerous events about
aboriginals and
tolerance. He is the recipient of two honorary Doctorates of Law
http://www.beesum-communications.com/nation/archive/12-16/moses.html]
Achievements
UN recognition
Moses was instrumental in obtaining formal recognition for the James Bay Crees as a Non-Governmental Organization in consultative status to the United Nations. He currently serves as the
Ambassador (diplomacy), Ambassador of the Council at the UN.
La Paix des Braves
Another important achievement is the signing of the "
Paix des Braves" (French for "Peace of the Brave"). Along with
Premier Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry (; March 9, 1937 – November 6, 2018) was a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Quebec from 2001 to 2003. A member of the Parti Québécois (PQ), he led the party from 2001 to 2005, also serving as the leader o ...
(of the
independentist Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
, or PQ) and the government of Quebec, Moses and the Council developed this agreement. Far more than an economic deal, it was a "nation to nation" (the Cree and Quebec nations)
declaration of peace after long, bitter legal disputes between Cree leaders and the
Government of Quebec. The payments from the Quebec Government pays for Quebec obligations contained in the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. These obligations were transferred from the Quebec Government to the Cree Government. The Cree Government decides what the priorities are.
The Paix des Braves brought great controversy, but also many economic and social benefits to the Crees. The Cree communities voted in community referendums to accept the Paix des Braves. The approval was over 65%, with a majority voter turnout. The Paix des Braves now provides 77 million dollars per year to the Cree Communities from the Quebec Government. These payments indexed by electricity, mineral, and forestry sales from the Cree traditional territory will last for another 45 years. These payments from the Quebec Government will be replaced with payments from a Cree Heritage fund set up by the Cree by investing 15% of the present payments from the Quebec Government.
This was and still is widely seen as a symbolic show of mutual respect and recognition of the national status and right to
self-determination of each people. It was put into concrete action when Ted Moses surprised many by supporting the re-election of Landry's Parti Québécois in the
2003 Quebec election after years of oppositional attitudes of the Cree people towards Quebec sovereignty. He declared:
:"I support Bernard Landry... my friend and my brother... and I will recommend to my people to support the actual Member of Parliament of Ungava, Michel Létourneau."
(Ungava is the electoral riding of the Cree of Quebec.) Moses and the PQ leader have indeed become close: Landry invited Moses to his wedding on 26 June 2004.
During the campaign for the
2004 federal election, Moses also stated that he was counting on the
Bloc Québécois, the PQ's brother party in at the federal level of Canadian politics, to defend aboriginal rights at the federal leve
http://www.ottertooth.com/Reports/Rupert/News/rupert-surrender.htm#ma25] Moses did not formally support the BQ, saying that it "did not need it" because of its considerable lead in polls. Furthermore, he declared in a speech in Europe that Quebec and the ''Paix des Braves'' were examples to follow for the world regarding relations with aboriginal peoples.
After La Paix
In 2005, Moses was defeated in his bid for Grand Chief of the Crees of Eeyou Istchee by a wide margin, taking 31.9% of the vot
He was again defeated in the second round of voting, this time taking 43.3% of the vot
References
External links
Council of the Crees website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moses, Ted
1950 births
Living people
Indigenous leaders in Quebec
Officers of the National Order of Quebec
Cree people
People from Eeyou Istchee (territory)