Cooptation and resistance in collaborative forest planning in Québec
Defined as collaborative processes that aim to bring together a wide range of stakeholders to develop a common vision for forest management, a series of local integrated land and resource management panels, known in French as Tables GIRT (“gestion intégrée des ressources et du territoire”) were established in Québec in 2010. This article explores the involvement of the Atikamekw Nehirowisiw in these tables. Unlike other studies that have tended to regard collaborative processes as an ideal “win-win” model, or as a strategy of co-optation of Aboriginal participation, this study proposes to examine both forms of resistance and cooptation in these collaborative processes. In addition, this paper demonstrates that Aboriginal participation in the Tables GIRT can be better understood by taking into account other processes in which First Nations are also involved.