Three Acts by the Cree Nation Gathering in Chisasibi (James Bay). Political Meeting, Heritage Site and Birth of a Museum
This article analyses a series of acts performed during the gathering of the Confederation of the Cree Nations of Canada that took place in August 2001 in Chisasibi (East James Bay). All these activities, enacted in the space of a few hours rather than several weeks, as in daily life, create a condensation of space-time and authenticity. In their quest for an identity that encompasses the hunting, fishing and material life of the subarctic Cree, without losing the dance, song and spiritual life of the Plains Cree, the two groups engage in a process of reciprocal admiration in which each represents for the other the ideal Indian.