Blueboy, JonathanIbrahim, Zainub2024-04-262024-04-26https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/49520<p>Jonathan Blueboy is a Cree member of the community of Waskaganish and is currently a student at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario under the Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management Program.</p> <p>Zainub Ibrahim is a professor at Algonquin College’s School of Business and Hospitality, in Canada’s national capital city of Ottawa. Her research interests surround the topic of tourism planning and how tourism is negotiated in the spaces it occupies.</p>The Cree community of Waskaganish is an Indigenous community situated on the James Bay in Northern Quebec. Waskaganish is in an early stage of tourism development and currently encounters a relatively limited number of visitors who participate in a variety of informal activities including traditional cultural Cree activities including fishing, hunting, and trapping. Current legislation restricts cultural practices such as fishing and hunting to members of the Cree Nation. However, locals informally involve visitors in these activities, which while illegal, is unenforceable. A recent Cree Nation Governance Agreement was passed in 2017 enabling the Cree Nation government to pass laws and regulations that supersede federal or provincial laws in designated category 1A lands. The Cree Nation now has the opportunity to consider modifying these regulations to allow for formal tourism opportunities which could benefit the local economy and protect and showcase local culture and environment. This study explores the preparedness and potential for legal changes that support formalized tourism in Waskaganish.event