Editing Naskapi (section)

====James Bay Agreement====
A pivotal event in the history of the Naskapi occurred in early 1975, when, after separate visits to [[Schefferville]] by [[Billy Diamond]], Grand Chief, [[Grand Council of the Crees]] (of Quebec) ("GCCQ"), and [[Charlie Watt]], President, [[Northern Quebec Inuit Association]] ("NQIA"), the Naskapi decided to become involved in the negotiations leading to the signature of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement ("JBNQA").

The Naskapi entered into a contract with the NQIA, under which the latter was to provide logistical support, legal advice, and representation to a small team of Naskapi negotiators based in [[Montreal]]. That arrangement was not very successful (how?), however, and the JBNQA was signed on 11 November 1975, without the Naskapi.

Shortly before the signing of the JBNQA, realizing that the demands on the Inuit were too great to allow them to represent the interests of the Naskapi in addition to their own interests, the Naskapi negotiators retained their own non-Native advisors and started to function as an independent negotiating body.

The signatories of the JBNQA were fully aware that it provided for the extinguishment of the Naskapi' Aboriginal rights in the Territory without granting them any compensatory rights or benefits. They also knew that the Naskapi, unlike certain others of Quebec's First Nations at that time, were willing to negotiate a settlement of their Aboriginal claims.

Thus, although the Naskapi had never filed a formal statement of claim or similar document, except for a draft history prepared by the late Alan Cooke, the parties to the JBNQA accepted the legitimacy of their claims, and they entered into an agreement-in-principle with the Naskapi in the Spring of 1977 to negotiate an agreement that would have the same principal features as the JBNQA. The result of the negotiations was the [[Northeastern Quebec Agreement]] ("NEQA"), which was executed on 31 January 1978.

Section 20 of the NEQA offered the Naskapi the possibility of relocating from the Matimekosh Reserve to a new site.