Grand Council of the Crees

Grand Council of the Crees (GCCEI)
Eeyou Istchee ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ

Flag of Eeyou Istchee
Country	CAN
Province	Quebec
Nation	Eeyou Istchee
Website	gcc.ca
Offices
Head	Nemaska (ᓀᒥᔅᑳᐤ)
Additional	Montréal Ottawa Québec City
Grand Council
Grand Chief	Dr Mathew Coon Come
Deputy Grand Chief	Mr Rodney Mark (Wemindji)
Chiefs	List Mrs Pauline T. Hester (Washaw Sibi) Mr Edward Gilpin (Eastmain) Mr Reggie Neeposh (Ouje-Bougoumou) Mr Davey Bobbish (Chisasibi) Mr Matthew Wapachee (Nemaska) Mr Gordon Blackned (Waskaganish) Mr Paul Gull (Waswanipi) Mr Richard Shecapio (Mistissini) Mr Stanley George (Whapmagoostui)
Representatives	List Mr Thomas Shem (Chisasibi) Mr Jimmy R. Trapper (Washaw Sibi) Mr Elijah Sandy (Whapmagoostui) Mr Danny Tomatuk (Wemindji) Mr Gordon Blueboy (Waskaganish) Mr Gaston Cooper (Ouje-Bougoumou) Mr Josie Jimiken (Nemaska) Mr. John Longchap (Mistissini) Mr. Kenneth Gilpin (Eastmain) Mr Marcel Happyjack (Waswanipi)

The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) or the GCCEI (ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ in Cree), is the political body that represents the approximately 18,000 Crees or “Eeyou” ("Eenou", Inland dialect) of the territory called Eeyou Istchee ("The People's Land") in the James Bay and Nunavik regions of Northern Quebec, Canada. The Grand Council has twenty members: a Grand Chief and Deputy-Grand Chief elected at large by the Cree people, the Chiefs elected by each of the ten communities, and one other representative from each community.

The current Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come was elected in 2009. The current Deputy Grand Chief is Rodney Mark. The Grand Council’s head office is located in the Cree community of Nemaska, with other offices and embassies in Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City.

The Grand Council was formed in 1974 in response to the James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict, which had already been underway since 1971. When the James Bay Project was first announced, Eeyou Istchee was still governed by a traditional political structure. That political structure was organized to exploit the resources of Eeyou Istchee by their traditional way of life. The land of Eeyou Istchee was divided into smaller territories, each headed by a leader or "ucimâu", that were resource management units and a means of distributing the Eeyou people over a vast territory. So the Crees organized themselves at a council of ECree leaders to represent their rights at the negotiations between the Cree Nation and the Quebec and Canadian governments, which led to the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in November 1975.

On July 24, 2012, the Quebec government signed an accord with the Eeyou Nation that would result in the abolition of the municipality of Baie-James and the creation of a new regional government Eeyou Istchee/Baie-James Territory.