"The decision to build the James Bay Hydro-electric Project was announced in April, 1971, by Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa. Negotiations with the Inuit and Cree bands in the area resulted in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1975, the first aboriginal rights contract between any level of government and representatives of an aboriginal people. Works by anthropologists, writers, government departments, and native people have added immeasurably to our understanding of this important aspect of Canadian history, and this research guide is meant to provide scholars and the general public with a thematic overview of the literature"--Introduction, p. 4.