Yes, please accept my gift in memory of Grand Chief Billy Diamond
Grand Chief Billy Diamond, politician, businessman (born on 17 May 1949 in Rupert House [now Cree Nation of Waskaganish], QC; died on 30 September 2010 in Waskaganish, QC). A leading figure in Indigenous politics of the James Bay region of Quebec, he was a prime mover and signator of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. He was also a chairman of the James Bay Cree school board and president of Air Creebec.
Billy Diamond was born and raised in the Cree Nation of Waskaganish (formerly Rupert House) in Quebec. He grew up hunting and trapping with his family along the Nottaway River. When he was seven years old, Diamond was sent to residential school in Moose Factory, Ontario. There, he was forced to cut his hair and speak English instead of Cree. Diamond described his experiences at that residential school as destructive to “my foundation years and my identity and my sense of belonging.”
Diamond was later sent to live at Shingwauk Residential School and then attended a public high school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario where students were boarded out in private homes. It was at high school that he honed his leadership and public-speaking skills. Along with several other First Nations students, Diamond created the Indian Student Association and was elected to the associations Executive Committee. He also became the school’s newsletter editor.
In the 1960s, Billy Diamond became band manager of Waskaganish, and chief of the Cree nation from 1970-76. He was founding member and grand chief of the Grand Council of the Cree of Quebec (1974-84) and was also chairman of the Cree Regional Authority (established 1975), which administers the implementation of the agreement in relation to land, economic development and social services.
From 1980-83, Diamond was involved in Canadian Constitutional negotiations, and successfully fought for the inclusion of sections 25 and 35, which enshrine Indigenous rights.
