Eeyou Istchee in the context of "Plains Cree people"

The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) or the GCC(EI) (ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ in Cree), is the political body that represents the approximately 20,000 Cree people (who call themselves "Eeyou" or "Eenou" in the various dialects of East Cree) of the territory called Eeyou Istchee ("The People's Land") in the James Bay and Nunavik regions of Northern Quebec. 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 Norman A. Wapachee assumed the role and responsibilities of Grand chief on March 31, 2025. With the current position of Deputy Grand Chief being vacant until Election are held which election date set for July 22, 2025. Later during the week of March 24th, Mandy Gull-Masty during a Board Council Meeting, she was asked by Chief Irene Neeposh of the Cree First Nation Of Waswanipi to reconsider her Nomination for the Candidacy of Liberal Candidate for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou. And in a resolution passed Mandy Gull-Masty resigned on March 31st, 2025 beginning her campaign as a Liberal Candidate for the region. 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 Cree are a North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations macro-communities. There are numerous Cree peoples and several nations closely related to the Cree, these being the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Rocky Cree, Swampy Cree, Moose Cree, and East Cree with the Atikamekw, Innu, and Naskapi being closely related. Also closely related to the Cree are the Oji-Cree and Métis, both nations of mixed heritage, the former with Ojibweg (Chippewa) and the latter with European fur traders. Cree homelands account for a majority of eastern and central Canada, from Eeyou Istchee in the east in what is now Quebec to northern Ontario, much of the Canadian Prairies, and up into British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Although a majority of Cree live in Canada, there are small communities in the United States, living mostly in Montana where they share Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation with the Ojibwe people.

The Cree are in a variety of treaty relations with the Canadian state. Most notable are the Numbered Treaties which cover a majority of Cree homelands. In Quebec, the East Cree (along with the Inuit of Nunavik) entered into one of the first modern treaties: the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement which formalized relations between the province and both Eeyou Istchee and the Nunavik region of Inuit Nunangat. A documented westward migration, over time, has been strongly associated with their roles as traders and hunters in the North American fur trade.

CBC North (Inuktitut: ᓰᐲᓰ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ, romanized: SiiPiiSii Ukiuqtaqtumi, lit. 'CBC Northwest'; Cree: ᓰᐲᓰ ᒌᐌᑎᓅᑖᐦᒡ, romanized: SiiPiiSii Chiiwetinuutaahch; French: ICI Grand Nord) is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio and television service for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon of Northern Canada as well as Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik in the Nord-du-Québec region of Quebec.

Oujé-Bougoumou (French pronunciation: [uʒe buɡumu]; Cree: ᐆᒉᐳᑯᒨ / Ûcêpukumû) is a Cree community, located on the shores of Opémisca Lake, in Eeyou Istchee, a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality, in Quebec, Canada. It has a population of 795 people (as of 2022).

Oujé-Bougoumou (referred to as "Oujé" by local residents) is accessible by a 25 km (16 mi) paved road (gravel before 2008), linking to Route 113 not far from Chapais. Along with the neighbouring towns of Chibougamau and Chapais, Oujé-Bougoumou is served by the Chibougamau/Chapais airport located approximately 42 km (26 mi) away on Route 113.

Chisasibi (Cree: ᒋᓵᓰᐲ, romanized: Cisâsîpî; meaning Great River) is a village and Cree reserved land (TC) on the eastern shore of James Bay, in Eeyou Istchee, an equivalent territory (ET) in Nord-du-Québec, Canada. It is situated on the south shore of La Grande River (the Grand River), less than 10 km (6.2 mi) from the river's mouth. Chisasibi is one of nine Cree villages in the region, and is a member of the Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec.

The territory surrounding Chisasibi is part of the municipality Eeyou Istchee James Bay, of which parts are jointly managed by the municipalities of the Jamésie TE and the Cree Regional Authority of the Eeyou Istchee TE.