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Learn more about "Cree"
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Cree
Not to be confused with the Creek people|Creek.
Cree is an exonym applied to various people indigenous to North America, namely the Nehiyaw, Nehithaw, Nehilaw, Nehinaw, Ininiw, Ililiw, Iynu, and Iyyu. These peoples can be divided into two major groups, those that identify themselves using a derivative of their historical appellation Nehilâw and those identifying themselves using the word "person", historically Iliniw. Both groups share a common ancestry but are now divided mainly along linguistic lines. Those residing west of the Ontario border (except for one group residing in Quebec mistakenly called Attikamek but who self-identify as Nehiraw) all the way to the Rocky Mountains tend to refer to themselves using the first name, historically "Nehilaw". The second group includes all the groups east of James Bay use the historical term for man "Iliniw" are were mistakenly called Montagnais and Naskapi as well as Cree.
Both major groups speak languages of the Algonquin language family. There is a major division between both groups however, in that the Eastern group palatalizes the sound /k/ when it precedes front vowels. There is also a major difference in grammatical vocabulary (particles) between the groups. Within both groups however, there is variation around the pronunciation of the Proto-Algonquian phoneme *l, which can be realized as /l/, /r/, /y/, /n/, or /th/ by different groups.
The rest of the article will focus on the western group, the group usually referred to when the exonym 'Cree' is used. By definition, the exonym "Cree" is not Cree; it was French slang[David Thompson recorded "The French Canadians...call them 'Krees', a name which none of the Indians can pronounce...", "Life with the Nahathaways" in ''David Thompson: Travels in Western North America 1784-1812'', Victor G. Hopwood, ed., Macmillan of Canada, Toronto (1971), p. 109.], and has become part of the English language. Crees generally referred to themselves as Nahathaway["Their native name", see ''David Thompson: Travels in Western North America 1784-1812''.] (those who speak our language) or Ininiwi (real people); they called themselves "Cree" only when speaking English or French.[David Pentland, "Synonymy" in Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 6, June Helm, ed., Smithsonian Institution, Washington (1981), 227.]
Skilled American bison|buffalo hunters and horsemen, the Cree were allied to the Assiniboine and the Sioux before encountering English, Scottish (especially Orkney|Orcadian) and French settlers in the 16th century.
Presently, the remaining Cree in the United States live on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation which is shared with the Ojibwa|Chippewa.
In Canada
The Cree are the largest group of First Nations in Canada, with over 200,000 members and 135 registered bands.[Source: Canadian Geographic] This large number may be due to the Cree's traditional openness to inter-tribal marriage. Together, their reserve lands are the largest of any First Nations group in the country.Cree First Nations
- Barren Lands First Nation
- Beaver Lake Cree Nation
- Bigstone Cree Nation
- Big River First Nation
- Bunibonibee Cree Nation
- Chapleau Cree First Nation
- Enoch Cree Nation
- Fisher River Cree Nation
- James Smith First Nation
- Kashechewan First Nation
- Lac La Ronge First Nation
- Little Pine First Nation
- Little Red River Cree Nation
- Louis Bull Tribe First Nation
- Lubicon Lake Indian Nation
- Misipawistik Cree Nation
- Attawapiskat, Ontario|Mushkego James Bay Cree
- Muskoday First Nation
- Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation
- Norway House Cree Nation
- One Arrow First Nation
- Opaskwayak Cree Nation
- Paul Band First Nation
- Pimicikamak[Pimicikamak does not use the "Cree" exonym or the English label "First Nation".]
- Saddle Lake Cree First Nation
- Sapotaweyak Cree Nation
- Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
- Sturgeon Lake First Nation
- Sweetgrass First Nation
- Thunderchild First Nation
- Canoe Lake First Nation
Notable Cree
- Irene Bedard, actress
- Jonathan Cheechoo, NHL hockey player
- Michael Greyeyes, actor
- Autumn Petros-Good, scientist
- Buffy Sainte-Marie, singer
- Cree Summer, singer/actress
- Gordon Tootoosis, actor
- Shania Twain, singer/songwriter born to a father of Cree background, adopted by Ojibwa stepfather as a baby.
- Janice Acoose, Canadian author, Sakimay (Saulteaux) and Ninankawe Marival Metis ancestry
- Lorne Cardinal, Canadian actor
See: :Category:Cree people|Cree people
See also
- James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict
- Métis
- Michif
- Cree language
- Cree syllabics
- Politics of Saskatchewan
- Iynu
- Okichitaw
References
Sacred Legends of the Sandy Lake Cree. James R. Stevens, McClelland and Stewart Ltd, 1971
External links
- Cree cultural site
- Grand Council of the Crees (GCC) website
- The Plains Cree - Ethnographic, Historical and Comparative Study by David Mandelbaum
- Lac La Ronge Band website
- Little Red River Cree Nation website
- Brief history of Cree from Canadian Geographic
*
- CBC Digital Archives - James Bay Project and the Cree
- Fisher River Cree Nation Official Website
- The Gift of Language and Culture website
- Cree language Wikipedia
- CBC Digital Archives – Eeyou Istchee: Land of the Cree
Category:Cree|
Related Images- Nehiyaw Girl (1928).
- A Nehiyaw woman (right)
- Mähsette Kuiuab, chief of the Cree indians
Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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