Cree
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2008-07-17T02:01:42Z
69.196.137.129
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{{Infobox Ethnic group
|group=Cree
|image=[[Image:CreeCamp1871.jpg|200 px]]
|caption=Nehiyaw camp near [[Vermilion, Alberta]]
|poptime=over 200,000
|popplace=[[Canada]], [[United States]]
|rels=
|languages=[[Cree language|Cree]], [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]]
|related=[[Métis]], [[Oji-Cree]], [[Ojibwe]]
}}
''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]].{{Fact|date=March 2008}} 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. {{Fact|date=March 2008}}
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 misnomer 'Cree' is used.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
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 ==
[[Image:Edward S. Curtis Collection People 095.jpg|thumb|Nehiyaw Girl (1928).]]
The Cree are the largest group of [[First Nations]] in Canada, with over 200,000 members and 135 registered bands.<ref name ="cangeo">[http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/ND05/indepth/justthefacts.asp Source:] [[Canadian Geographic]]</ref> 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.<ref name ="cangeo"/> The largest Cree band and the second largest First Nations Band in Canada after the [[Six Nations]] [[Iroquois]] is the [[Lac La Ronge Band]] in northern [[Saskatchewan]].
The [[Métis people (Canada)|Métis]] (from French Métis - any person of mixed ancestry.) are people of mixed ancestry such as Nehiyaw (or Anishinabe) and [[French people|French]], [[English people|English]], or [[Scottish people|Scottish]] heritage. According to the Canadian Government's Indian and Northern Affairs, the [[Metis]] were historically the children of French fur traders and Nehiyaw women or, from unions of English or Scottish traders and Northern [[Dene]] women ([[Anglo-Métis]]). It is now generally accepted though in academic circles that the term [[Métis]] can be used to refer to any combination of persons of mixed Native American and European heritage. Although, historical definitions for [[Metis]] remain. Canada's Indian and Northern Affairs specifically but broadly define [[Metis]] to be those persons of mixed First Nation and European ancestry.
==Cree First Nations==
[[Image:Woman of the Snake tribe and woman of the Cree tribe 0066v.jpg|thumb|A Nehiyaw woman (right)]]
*[[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]]
*[[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]]
*[[Saddle Lake Cree First Nation]]
*[[Sapotaweyak Cree Nation]]
*[[Sturgeon Lake First Nation]]
*[[Sweetgrass First Nation]]
*[[Thunderchild First Nation]]
*[[Canoe Lake First Nation]]
==Notable Cree==
[[Image:Mähsette Kuiuab Chief of the Cree indians 0022v.jpg|thumb|Mähsette Kuiuab, chief of the Cree indians]]
*[[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
See: [[:Category:Cree people|Cree people]]
== See also ==
{{Commons|Category:Cree|Cree}}
* [[James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict]]
* [[Métis]]
* [[Michif]]
* [[Cree language]]
* [[Cree syllabics]]
* [[Politics of Saskatchewan]]
* [[Iynu]]
* [[Okichitaw]]
==References==
<references />
Sacred Legends of the Sandy Lake Cree. James R. Stevens, McClelland and Stewart Ltd, 1971
==External links==
*[http://www.creeculture.ca/e/index.html Cree cultural site]
*[http://www.gcc.ca/ Grand Council of the Crees (GCC) website]
*[http://www.schoolnet.ca/ABORIGINAL/Plains_Cree The Plains Cree - Ethnographic, Historical and Comparative Study by David Mandelbaum]
*[http://www.llrib.ca/home.php Lac La Ronge Band website]
*[http://lrrcn.ab.ca/ Little Red River Cree Nation website]
*[http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/nd05/indepth/history.asp Brief history of Cree] from [[Canadian Geographic]]
*{{cite book | author=Grant, Bruce | title=The Concise Encyclopedia of the American Indian | location=New York | publisher=Wings Books | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-517-69310-0}}
*[http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-69-94/life_society/james_bay/ CBC Digital Archives - James Bay Project and the Cree]
*[http://www.fisherriver.com/ Fisher River Cree Nation Official Website]
*[http://www.giftoflanguageandculture.ca/ The Gift of Language and Culture website]
*[http://cr.wikipedia.org/ Cree language Wikipedia]
*[http://archives.cbc.ca/society/native_issues/topics/2473/ CBC Digital Archives – Eeyou Istchee: Land of the Cree]
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