Cree: Difference between revisions

Cree
	Cree camp near Vermilion, Alberta
Regions with significant populations
	Canada, United States
Languages
	Cree, English, French
Related ethnic groups
	Métis, Oji-Cree, Ojibwe

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Revision as of 21:08, 13 September 2007

The Cree are an indigenous people of North America who occupy an area from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean in both Canada and the United States. They now constitute the largest group of First Nations people in Canada and are referred to as Native Americans in the United States. The Cree language is an Algonquian language and was once the most widely spoken in northern North America. Currently, however, not all Crees speak Cree fluently and English is more commonly used in Cree communities in the United States, Western Canada and Ontario. In Quebec, however, almost all Crees speak fluent Cree; English and French are nevertheless used in the work place, public administration, and for external relations.

Skilled buffalo hunters and horsemen, the Cree were allied to the Assiniboine of the Sioux before encountering English 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 Chippewa.

In Canada

There ARe Mainly 5 girls who will rule the world. COURTNEY, JAMIE, Karsen, ALANA, and Ashley we will rule. George Bush should DEFINANly. be assased ehh.. fucker

The Cree are the largest group of First Nations in Canada, with over 200,000 members and 135 registered bands.^[1] This large number may be due to the Cree's traditional openness to inter- </gallery>tribal marriage. Together, their reserve lands are the largest of any First Nations group in the country.^[1] 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 were traditionally the mixed offspring of Cree (or Ojibwa) and French Canadian (or English or Scottish) heritage. According to the Canadian Government's Indian and Northern Affairs, the Metis were historically the offspring of French fur traders and Prairie Cree women or, from unions of English or Scottish traders and Northern Dene women. 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 with Non-Native heritage. Although, historical definitions for Metis remain. Some Anglo-Metis are also of Cree descent. Canada's Indian and Northern Affairs specifically but broadly define Metis to be those persons of mixed First Nation and European ancestry.

The Grand Council of the Crees in Quebec calls its homeland Eeyou Istchee (Cree for 'Land of the People'). Its current leader is Grand Chief Matthew Mukash, formerly Deputy Grand Chief under Ted Moses and more recently CEO of the Whapmagoostui Eeyou Enterprise Development Corporation in Quebec’s northern-most Cree community.

The Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN) is a political group of Cree, Ojibwe and Oji-Cree descendants based in northern Ontario. Its territory encompasses two thirds of the northern half of the province. It comprises 50 First Nation communities, further represented by regional Tribal Councils denoting each territorial area of Cree, Ojibwe and Oji-Cree peoples. The word nishnawbe means 'people' in all these related languages. Similarly, aski means 'land' in all the languages and is similar to the Quebec Cree word 'istchee'. Cree and Ojibwe are Algonquian languages that share many similarities and are separated by subtle differences in dialects from region to region.

Beliefs

The tribes of the Cree Nation, living in the Canadian forests and US plains, venerated the spirits of the hunt. The Earth Spirit was the mother of all animals, and there was also a less-defined Sky being. Religion emphasized a close relationship with the tribes' ancestors or "old people", believed to be always near at hand. Tribal shamans frequently entered trances to visit the land of the dead. Nature was seen as an integrated whole, so that animals spoke and told tales, and legends of the winds and of the four directions were common. Close contact with European traders and white settlers, coupled with the adoption of agriculture, greatly altered the mythology of these tribes.

Cree First Nations

Cree Prophecy

The so called Cree Prophecy: "Only after the last tree has been cut down / Only after the last river has been poisoned / Only after the last fish has been caught / Then will you find that money cannot be eaten" seems to be a shortened version of the Legend of Rainbow Warriors, that is sometimes reported as a Hopi prophecy, sometimes as a prophecy of an old Cree woman. The complete version of this prophecy speaks about trees, rivers, and fish, but not about money:

There was an old lady, from the "Cree" tribe, named "Eyes of Fire", who prophesied that one day, because of the white mans' or Yo-ne-gis' greed, there would come a time, when the fish would die in the streams, the birds would fall from the air, the waters would be blackened, and the trees would no longer be, mankind as we would know it would all but cease to exist. There would come a time when the "keepers of the legend, stories, culture rituals, and myths, and all the Ancient Tribal Customs" would be needed to restore us to health. They would be mankinds’ key to survival, they were the "Warriors of the Rainbow". (Lelanie Stone)

Instead, it speaks about an army of "Rainbow Warriors" that will appear to save the world, which is probably correlated with recent studies of zygosity. Thus, the sense of the prophecy differs from the wide-spread shortened version.

In Germany the Cree Prophecy is often mixed up with the famous speech of Chief Seattle in 1854. The Smith version of this speech closes with a prophecy that resembles the legend of Rainbow Warriors.

Notable Cree

Buffy Sainte-Marie, singer
Gordon Tootoosis, actor
Jonathan Cheechoo, ice hockey player
Cree Summer, singer/actress

See: Cree people

References

^ ^a ^b Source: [[Canadian <gallery> Geographic]]

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
Dammed river from Canadian Geographic
Grant, Bruce (2000). The Concise Encyclopedia of the American Indian. New York: Wings Books. ISBN 0-517-69310-0.
CBC Digital Archives - James Bay Project and the Cree
Fisher River Cree Nation Offical Website
The Gift of Language and Culture website

[cangeo-1] Source: [[Canadian <gallery> Geographic]]

[1]

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 == In Canada ==
+There ARe Mainly 5 girls who will rule the world. COURTNEY, JAMIE, Karsen, ALANA, and Ashley
+we will rule. George Bush should DEFINANly. be assased ehh.. fucker
 [[Image:Edward S. Curtis Collection People 095.jpg|thumb|Cree 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 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
+<gallery>
+Geographic]]</ref>  This large number may be due to the Cree's traditional openness to inter-
+</gallery>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]] were traditionally the mixed offspring of Cree (or Ojibwa) and [[French Canadian]] (or English or Scottish) heritage. According to the Canadian Government's Indian and Northern Affairs, the [[Metis]] were historically the offspring of French fur traders and Prairie Cree women or, from unions of English or Scottish traders and Northern Dene women. 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 with Non-Native heritage. Although, historical definitions for [[Metis]] remain. Some [[Anglo-Metis]] are also of Cree descent. Canada's Indian and Northern Affairs specifically but broadly define [[Metis]] to be those persons of mixed First Nation and European ancestry.