Cree

All you want to know about Cree

For other uses, see Cree (disambiguation).
Cree
Nahathaway
Nehiyaw camp near Vermilion, Alberta
Total population

over 200,000
Regions with significant populations
Canada, United States
Languages
Cree, English, French
Related ethnic groups
Métis, Oji-Cree, Ojibwe

Not to be confused with the 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.[1] Both groups share a common ancestry but are now divided mainly along linguistic lines. Those residing west of the Ontario border (except for the Rocky Cree sub-group of the Swampy Cree, and 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, "Nehilaw". The second group includes the Rocky Cree and all the groups east of James Bay, who tend to use the term for man "Iliniw".[citation needed]

Both major groups speak mutually-intelligible languages of the Algonquin language family, generically also referred to as "Cree".[2] "It is not so much a language, as a chain of dialects, where speakers from one community can very easily understand their neighbours, but a Plains Cree speaker from Alberta would find a Québec Cree speaker difficult to speak to without practice."[3] 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.

By definition, the exonym "Cree" is not Cree; it was French slang[4], and has become part of the English language. Crees generally referred to themselves collectively as Nahathaway[5] (those who speak our language); they called themselves "Cree" only when speaking English or French.[6]

Skilled buffalo hunters and horsemen, the Plains Cree were allied to the Assiniboine and the Sioux before encountering English, Scottish (especially 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 Chippewa.

Contents

In Canada

Nehiyaw Girl (1928).
Nehiyaw Girl (1928).

The Cree are the largest group of First Nations in Canada, with over 200,000 members and 135 registered bands.[7] 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.[7] 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 (from French Métis - any person of mixed ancestry) are people of mixed ancestry such as Nehiyaw (or Anishinaabe) and French, English, or 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

A Nehiyaw woman (right)
A Nehiyaw woman (right)

Notable Cree

Mähsette Kuiuab, chief of the Cree indians
Mähsette Kuiuab, chief of the Cree indians

See: Cree people

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

References

  1. ^ David H. Pentland, "Synonymy" in "West Main Cree", in Handbook of North American Indians, June Helm, ed., Smithsonian Institution 1981, Washington, D.C., v. 6, p. 227.
  2. ^ The western group of languages includes Swampy Cree, Woods Cree and Plains Cree, and the eastern language is called Moose Cree; see "Languages of Canada", Ethnologue Languages of the World, http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=canada, accessed 21 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Cree", http://www.languagegeek.com/algon/cree/nehiyawewin.html, accessed 21 September 2008.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "[T]heir native name", see David Thompson: Travels in Western North America 1784-1812.
  6. ^ David Pentland, "Synonymy" in Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 6, June Helm, ed., Smithsonian Institution, Washington (1981), 227.
  7. ^ a b Source: Canadian Geographic
  8. ^ Pimicikamak does not use the "Cree" exonym or the English label "First Nation".

Sacred Legends of the Sandy Lake Cree. James R. Stevens, McClelland and Stewart Ltd, 1971

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cree"

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