Cree - The Cree in Canada, Cree beliefs, Cree facts, A brief timeline of the James Bay Cree

A North American Algonkin Indian group from the Canadian Subarctic region, originally hunters and fishermen. With guns acquired from French fur traders in the 17th-c, they began to expand: one group, the Plains Cree, moved W, adopting the culture of the Plains Indian; the Woodland Cree remained in forested areas, where they continued to hunt.

Cree
Cree camp near Vermilion, Alberta
Total population	over 200,000
Regions with significant populations	Canada, United States
Language	Cree, English, French
Religion
Related ethnic groups	Métis, Oji-Cree, Ojibwe

The Cree are an indigenous people of North America whose people range from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean in both Canada and the United States. 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;

Skilled buffalo hunters and horsemen, the Cree were allied to the Assiniboine of the Sioux before encountering English and French settlers in the sixteenth century.

The Cree in Canada

The Cree are the largest group of First Nations in Canada with over 200,000 members. 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 are a group of mixed Cree and primarily French Canadian heritage, although it is generally accepted in academic circles that the term Métis can be used to refer to any combination of Aboriginal and European lineage.

The Grand Council of the Crees in Quebec calls its homeland Eeyou Istchee (Cree for Land of the People).

Cree beliefs

The tribes of the Cree Nation, living in the Canadian forests and U.S. plains, venerated the spirits of the hunt.

Cree facts

(Source: Canadian Geographic)

Cree are the largest group of First Nations in Canada with over 200,000 members. Cree cover the largest geographic area of any First Nations group in Canada. The Quebec Cree Nation calls its homeland Eeyou Istchee, which means Land of the People, there are 9 communities in Eeyou Istchee. The Cree were friendly with English and French fur traders, which connected them to the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company.

A brief timeline of the James Bay Cree

(Source: Canadian Geographic)

1600s - As French explorers move westward in the early 17th century, they encounter the Swampy Cree, whom they call the ‘Cristinaux’, an Ojibwa word denoting a member of a band living south of James Bay. The James Bay Cree, fearing the project would flood lands traditionally used for hunting and trapping, lobby against the project. 1974 - The Grand Council of the Crees, representing the Cree villages of Northern Quebec, is created in order to better protect Cree rights during negotiations with the governments of Quebec and Canada. November 11, 1975 – The governments of Canada and Quebec and representatives from each of the Cree villages and the most of the Inuit villages sign the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. 1991 – Under the direction of Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, the Cree launch a very visible protest of the Grande-Baleine project in New York City. 1992 - Following agreements in 1989 and 1992 with the Governments of Canada and Quebec, a new Cree village, Oujé-Bougoumou, is created for the 600 Cree of the Chibougamau area. 2002 - The Cree and the Government of Quebec sign the landmark Agreement Concerning a New Relationship, also known as Paix des Braves. 2004 - The Cree and the Government of Quebec sign an agreement providing for the joint environmental assessment of the Rupert River Diversion.

Cree First Nations

Lubicon Lake Indian Nation Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation Opaskwayak Cree Nation Enoch Cree Nation Louis Bull Tribe First Nation Bigstone Cree Nation Beaver Lake Cree Nation Little Red River Cree Nation Kashechewan First Nation Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec (representing nine Cree villages)

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.