Cree

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Cree (disambiguation) .

Cree, photographed 1903

The Cree (English, also Kri , French Les Cris, m pl / Les Cries, f pl ) are an indigenous people of the Indians of North America . Their tribal area extends from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean across parts of the United States and Canada . They refer to themselves as Ayisiniwok and Aha payew - 'true people' or in the sense of 'the people' as Iniwak , Iyiniwok , Eenou , Iynu or Eeyou . Later, many groups also referred to themselves as Wi Iniwak or Wiyiniwak , which means something like 'people of mixed origin'.

Their language, the Cree , belongs to the Algonquin language group ; related to her is the Michif der Métis . Today, the Cree are by far the largest group among the First Nations . Their 135 nationally recognized tribes comprise around 200,000 people. No other indigenous people in North America has such a large distribution area.

history

Cree camp south of Vermilion, Alberta, September 1871

Wife of Cree, Edward Curtis , 1928

The Cree probably spread westward from the James Bay region, i.e. the southern end of Hudson Bay, before 1500 . In the 16th century there are traces of a clayware known as Clearwater Punctuate in Saskatchewan . In Alberta there are two Cree groups, the Plains Cree , who lived in the plains or prairies, the grasslands, and the Woodland Cree , who lived in the wooded areas, and accordingly they were culturally very different. The former lived mainly from hunting buffalo , the latter from fish (white fish), the former gained huge trailing areas, the latter were comparatively stationary and migrated within a relatively narrow spatial framework, depending on the distribution of their resources, which they needed to live, in annual repetitions Cycles.

First trade contacts with Europeans, fur trade and alliance with the Assiniboine

The first Europeans who came into contact with the Swampy Cree (in Cree : Maski-ki Wi Iniwak - 'People of the Wetlands ') south of James Bay referred to them as Kristineaux' or ambiguously as' Kristinue ' , both names are phonetic approximations both to the Ojibwa word 'kristanowak' ('people in the north') and to their self-designation as' kenistenoag 'or' kinistenog '(derived from Ka Nistaw Inew -' people who are related to each other 'or' people who marry each other '). From this developed Kree or Cri and finally Cree . On his trip to the northwest in 1789, Alexander MacKenzie wrote his first report on the 'Kinisteneaus' living there. During his winter at Red Deer Lake ('Lac La Biche'), David Thompson traded with the Nahathaway . The self-name of the Cree living in the Plains is nêhiyawak . In 1780–1781, however, the region was hit by the first smallpox epidemic , which killed perhaps half of the Cree. In 1838 an equally violent epidemic followed, so that the number of western Cree probably fell by five sixths, if not more.

Even before the first contact with the whites, the Assiniboine , who lived in the boreal forest and lake areas between Rainy Lake , Lake of the Woods , and southern Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg , had left the Wazikute ('Shooters Among the Pines'). the Upper Yanktonai split off - hence the Europeans called them Northern Nakoda to distinguish them from the Dakota ('Southern Nakoda') living south of Minnesota . These southeastern Assiniboine groups lived from fishing, hunting birds and game, growing crops and growing wild rice . After the French and English had set up the first trading posts in the Great Lakes region and along the Hudson Bay at the beginning of the 17th century , these groups of the Assiniboine were the first to develop into indispensable players in the Odawa trading network ( Adawe - 'Merchants') and French of the Western Great Lakes. With the French eager to expand the fur trade with the Assiniboine, Daniel Greysolon Dulhut set up a trading post on Lake Nipigon in 1678 .

However, Swampy Cree and Woodland Cree, who lived north of the Assiniboine along the southern Hudson Bay and James Bay , had earlier contact with European traders and their products (hardware, weapons, ammunition, pearls). Especially when the Hudson's Bay Company established the York Factory trading post in the middle of the Cree area in 1670 , the Cree had a direct military advantage over their neighboring tribes - the Assiniboine living in the south were also to find out. Already surrounded by enemies in the east, the Ojibwa, and the Dakota in the south, the Assiniboine decided to ask for peace and allied themselves with the Cree. As a result, both tribes often lived together and entered into mixed marriages in large numbers - with the Cree groups mostly trying to settle in the immediate vicinity of the trading posts and the Assiniboins continuing their semi-nomadic way of life. The Assiniboine and Cree (at the beginning of the 18th century the west and south-westerly drawn Ojibwa Plains joined) formed a strong military alliance known as the Cree Confederation or Iron Confederacy - they themselves referred to their alliance as Nehiyaw-Pwat (on Cree : Nehiyaw - 'Cree' and Pwat or Pwat-sak - 'Sioux (enemies)'). As early as the 17th century, European traders and travelers reported that the Assiniboine use Cree as a second language and that many Cree groups themselves spoke Assiniboine.

Middleman in the fur trade and expansion into the plains

This alliance enabled the allied tribes from 1680 to establish an extensive canoe trading system along Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River , Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, Winnipeg River and Lake Winnipeg northeast to the York Factory on Hudson Bay. Many Cree groups settled in the vicinity of the trading posts in order to get the goods that were important to them (iron goods, dishes, weapons and flour) and then to do the intermediate trade with the tribes in the west ( Blackfoot , Gros Ventre , Sarcee) ), in the north ( Chipewyan , Dogrib ) and in the south ( Hidatsa , Mandan ) as possible. So they traded with the Indians away from the forts for furs , which they could offer the Europeans, especially the Hudson's Bay and the North West Company . The fur trade would never have existed without the Cree and Assiniboine, who were in control of the only transport routes, the rivers and lakes used in so-called fur trading canoes . At the same time, better weapons equipment allowed them to expand west and north - militarily against the Chipewyan (in Cree : Wetcipwayi Wiyiniwuk , Cīpwayān - 'People wearing Pointed Skins') in the north and the Dakota in the south (1670-1700). For the Sioux (Dakota, Nakota, Lakota) the Assiniboine no longer belonged to the Oceti Sakowin ('The Fire of the Seven Tribes', 'The Seven Ratsfeuer') - they were now enemies who were considered high ('rebels') .

Many Cree now left the Hudson Bay area (from around 1740), where the fur trading company had set up a first trading post on Lac Waswanipi . In doing so, they followed the courses of the Red River , Saskatchewan River (in Cree : Kisi Skaciwani Sipi , kisiskāciwani-sīpiy - 'Big, fast flowing river'), Assiniboine and Qu'Appelle River and allied themselves with the Blackfoot (in Cree : Ayachi- w Ini-w , Ayachiw Iniwak , Ayahtci Iniwuk - 'Strange People' - 'Strange People', i.e. 'enemies', often also Earchithinue ) and Sarcee (in Cree : Sasi-wak ). With them they formed a trade and military alliance in the fight against the Northern and Eastern Shoshone (in Cree : Kinepik Iyiniwak - 'Snake People' - 'Serpent People'), Arapaho (in Cree : Assaso Iyiniwak - 'Tattoo People' - 'Tattooed People ') and Sioux (in Cree : Pwatuk or Pwat-sak -' enemies ') as well as the Iron Confederacy or Cree Confederation with the Plains Ojibwa (in Cree : Naka Wi Iniwak , Maxka Wiyiniwuk -' Mixed People '-' Mixed race people 'or called Soto ), the Assiniboine (in Cree : Asini Pwat-sak -' Those Sioux who cook on stones') and Stoney .

The Assiniboine and Cree thus established a monopoly in trade between the Plains tribes further west (Blackfoot, Sarcee, Gros Ventre, Absarokee, etc.) and Plateau tribes ( Flathead , Kutenai , Sekani , Secwepemc ), the Missouri River tribes ( Mandan , Hidatsa and Arikaree ) in the south and the tribes in the north (Chipewyan, Daneẕaa , Slavey , Yellowknife , Dogrib ). They offered the tribes English and French goods (especially rifles, ammunition, metal goods, knives, awls, axes, tomahawks, kettles, tobacco and alcohol) at increased prices (the profit margins were enormous) in exchange for field crops, the highly valued leather and feather work the mandan, painted bison robes, tanned suede hides decorated with furs and feathers, and painted feathers. From 1740 onwards they exchanged more and more horses for European trade goods with the Blackfoot , Absarokee and Gros Ventre , the largest horse traders in the region at the time. The Assiniboine and Cree now traded these goods for their part, along with the beaver pelts , mink pelts , lynx skins , otter skins and muskrat skins they had collected during the year .

The Assiniboine and Cree (now often referred to as Western Cree or Plains Cree ) moved further west and north to the north and west in search of new hunting grounds to supply European dealers with fur and to avoid the Dakota, which was also equipped with French weapons from 1720 Plains and into the woods. Since the Blackfoot and Gros Ventre needed rifles and ammunition in their fight against the horse-rich and powerful Shoshone along South Saskatchewan, they were dependent on the Cree and Assiniboine, who were the only ones with direct access to the trading posts of the French and English, and established it Peaceful coexistence in the plains and parklands until the end of the 18th century.

The Southern Assiniboine (or 'Plains Assiniboine'), Plains Cree and Plains Ojibwa slowly developed from Northeastern Woodland Indians, who used to travel by canoe and on foot, to Plains Indians (only the Southern Assiniboine really closed) as they advanced west and south-west the Plains peoples are to be expected, as the Cree and Ojibwa continued to settle mostly near the trading posts of the English, French and Americans and only went to the Plains to hunt). Although the new tribal areas of the Northwestern Plains and Aspen Parklands were less rich in small game ( beavers , muskrats ), fish and birds than the forests and lakes in the east, the tribes offered significantly more large game ( antelopes , elk , white-tailed deer , mule deer ) and especially bison as a food source.

Between 1730 and 1740 the first French traders reached the villages of the Mandan and Hidatsa and began to trade directly with them, which the Cree and theirs (reinforced after the construction of Fort Souris and Brandon House at the confluence of the Souris River with the Assiniboine River) Allies questioned their position as middlemen on the Plains. The Mandan and Hidatsa exchanged wolf and fox skins , beaver pelts, bison skins , meat, corn, dogs and Indian women prisoners of war (often contemptuously called squaws ) for rifles, ammunition, powder, tobacco, axes, knives, awls, chisels and so-called luxury items such as cheap pearls and glass balls. Dogs were useful as transport animals, especially in winter in the adjacent northern forests and Rocky Mountains, and they were also cheaper to keep than horses. From then on, the Assiniboine and Cree raids on the Mandan and Hidatsa increased in order to get hold of horses and rob women - as well as to disrupt and thwart trade with the Europeans as much as possible.

The French merchants or voyageurs and rangers (French: Coureurs des bois ) bought the young Indian women and married them, with their Indian women often acting as advocates and translators in contact with their tribes and neighboring tribes. From these connections different groups of the Métis formed (in addition to French , English and Scottish origin) and soon formed independent indigenous ethnic groups , who from around 1800 played an important role in the fur trade and in particular in supplying the forts and trading posts with food as well as pemmican , as well as their military security against hostile Indian tribes. Important personalities as well as many famous chief families ( Cayen dit Boudreau , Piche , Cardinal , George Sutherland , Belanger ) of the Nehiyaw-Pwat were culturally Indians, but ethnically Métis.

Collapse of the alliance with the Blackfoot and competition on the plains

The Blackfoot Confederation's dependence on the Nehiyaw-Pwat ended when, with the end of the Seven Years' War in North America (1754–1763) of the last French and Indian War , the Franco-Canadian North West Company and Anglo-Canadian Hudson's Bay Company began trading posts westward along the Red River Valley, the Assiniboine River and the Saskatchewan River. In 1774 Cumberland House was built on the Lower Saskatchewan River, in 1777 Hudson's House and in 1795 Edmonton House (in Cree : Amiskwāciwakahikan - 'Beaver Hills House') on the North Saskatchewan River and in 1799 Rocky Mountain House and Acton House at the confluence of the Clearwater River and North Saskatchewan River - these new posts were either on the eastern edge or in the middle of the Blackfoot and Gros Ventre territory.

The Cree and Assiniboine thus lost their position as middlemen between the Blackfoot Confederation and the trading posts. The Blackfoot and their allies were no longer dependent on giving them horses, furs and bison meat in exchange for the white goods that were expensive through the middleman. The process of alienation was also accelerated as the Cree and Assiniboine's traditional source for horses, the Hidatsa and Mandan (in Cree : K'ôtasiskîwikamikôwak , Kotasiakikamikowuk - 'Mud House People' - 'people who live in mud houses') in the Missouri River Valley severely decimated by smallpox and cholera epidemics and were no longer able to supply horses in sufficient quantities. In addition, the Blackfoot (equipped with Cree and Assiniboine rifles), together with the Plains Cree and Plains Assiniboine, which migrated further west, had the Shoshone and Arapaho from the area of ​​the South Saskatchewan River (in Cree : Wawaskesiw Sipi - 'Elk River' - ' Wapiti River ') successfully driven south to Wyoming and Idaho from the Northwestern Plains.

The smallpox epidemic from 1780 to 1781 also weakened the Nehiyaw-Pwat very much - entire groups of the Southern Assiniboine were wiped out and had to be reorganized and stabilized. The Plains Cree (of which it is estimated that perhaps half succumbed to the epidemic) together with the Plains Ojibwa were able to restore the balance of power that was threatened by the destruction of large parts of the southern groups of the Plains Assiniboins - but the Assiniboins, whose population has partially decreased recovered, could never restore their old position of power. However, the smallpox epidemic had made it clear to European traders that, in view of the current weakness of the Nehiyaw Pwat , they had to establish direct contact with the plains and plateau tribes further west (and to win the Blackfoot Confederation as a partner for this) .

But due to the increased trade contacts, there were repeated serious epidemics among the tribes, which often caused the fur trade to collapse for years . In 1835, a flu epidemic that broke out along the Athabasca and Peace Rivers was at least as catastrophic, killing many Wood Stoney , Woodland Assiniboine and Woodland Cree in the north. In 1838 an equally violent epidemic followed, so that the number of Plains Cree probably fell by five sixths, if not more. According to estimates, around 1780 there were between 6,000 and 10,000 Assiniboine, between 1836 and 1839 around 4,000 tribesmen (between half and two thirds) died of smallpox.

As more and more Cree and Assiniboine groups moved westward to the Plains (the abandoned areas in the east settled the Plains Ojibwa, allied with them ) and the common enemy, the Shoshone and Arapaho, a long period of intense competition began around 1800, which was frequent escalated militarily. In addition to the fur trade, this was due to the fact that after around 1730 both groups had adjusted their way of life to the horse, which they used as riding, hunting and transport animal and thus the sufficient supply of horses became a question of existence around the middle of the century. Therefore, the Cree made contact with the Flathead (in Cree : Napakstigweu , Napakictigwanuk ) and allied themselves with the Absarokee (English called Crow , in Cree : Kahkakiuwatciyinuk ) in today's Montana , who initially obtained horses from Spaniards, but also captured and feral horses soon bred themselves. But since these two tribes were already bitter enemies of the Blackfoot, the Cree-Assiniboine-Blackfoot alliance broke up and bitter fighting broke out. Horse theft in this phase was not only a test of courage, but often a desperate contribution to survival, as many ethnic groups competed for the hunt in the grasslands. Already at the beginning of the 18th century the Cree, mediated by the Mountain Stoney , had with the Secwepemc (English Shuswap , in Cree : Siwap Wi Iniwak - 'Sweet People' - 'lovely, friendly people') and Kutenai (in Cree : Kutuna -hew ) made peace and incorporated them into the large network of the Cree Confederation (or Nehiyaw-Pwat). The horse-rich Gros Ventre (in Cree : Pawistiko Iyiniwak - 'Rapids People' - 'People on the Rapids', also known as Niya Wati Inew , Naywattamee - 'They Live in Holes People') , who are allied with the Blackfoot, were particularly strong under the robbery - and campaigns by the Cree and Assiniboine because they had their residential areas along the Saskatchewan River Forks (the confluence of the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers) and were the first to withstand the gun-armed attacks. In retaliation for supplying their enemies with weapons, the Gros Ventre attacked and burned the Hudson's Bay Company's branch in South Branch House on the South Saskatchewan River near present-day St. Louis in 1793 . The tribe then moved south to the Milk River in Montana and allied themselves with the Blackfoot, who also dodged to the south-west. The area between the North Saskatchewan River and Battle River (the name derives from the war between the two groups) became the border of the now warring tribal alliances.

Between 1790 and 1850, the Cree (Plains Cree and Woodland Cree) and their allies, the Assiniboine , Stoney , Plains Ojibwa (also known as Saulteaux ) and Métis, were at the height of their power - they successfully managed their territories against the Sioux ( Lakota , Nakota and Dakota ) and the Blackfoot Confederation (Siksika, Piegan, Kainai, Inuk`sik, Gros Ventre, Sarcee ) claim. Here they penetrated further and further into the territory of the Blackfoot Confederation, so that the Piegan were forced to avoid the region of the Missouri River (in Cree : Pikano Sipi - 'Muddy River' - 'Muddy, cloudy river'), the Kainai ( in Cree : Miko-Ew - 'those stained with blood', ie the 'bloodthirsty, cruel', hence often referred to as Blood in English ) retreated to the Bow River and Belly River , only the Siksika could their areas along the Defending Red Deer River . Around 1870 the alliance with the Blackfoot broke up and the Gros Ventre had to seek protection from their former enemy, the southern Assiniboine.

Cree Confederation (Nehiyaw-Pwat)

The Plains Cree, together with the Assiniboine and Stoney , the Plains Ojibwa (often referred to as Saulteaux , hence called by the Cree Soto ), the Nehiyaw Pwat or Cree Confederation . With the expansion of the Cree to the north, west and south-west, they integrated larger groups of Iroquois , Chipewyan , Daneẕaa ( Dunneza - 'The real (prototypical) people'), Kutenai, Flathead and later Gros Ventre into their local bands . Loosely allied with this tribal confederation were neighboring tribes ( Kutenai and Secwepemc ) or Indian trading partners ( Nez Percé , Flathead ), but they were politically independent.

The various Cree, Assiniboine, Stoney and Ojibwa groups of the Nehiyaw-Pwat often married with one another or formed alliances that were strengthened by family ties - so that almost every group of the Iron Confederacy was of mixed ethnicity and linguistic origin. Many groups were only nominally (in name) Cree ('Nehiyaw'), Nakoda ('Pwat-sak' - 'Assiniboine' - 'Stoney') or Plains Ojibwa ('Soto'), as they were often ethnic and politically indistinguishable from each other.

The Wadopahnatonwan of the Assiniboine were identified by the Americans in Fort Union on the Upper Missouri as Nakoda (pronounced Assiniboine), at the same time in Fort Edmonton, Canada (formerly 'Edmonton House') as Cree and later southern splinter groups as Chippewa (pronounced 'Ojibwa') designated. In addition, several groups of the Assiniboine later identified themselves as Cree and adopted the Cree language as their mother tongue. B. the groups later called Calling River / Qu'Appelle Cree ( Kitopwe Sipi Wi Iniwak ). The Sahiyaiyeskabi ('Cree speakers') of the Assiniboine, better known as Cree-Assiniboine / Young Dogs ( Nehiyaw-Pwat , Nēhiyawi-pwātak ) and today are generally counted among the 'Downstream People' of the Cree, are particularly mentioned here . The matter was also complicated by the fact that individual regional sub-tribes of a large group often referred to themselves as 'Cree', 'Nakoda' or 'Soto', as the majority of their local groups felt that they belonged to each of these groups. So there was B. the ethnically and linguistically mixed large group of Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak ('people who live along the mountains'), which in turn comprised regional sub-tribes, which are primarily called Cree ( Asini Wachi Nehiyawak - 'Cree who live along the mountains' , the Assiniboine called them Sahiya Ye Xa Yabine - 'Cree who live in the mountains') or primarily as Assiniboine- and Stoney ( Ye Xa Yabine or Hebina Assiniboine - 'mountain people', the Cree called them Asini Pwat-sak ) understood.

The Cree ('Nehiyaw') and Assiniboine ('Pwat-sak') represented the majority, followed by the Ojibwa ('Soto') and smaller groups of neighboring tribes (Chipewyan, Daneẕaa, Kutenai, Flathead, Secwepemc) and Indian traders in the northwest , who ethnically belonged to the Iroquois . In general, the groups living south on the plains tended to be predominantly nominally Nakoda , the eastern and southeastern groups nominally Soto, and the northern and northwestern groups nominally Cree . These terms usually said little about the ethnic and linguistic identity and origin of the groups named - there were even groups of the Nakoda and Soto, especially in the northwest and later in the southeast, who were originally Secwepemc, Kutenai, Daneẕaa or even Métis .

The disappearance of the buffalo

The Cree, like the Blackfoot, made a living from hunting the American bison, also known as the buffalo. But for various reasons their numbers decreased more and more, and the hunters followed their prey, which from around 1850 was almost exclusively found in the area of ​​the Blackfoot. In 1870, the Cree made a final attempt to get hold of their prey by waging a war. Hoping to defeat opponents weakened by smallpox, they attacked a camp near Fort Whoop-Up . But they were defeated in the battle (near Lethbridge) and lost over 300 warriors. The next winter, hunger forced them to negotiate with their opponents, with whom they made peace, and they also entered into negotiations with Canada, which was founded in 1867. They had to give up their lifestyle and become farmers, but they asked for help with the transition and only wanted to accept white settlers on this condition.

In the years 1874 to 1876 Canada and the Cree signed several of the so-called Numbered Treaties , more precisely the contracts with the numbers 4, 5 and 6. Until about 1880, small groups tried to continue to hunt buffalo, and moved on until after Montana , but they gathered around the forts, starving after the last of the bison disappeared. Edgar Dewdney , the responsible Commissioner of Indian Affairs , took the opportunity to make it clear to the Cree that they no longer had autonomy and, by withholding the emergency rations, forced them to bow to his interpretation of the treaties. With the uprising of the Métis in 1885, sporadic looting resulted in a rebellion against the Canadian troops with no prospect of success.

Settlement, displacement, assimilation

Countless processes of assimilation or displacement by the rapidly growing number of settlers, up to and including the complete forgetting of the history of the Cree groups, took place. The settlers were already beginning to play a significant role in the formation of public opinion. Several years after Chief Papasschayo had agreed in 1877 to accept Papaschase Reserve Number 136 near Edmonton , around 6 km south of the North Saskatchewan River , for his tribe of 241 people , the immigrants demanded a withdrawal of the natives. The local newspaper, The Bulletin , played an important role in this. This newspaper was published by Frank Oliver . He had previously worked for the Winnipeg Free Press and moved to Edmonton in 1876, where he started publishing his own newspaper in 1880. It was there that the fact that the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly had ended in 1869 and that competition and settler pressure increased. The latter formed a group of lobbyists, the Edmonton Settlers' Rights Movement , which opposed any restrictions imposed by contracts. Oliver and his group called for the resettlement of what they believed to be too close to Edmonton.

He used all stereotypes against them and launched them through his bulletin. He declared the tribe to be a questionable group of "half-bloods," led by a chief and six or seven of his "lazy brothers," plus old squaws loitering around the forts. Although he accepted the tribe's legal claim to his reservation on September 30, 1882, he tried to stir up the mood so much with the argument of settlement impediment, the economic and moral damage and, subliminally, the inferiority of the Indians that legal arguments fell behind. In particular, he defamed the papashase by accusing them of not being Indians at all, but only wanting to enjoy the benefits of state alimentation. In 1883 Frank Oliver was elected to the North West Territories Council , and was a member of the resulting Legislative Assembly from 1888 to 1896. In 1905 he was made Minister of the Interior. Now Oliver was able to take action against the allegedly exaggeratedly large reservations with considerably greater means and exert pressure on the tribes to surrender land or relocate immediately. In 1911, the Indian law was supplemented by a provision that allowed the expropriation of reserve land in favor of public buildings.

As recently as 1883, Father Scollen complained on behalf of the tribe in a letter to the Prime Minister that the Canadian government wanted to exterminate the tribe through starvation. In this desperate situation, many Cree accepted the so-called scrip , which allowed the "half-breeds" to get land like the whites. The agent responsible also accepted applications from treaty Indians , i.e. from Indians who had signed one of the treaties and who were certainly not Métis , as the law required. From June to July 1885 alone, there were 202 applications. Most of them had no choice but to sell their scrip in exchange for groceries. The papaschase gave up their reserve in 1888, where they could not live without food and government aid. In 2001 they reclaimed their territory.

The 1885 Uprising: Big Bear, Poundmaker, Wandering Spirit

Chief Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear), 1885

Poundmaker, Big Bear and son, Father Andre, Father Conchin, Chief Stewart, Captain Deane, Robertson, and the court interpreter, OB Buell, at North-West Mounted Police Barracks, Regina, 1885

The Cree on Frog Lake in the east of the District of Saskatchewan , now part of Alberta, rose under their chief Mistahimaskwa ( Big Bear ) to protest the withholding of their food. With these, Edgar Dewdney , who was responsible for Indian affairs, hoped to be able to put the Cree under pressure so that they would not join the Métis uprising . However, on April 1, 1885, nine people were killed in a massacre led by the Cree warrior Wandering Spirit at Frog Lake, and the tribe threatened Fort Pitt .

The chief inspector Francis Dickens, son of Charles Dickens , was forced to leave the post and retire to Battleford . Another Cree group under Chief Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker), in turn, alarmed the area, so that the government feared a general uprising. Lieutenant Colonel Otter tried against the order to relieve the place, but he was defeated in a battle at Cut Knife Hill on May 2, 1885. But after the Métis were defeated after the Battle of Batoche, Poundmaker surrendered on May 25.

A third Canadian unit moved against Big Bear in the Frog Lake area. There was a skirmish at Frenchman's Butte against the people of Wandering Spirit, who had failed to prevent the descent from Wood Cree. Big Bear, in turn, had failed to unite his troops with Poundmaker. Despite winning, Big Bear had to retreat north towards the Beaver River. A brief battle broke out at Rat Foot Creek (Steele Narrows) near Loon Lake . Eventually, Big Bear had to give up on July 2nd at Fort Carlton . Some of the prisoners, such as Wandering Spirit, were not treated as opponents of the war but were executed as criminals.

The north of the province of Quebec

The gigantic Baie James hydropower project with reservoirs of over 15,000 km² saw the 7,000 Cree and 4,500 Inuit who lived in the bay and in northern Québec as a threat to their hunting and trapping way of life in their approximately one million km² extensive area . A high-profile trial - a judgment obtained in court by the Quebec Association of Indians was overturned by the Provincial Court of Appeals - culminated in the 1975 Agreement of the Baie James and North Quebec . Three years later, the roughly 500 Naskapi signed a similar contract . The Grand Council of the Crees , a tribal council that represented nine tribes from northern Quebec, had campaigned for it since 1974 . In 1984 the indigenous peoples were formally released from the guardianship of the Indian Ministry, and since then they have had all the rights of the Canadian local authorities, i.e. they may conclude contracts, issue regulations, maintain local police stations, manage their own budget and own shares in companies. Like every municipality, they determine the land use and can also refuse non-members access to their territory.

At the end of further, tough negotiations, the Cree and Inuit signed a contract in 1991 that allowed Canada to use hydropower (from which about three-fifths of Canada's electricity is obtained) - in return for compensation payments and self-government rights in part of the convention area. Within a core area (about 1.3% of the area, i.e. approx. 14,000 km²), the area of ​​their nine settlements, the Cree received the sole right of use. In other areas they had exclusive hunting and fishing rights. The province can use parts of these areas for development projects, but has to provide replacement land or compensation. The Cree are equally involved in all decisions. But in around 85% of the treaty area they only have a few hunting privileges.

The core area offers employment opportunities in administration and business, from health care to environmental protection and the promotion of hunting traditions to the operation of the Air Creebec airline . A program guarantees all Cree hunters a fixed income on the condition that they hunt traditionally for at least 90 days per year.

The school system, which has been built up since the late 1970s, conveys the language and culture of the Cree. The first language is Cree, with its own script , later French and English are available. Numerous places now have (again) Cree names. Most of the Cree organizations were moved from Val-d'Or to the Baie-James area. The Nation news magazine , an important regional forum for discourse, has existed since 1993 .

At the same time, the Cree are against Quebec separatism because they fear that the immigration of Francophone Canadians to the north could be promoted at their expense in an independent state of Quebec. They fear "ethnic occupation". In a separate referendum, 95% of the Quebec Cree voted to stay with Canada.

These fears are justified insofar as the Great Whale Project announced in 1986 , in which five rivers that flow into Hudson Bay are dammed and diverted, were intended to inundate around 3500 km² of Cree land. The electricity was to be exported primarily to the USA. In 1991, Cree rowed in canoes as far as New York to lobby customers there. In 1994 the province of Quebec abandoned the project against which environmentalists protested.

Current situation

In spite of all the progress, however, a fundamental problem emerges here: The fragmentation and individualization are advancing, a development that led to the convening of a special meeting of the tribe in 1994. In addition, the Cree society has undergone a restructuring in the decades of increasing independence, which has produced a new leadership class that dominates the administration. In addition, there are still families who pursue traditional hunting, as well as the boys, whose number is growing rapidly, but who are not sufficiently represented in either the one or the other group. The first Indian lieutenant governor of Canada, James Bartleman of Ontario (2002-07), turned his attention to this group. He collected over a million used books for the schools, promoted writing and reading skills and raised public awareness of their problems.

In addition, the triggering project, the gigantic Baie James hydropower project, is now being viewed more critically. In the closing stages (since 2007), the Rivière Rupert was largely diverted, a project against which the Grand Chief of the Crees of Quebec , elected in 2005, Matthew Mukash, has opposed . In doing so, he questions the 2002 agreement, known as the Paix des Braves , and calls for the promotion of wind turbines .

Cree, Old Nemaska

In another respect, provincial, federal, and reservation laws are now coming into conflict, a dispute that has already reached the media public in the United States. This is about the casinos , which prosper there with considerable tax relief and have long since become a billion-dollar business. But this is not the point in dispute, but the distribution of funds and the “poisoning” of the mentality through profit thinking and tribal egoism.

Since the treaties with Canada and the province allow for corresponding interpretations, the Cree no longer accept all laws. A smoking ban has been in effect since January 1st, but the Enoch Cree First Nation does not want to comply with this in its casino. Chief Ron Morin believes the casino is state-owned and not subject to provincial law. The owners of the Gray Eagle Casino on the land of the Tsuu T'ina, southwest of Calgary, want to proceed in a similar manner.

The controversy over natural resources is hardly diminished. The most recent example is the dispute over an important boreal jungle in the province of Québec, the Broadback Valley Forest .

Chiefs of the Cree

• Mistawasis ("Big Child", also known as Pierre Belanger ), chief of the Parklands / Willow Cree of the Plains Cree (* around 1813, was the most influential chief among the bands of the House Cree , supplied Fort Carlton with bison meat and pemmican from 1852–1854, In his youth he gained the respect of Crowfoot , the chief of the Siksika ,through constant armed conflicts, the hostile Blackfoot respectfully called Mistawasis "The Iron Buffalo of the Plains")
• Ahtahkakoop ( Atāhkakohp - "Starblanket"), chief of the House Cree of the Plains Cree (* around 1815-16 in the Saskatchewan River area, soon became a respected chief and a tactician in warfare; there was during his youth and his rise to chief) still huge herds of bison in the northern plains and parklands to feed the wandering Plains Cree, around 1860 the bison herds disappeared rapidly due to the constant influx of white settlers, so that chief Ahtahkakoop was forced - to ensure the survival of his band - his giving up traditional and liberal way of life and reaching a compromise with the government; together with his cousin, Chief Mistawasis , he signed Contract No. 6 in Fort Carlton in1876, in which he agreed to his band, the so-called "Sandy Lake Indian" Band "to lead to a reservation near what is now Prince Albert, died December 4, 1896 at the age of 81)
• Ahchuchhwahauhhatohapit ( Ahchacoosacootacoopits or Acāhkosa kā-otakohpit - "[One who has] Star [s for a] blanket", usually "Starblanket"), chief of a group of the Calling River / Qu'Appelle Cree of the Plains Cree (* around 1845 in the lower Qu'Appelle Valley, son of Wapiimoosetoosus ("White Calf"), his tribal group was closely linked to Ka Kichi Wi Winiwak under Chief Kakeesheway ("Loud Voice"), a close ally of Payipwat / Piapot , the chief of the Cree Assiniboine or Young Dogs , 1879 after the bison disappeared, moved Ahchuchhwahauhhatohapit to a reservation in the File Hills of the lower Qu'Appelle Valley, † 1917 in the Star Blanket reservation, Saskatchewan)
• Payipwat ( Payipwât , Piapot - "He who knows the secrets ( mysteries ) of the Sioux", also known as Hole in the Sioux , another Cree name: Kisikawasan - "Flash in the Sky"; the Assiniboins called him: Maȟpíya Owáde Hókši - "Lightning In The Sky Boy"), chief of the Cree Assiniboine or Young Dogs with great influence on neighboring Assiniboine , downstream people , southern groups of the upstream people and Plains Ojibwa (* 1816 in what is now the southern border area of ​​Manitoba-Saskatchewan, as a child of Kidnapped Sioux , he was freed by Plains Cree around 1830, an important shaman, most influential chief of the dreaded Young Dogs, convinced the Plains Cree to expand west into the Cypress Hills, but refused to attack a Kainai camp near what is now Lethbridge , Alberta, whereupon the Young Dogs and their allies were content with the eastern Cypress Hills as far as the Milk River, Montana, and took part in the negotiations on Contract No. 4 of 1874, which he and Cheekuk , the most important chief of the Plains Ojibwa in the Qu'Appelle area, signed only as a provisional contract on September 9, 1875 , tried with the River Cree chiefs Minahikosis ('Little Pine') and Mistahimaskwa ('Big Bear') to establish a kind of Indian territory for all Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa and Assiniboine - when Ottawa hesitated, he asked in 1879-80, together with Kiwisünce ( Cowessess - 'Little Child') and the Assiniboine, to live side by side Reserves lying in the Cypress Hills, Payipwat moved to a reservation about 37 miles northeast of Fort Walsh, Minahikosis ('Little Pine') and Papewes ('Lucky Man') successfully applied for reservations near the Assiniboine or Payipwat - this made it possible Cree and Assiniboine working together to maintain their autonomy - since they moved to Montana in 1881 to hunt bison, steal Absarokee horses, and allegedly kill cattle, the U.S. Army captured, disarmed, and escorted them back to Canada - n unarmed, they were denied rations until the Cree and Assiniboine gave up their claims to the Cypress Hills and moved north - in the following years the reservations changed several times and the tribes tried repeatedly to establish an Indian territory until the Northwest Rebellion in 1885 , Payipwat remained an important spiritual leader under strong guard until his death, Ottawa therefore deposed Payipwat as chief on April 15, 1902, † April 1908 in the Piapot reservation, Saskatchewan)
• Kee-a-kee-ka-sa-coo-way ("The Man Who gives the War Whoop"), Plains Cree chief (was the leading chief of the Plains Cree in the mid-19th century, also had a large following among the people) Plains Ojibwa, around Fort Pitt, his subchief was Mukitou (Black Powder) , the father of Mistahimaskwa )
• Mistahimaskwa ( Mistihui'muskwa , Mistahimusqua , better known as Big Bear , French: Gros Ours ), chief of the Plains Cree (born around 1825 as the son of Ojibwa chief Mukitou (Black Powder) near Jackfish Lake, he ruled his mother tongue, the Cree , as well as Ojibwe , led the last resistance to the dispersal of the Cree on numerous reservations and demanded a large total reserve. A revolt of the young warriors under the leadership of one of his sons destroyed these plans in 1885, † January 17, 1888 on the Poundmaker Reservation at North Battleford in Saskatchewan)
• Kapapamahchakwew ( Kâ-papâmahcahkwêw , Kapapa Machatiwe , Papamahchakwayo , French: Esprit Errant , better known as Wandering Spirit ), war chief of the Plains Cree under Mistahimaskwa (* 1845 near Jackfish Lake, Saskatchewan, perpetrated the so-called on April 2, 1885 . Frog Lake massacre, killed the Indian agent Thomas Quinn, as well as eight whites and one Métis, surrendered in July in Fort Pitt , was hanged on November 27, 1885 in Battleford, Saskatchewan)
• Kamiokisihkwew ( Miyo Kisikaw - Fine Day ), Chief of the Plains Cree (* 1850 in the Battle River area, † 193 ?, was a shaman and war chief under Pitikwahanapiwiyin`s River Cree , during the Northwest Rebellion Battleford was sacked by River Cree, Fine Day then became the leader of the uprising as war chief, defeated the Canadian army in the Battle of the Cut Knife , later joined the Plains Cree under Wikaskokiseyin (Sweet Grass), of which he later became chief)
• Pitikwahanapiwiyin ( Pîhtokahânapiwiyin - "Poundmaker"), chief of the River Cree , a subgroup of the Plains Cree , (* 1842 in North Battleford region in Saskatchewan, son of Sikakwayan ( 'Skunk Skin'), a Stoney shamans and French-Canadian Métisse , the sister of Mistawasis ( 'Big Child'), was chief of a group consisting of members of the Plains River Cree (Sīpīwininiwak-paskwāwiyiniwak), the Woods River Cree (Sīpīwininiwak-sakāwiyiniwak), Western Woodland Cree (sakāwiyiniwak) and Stoney , was adopted as a son by Siksika chief Crowfoot in 1873, lived for several years as Makoyi-koh-kin ('Wolf Thin Legs') with the Siksika , returned, became an advisor to chief Pihew-kamihkosit ('Red Pheasant'), was 1876 involved in the negotiations for Contract No. 6 and went to the Poundmaker Reservation in 1879, later he took part in the Siege of Battleford and the Battle of the Cut Knife, † July 4, 1886 in Blackfoot Crossing, Alberta)
• Wikaskokiseyin ( Wee-kas-kookee-sey-yin , known as Sweet Grass ), chief of the Plains Cree (his mother was a captured Absarokee , when he was growing up he was also known as Apistchi-koimas - 'Little Chief', signed the treaty No. 6 on September 9, 1876 in Fort Pitt together with Woodland Cree , Chipewyan , some Plains Ojibwa (Saulteaux) , only a quarter of the participating groups were Plains Cree, while his successor was Chief Wah-wee-kah-oo-tah-mah -hote ('Strike him on the Back') signed Contract No. 6 in Fort Carlton on August 28, 1876 together with the Willow Cree, † January 11, 1877 in a gunshot accident on the Plains, probably at Saint-Paul-des -Cris, Alberta)
• Peechee ( Pesew - 'Mountain Lion' - " Mountain Lion ", also known as Louis Piche ), chief of Asini Wachi Nehiyawak and later High Chief Rocky / Mountain Cree (* around 1821, led among Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak a Catholic rite, his three sons, Piyesew Chak , Keskayiwew ('Bobtail') and Ermineskin also became important chiefs, Pesew and his older son Piyesew Chak were killed during a gambling dispute in 1843, and his sons-in-law included chiefs Samson , Chiniki , Bearspaw , Capote Blank and Jacques Cardinal )
• Ermineskin ("the one with the skin like an ermine ", Sehkosowayanew , Sikosew Inew , also known as Baptiste Piche ), chief of the Bear Hills Cree of the Plains Cree (son of Pesew ('Mountain Lion'), brother-in-law of Pitikwahanapiwiyin )
• Keskayiwew ( Kiskiyew , Kiskiyo - Bobtail , also known as Alexis Piche ), chief of the Bear Hills Cree or Maskwa Wachi-is Ininiwak , (son of Pesew ("mountain lion"), brother of Ermineskin , became chief after the death of his older brother, was elected chief of the Rocky Cree instead of Maskepetoon ('Broken Arm') , later to the chief of the Western Cree (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak) and was soon considered to be the chief of all groups of the upstream people )
• Kamdyistowesit ( Kanaweyihimitowin , mostly in English as ' Beardy ' or in French as 'Barbu' - "The Bearded"), chief of the Parklands / Willow Cree (* 1828 near Duck Lake, became chief in the 1870s, married Yaskuttsu -s , the half-sister of Chief Küpeyakwüskonam ('One Arrow'), among the members of his tribal group were many Métis -descendants of the Hudson's Bay Company employee George Sutherland)
• Küpeyakwüskonam ( Kupeyakwuskonam , Kah-pah-yak-as-to-cum - in English as One Arrow and in French as Une Flèche ), chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree , (* 1815 in the Saskatchewan River Valley, son of George Sutherland ( 'Okayasiw') and his second wife Paskus ('Rising'), tried in 1876 together with Kamdyistowesit ('Beardy') and Saswaypew ('Cut Nose') to prevent the negotiations on Contract No. 6 in Fort Carlton, but he signed it on August 28th, he did, in August 1884 he took part in a chiefs' meeting with Mistahimaskwa ('Big Bear') and Papewes (Papaway - 'Lucky Man'), his tribal group was the first to join the Métis in 1885, died on 25. April 1886 in prison)
• Minahikosis ( Little Pine , in French Petit Pin ), chief of the Plains Cree , (* around 1830 in the vicinity of Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan, had a Blackfoot for mother, became famous in the 1860s when the Plains Cree armed on the lookout After the last remaining bison penetrated further and further into the territory of the Blackfoot, he offered fierce resistance for three years, but in view of his starving tribesmen signed the appendix to Treaty No. 6 in 1879, and moved into a reservation at the foot of Bluehill along the Battle River Reputation was comparable to that of Mistahimaskwa ('Big Bear')
• Papewes ( Papaway - ' Lucky Man '), chief of the River Cree , a subgroup of the Plains Cree (* in the late 1830s possibly near Fort Pitt, was a leader of Mistahimaskwa ´s River Creein the 1870swhen the Bison disappeared, signed, together with the group of Little Pine, on July 2, 1879 an appendix to Treaty No. 6 at Fort Walsh for the 470 members of his tribal group, he asked in vain for a reservation in the Cypress Hills or on Buffalo Lake, therefore many members returned to Mistahimaskwa ('Big Bear') or joined Minahikosis ('Little Pine'), in 1884 Papewes unsuccessfullyrequesteda reservation adjacent to the reservations of Pitikwahanapiwiyin ('Poundmaker'), Minahikosis and Mistahimaskwa , during the rebellion by 1885 both groups - Papewes and Minahikosis - were torn apart and their members dispersed as far as the USA, in 1886 the remaining members of the two groups settled in the Little Pine's reservation † 1901 close e Fort Assiniboine, Montana)
• Saswaypew ( Sayswaypus , Seswepiu - 'Cut Nose'), chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree (son of Wimtchik , a French-Canadian Métis, married One Arrow's sister Nawapukayus , his sisters Ayamis and Minuskipuihat both were married to 'One Arrow', Kamdyistowesit ( ' Beardy ') and he were brothers-in-law as both were married to George Sutherland's daughters)
• Maskepetoon ( Maski Pitonew - 'Broken Arm' - "Broken Arm", 'Crooked Arm' - "crippled arm", later called Peacemaker - " Peacemaker "), chief of a group of Rocky / Mountain Cree (* around 1807 in the Saskatchewan River- The area, called Mon-e-guh-ba-now or Mani-kap-ina ('Young Man Chief')by the enemy Blackfoot for its bravery, later turned to the Methodist missionaries, causing him and his followers to conflictbroughtunder Pesew with the Catholic Free Rocky Cree, moved to the reservation and soon became known as the Peacemaker , was killed in 1869 in a Blackfoot camp in Alberta by Warchief Big Swan while trying to make peace unarmed)
• Pihew-kamihkosit ( Pee-yahn-kah-nihk-oo-sit , better known as Red Pheasant ), chief of the Plains River Cree of the River Cree , a subgroup of the Plains Cree (brother and advisor to the actual chief Wuttunee ('Porcupine') , signed Treaty No. 6 on August 23, 1876 on behalf of his brother, whereupon he was now regarded as the so-called Treaty Chief of this group by the Canadians. In 1878 his tribal group moved into the reservation, today's Red Pheasant Reservation approx 33 km south of present-day North Battleford , Saskatchewan)
• Peayasis (also known as François Desjarlais ), chief of the Beaver River Cree , a subgroup of the Woodland Cree (* 1824 on the Beaver River, son of Ladoucoeur dit Desjarlais and Josephte Suzette Cardinal, signed Treaty No. 6 on August 8, 1876) at the Battle of Battle River)
• Kahkewistahaw , chief of the Rabbit Skin Cree and Plains Ojibwa (signed Treaty No. 4 on September 15, 1874, his tribal group hunted in the Wood Mountain and Cypress Hills area and returned annually to the Qu'Appelle Valley for here to receive their payments and gifts once a year until a reservation was established in 1881)
• Paskwüw ( Paskwa , Pisqua , mostly Pasquah - 'The Plain', French: Les Prairies ), chief of the Plains Cree (* 1828, son of the well-known chief Mahkaysis , in 1874 his tribal group lived from bison hunting near today's Leech Lake, Saskatchewan, they had also laid out gardens and raised a small herd of cattle, in September 1874 Pasqua took part in the negotiations for Contract No. 4 in the Qu'Appelle Valley, in which case he demanded that the Canadian government pay out the £ 300,000 to the tribes, which HBC had got for the sale of Rupert's land to Canada, but, despite Canada's refusal, finally signed the contract and moved to a reservation five miles west of Fort Qu'Appelle; kept his tribal group out of the Northwest Rebellion of 1885, † died of tuberculosis in March 1889)
• Petequakey ('Comes to Us With the Sound of Wings', also known as Isidore Cayen dit Boudreau ), Chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree on Muskeg Lake (* St. Boniface, Manitoba as the son of Pierre Narcisse Cayen dit Boudreau and Adelaide Catherine Arcand ('Kaseweetin') he was Métis, but still became chief of Willow Cree and the Métis who lived with them, brother and adviser to Chief Kee-too-way-how ('Alexander Cayen dit Boudreau') after he opened the reservation on Muskeg Lake had left to settle around Batoche , Petequakey was chief (1880-1889) of the Cree and Métis, who still lived on the reservation, and he took part inthe battle at Duck Lake on March 26, 1885with Métis leader Gabriel Dumont whosparkedthe Northwest Rebellion of 1885, after which he led his group to St. Laurent to take part in the defense of Batoche, one of the largest Métis settlements and seat of the Saskatchewan Provisional Government during the rebellion)
• Kee-too-way-how ('Sounding With Flying Wings', also known as Alexander Cayen dit Boudreau ), Chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree on Muskeg Lake (* 1834 St. Boniface, Manitoba as the son of Pierre Narcisse Cayen dit Boudreau and Adelaide Catherine Arcand ('Kaseweetin') he was Métis, but nevertheless became chief of Willow Cree and the Métis who lived with them, brother of Petequakey ('Isidore Cayen dit Boudreau'), lived along Duck Lake, and in 1876 signed contract no. 6 and moved to a reservation on Muskeg Lake - which was later named after his brother Petequakey - but left the reservation again in 1880 and lived near St. Laurent de Grandin Mission for the following years, playing a prominent role during the Northwest Rebellion of In 1885, in which he took part in every battle, he also served as an envoy from the Métis leader Gabriel Dumont to askthe Assiniboine for support, and on May 23, 1885, he also transmitted the declaration of surrender from Pitikwa hanapiwiyin ('Poundmaker') to General Middleton, was captured on June 1, 1885, in the subsequent trial of Kee-too-way-how in Regina , Louis Cochin testified that he and thecarters imprisonedin the Pitikwahanapiwiyin campwere only thanks to the Intercession by Kee-too-way-how and his people would have survived, despite the positive testimony, he was sentenced to seven years in prison on August 14, 1885 for his involvement in the Métis rebellion, † 1886)

Groups of the Cree

Canoes with indigenous people (presumably Woodland-Cree) on the Nelson River, 1878

Plains Cree ( Paskwa Wi Iniwak , Paskwāwiyiniwak - 'people who live on the Plains', Nehiyawak , westernmost and southernmost group of the Cree, lived primarily in Alberta and in southern Saskatchewan as well as in Manitoba, northwards to Great Slave Lake in the south of the northwest Territories and south to the Missouri River and Milk River in northern Montana in the USA)

• Upstream People ( Natimiw Iyiniwak , Natimiyininiwak , - 'people on the upper reaches of the river', Nutimi-iniuûk - 'people of the poplars', western and northern groups, numerically the largest group)
  • Western Cree ( Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak , - 'Western People')
    • Western Plains Cree (Pakisimo-Tak Paskwa Wi Iniwak - 'People living west of the plains')
    • Plains Cree ( Paskwa Nehiyawak - 'Plains people', Cree groups of the Paskwa Wi Iniwak )
    • Rocky Cree / Mountain Cree ('people who live along the mountains', Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak , Asinīskāwiyiniwak , lived in the southern foothills of Jasper (Jasper's House) and Edmonton south to Wyoming and from the Red River of the North to Oregon ) (Assiniboine, Plains Ojibwa, Metis)
      • Asini Wachi Nehiyawak ('Cree who live along the mountains', Cree groups of the Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak )
      • Asini Pwat-sak ( Ye Xa Yabine or Hebina Assiniboine - 'Rock Mountain People' - 'Berg-Volk', Assiniboine groups of the Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak )
    • Beaver Hills Cree ( Amisk Wachi Wi Iniwak , Amiskwacīwiyiniwak , had their roaming areas around the later Edmonton , which they called Amiskwāciwakahikan - ' Beaver Hills House', as well as around Beaverhill Lake - Amisk Wachi Sakahikan ) ( Chaba hei Nakoda Assiniboine, Iroquois )
    • Bear Hills Cree ( Maskwa Wachi-is Ininiwak , Maskwacheesihk Wiyiniwak - 'People in the Bear Hills', lived in the Bear Hills and around Pigeon Lake )
    • Frog Lake Cree ( Ayik Sakhikan Ininiwak - 'people who live along Frog Lake' roamed east of Edmonton)
    • Ota Paskwa Wi Iniwak ( Ota-paskwāwiyiniwak - 'Plains over there People' - 'People who live there on the plains', from which the word Athabasca was derived, lived along the Lower Athabasca River and the upper catchment area of ​​the Churchill River)
    • Lesser Slave Lake Cree ( Ayachi-w Ini-w Ininiwak - 'People at Blackfoot Lake', derived from Ayachi-w Ini-w Sakahikan - 'Lake of Blackfoot', of the Lesser Slave Lake , also from Iyaghchi Eennu Sepe - 'River of the Blackfoot ', the Lesser Slave River )
    • Saddle Lake Bands ( Onihcikiskwapiwn - 'Fata Morgana / Miracle on the Lake', shortened to Aspapiwin - 'Saddle (Lake)', lived north of the North Saskatchewan River, in the west from Lac Ste. Anne to Fort Pitt in the east) (Assiniboine , Métis and Stoney )
    • Buffalo Lake Cree ( Mostos Sakahikan Wi Iniwak - 'People who live on Buffalo Lake', hunted along Buffalo Lake in Alberta)
  • House Cree ( Waskahikan Wi Iniwak , Wāskahikaniwiyiniwak , the name of the Cree for Fort Carlton on the North Saskatchewan River, which was once known as the Carlton House )
    • Waskahikan Wi Iniwak ('Fort People', often referred to as Fort Carlton Cree as they traded with the HBC at the fort, which was built on the North Saskatchewan River in 1810 ) ( Stoney , Assiniboine, Métis)
    • Parklands Cree / Willow Cree ( Paskwa Kopew Wininiwak , Paskokopa Wi Iniwak , Paskokopāwiyiniwak , Paskuxkupau Wiyiniwuk - 'Thicket People' - 'People in the Thicket' or 'Willow People', lived east of the Waskahikan Wi Iniwak , roamed in the South Saskatchewan River divided region from Duck Lake in the north to Little Manitou Lake in the southeast and Goose Lake in the southwest)
    • Churchill River Cree ( Missi Nipi Iniwak , Missinipiiyiniwak , Michi Nipi Wi Iniwak - 'People at the big water, big river', since they settled at the HBC trading station York Factory in 1715 also as Masnipiwinûk - 'Painted or Pictured People', Masinaso Wiyiniwuk - 'Varicolored People' known, lived from Southern Indian Lake upstream along the Churchill River )
    • Waziya Winchasta Assiniboine ( Waziyamwincasta - 'People of the North') (Cree)
  • River Cree ('River Cree', Sipi Wi Iniwak , Sīpīwininiwak ) (grazed between the North Saskatchewan River and the Battle River , traded near Fort Pitt , also used the area around Jackfish Lake and Onion Lake)
    • Plains River Cree ( Sipi Wi Iniwak Paskwa Wi Iniwak , Sīpīwininiwak-paskwāwiyiniwak , often moved to the plains to hunt bison )
    • Woods River Cree ( Sipi Wi Iniwak Saka Wi Iniwak , Sīpīwininiwak-sakāwiyiniwak , fished and hunted in the lakes and forests)
  • Northern Plains Cree / Western Woodland Cree / Bush Cree ( Saka Wi Iniwak , Sakāwiyiniwak )
  • Bush Beaver Hills Cree ( Saka Amisk Wachi Wi Iniwak , Sakāwiyiniwak-amiskwacīwiyiniwak , also Sakauamiskwatciwi-misuk )
  • Arrow Makers Cree ( Tastawēw Iyiniwak , Otcastcawe-wiuisuk , lived between Saskatchewan and Red Deer River) (Stoney)
  • Vermilion River Cree ( Mikwa Sipi Wi Iniwak - 'people along the Red River', lived between the Vermilion River and Battle River, traded near Fort Vermilion )
• Downstream People ( Mamik Wi Iniwak , Māmihkiyiniwak , 'people on the lower reaches of the river', Mämäkitce-wünuûk - 'people who eat large (poultry) gizzards', eastern and southern groups who lived east of the confluence of North and South Saskatchewan )
  • Rabbit Skins Cree ( Wapoos Wi Iniwak , Wāpošwayānak , Wapucwayauuk - ' rabbit fur- bearing Cree', lived along the Swan River and Assiniboine Rivers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, traded eastward to Winnipeg, northward to Fort Pelly, westward to the Cypress Hills and south to the Canadian-American border) (Assiniboine, Plains Ojibwa)
  • Ka Kichi Wi Winiwak ( Kaki chiwew Ininiwak - 'Bragging People' - 'Boastful, Boastful People', also Kagiciwuinuwuk - 'Loud Voices band', named after the famous medicine man and chief Kakeesheway - 'Loud Voice')
    • actual Ka Kichi Wi Winiwak
    • Calling River / Qu'Appelle Cree ( Kitopwe Sipi Wi Iniwak , Kātēpwēwi-sīpīwiyiniwak , derived from Kâ-têpwêt? - 'Who is calling?', French: 'Qui appelle?', Also called Mamaxkitice Wiyiniwuk - 'Big Navel People' , hunted from Crooked Lakes west to the Cypress Hills and north to the Big Sand Hills) ( Cree-speaking Assiniboine, Kipaukaning Wiiniwuk Plains Ojibwa)
    • Touchwood Hills Cree ( Pasākanacīwiyiniwak , Pusakawatciwiyiniwak , roamed between Long Lake - also known as Last Mountain Lake - and the Touchwood Hills) (Assiniboine, Plains Ojibwa)
    • Cree Assiniboine / Young Dogs ( Nehiyaw-Pwat , Nēhiyawi-pwātak , referred to by the Assiniboine as Sahiyaiyeskabi - ' Cree speakers ', migrated furthest westward onto the plains, therefore often referred to as Paskwa Wi Iniwak - 'people on the plains' ) (Plains Ojibwa)
    • Chan He Winchasta Assiniboine ( Canhewincasta - 'Wooded-Mountain People' or 'Wood Mountain People' - 'People who live in Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan') (Cree)
    • Turtle Mountain Plains Ojibwa ( Mikkinakk-Waci-Wininiwak , also Mikinak-wastsha-anishinabe , Pembina Chippewa, spoke Oji-Cree ) (Cree, Assiniboine)

Woodland Cree ('Waldland-Cree', Saka Wi Iniwak , Sakau Wiyiniwak , Sakāwithiniwak - 'people in the woodland', Nīhithawak , lived north and northeast of the Plains Cree and in the northwest of the Swampy Cree in the extreme northeast of Alberta, in the north of Saskatchewan and the northwest from Manitoba)

• Rocky Cree ( Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak , Aseniwuche Winewak , Asinīskāwiyiniwak - 'mountain people', 'people who live along the Rocky Mountains', lived in the southern foothills of Jasper (Jasper's House) and Edmonton south to Wyoming and the Red River of the North to Oregon , western and southern groups of the Woodland Cree) (Assiniboine, Iroquois, Daneẕaa , Sekani , Ojibwa, Secwepemc and Métis)
  • Rocky Cree / Mountain Cree ( Asini Wachi Nīhithawī , Cree groups of the Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak )
  • Asini Pwat-sak ( Ye Xa Ya Bine or Hebina Assiniboine, Assiniboine groups of the Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak , often referred to as Strong Wood or Thickwood Assiniboine , western groups are forerunners of the Mountain Stoney ) (Métis, Secwepemc, Kutenai, Plains Cree)
  • Cross Lake Cree ( Pimicikamāk - 'flowing across', Pimicikamak Iniwak , Pimicikamāk Nīhithawī - 'People of the Lake that lies Athwart' - 'People of the lake that lies across' and Nikikonakos - 'Otter people', lived around Cross Lake and the watershed on the Upper Nelson River , north of Winnipeg, Manitoba) ( Mistowaiau-Wininiwuk Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine)
• Woods Cree / Bush Cree (eastern and northern groups of the Woodland Cree) (Assiniboine, Iroquois, Chipewyan, Danezaa, Slavey, Saulteaux)
  • Woods Cree / Bush Cree ( Sakāwithiniwak , 'Saka Nīhithawī', Cree groups of the Saka Wi Iniwak )
  • Athabasca Lake Cree ( Ayabaska Wi Iniwak , Ayapaskāw-wiyiniwak , Athapiscow-wiyiniwak , lived along Lake Athabasca )
  • Woodland / Bush Assiniboine ( Saka Pwat-sak , Saka Wi Pwacak , Sakbwatsûk , Assiniboine groups of the Saka Wi Iniwak ) (Cree)
  • Beaver Lake Cree ( Amisk Sakahikan Wi Iniwak - 'People at Bieber Lake', lived along Beaver Lake)
  • Beaver River Cree ( Amisk Sipi Wi Iniwak , Amisksipiwiyiniwak , lived along the Beaver River, which has its source in Lac La Biche and later flows into the Churchill River)
  • Saki Ta-wa Ininiwak ( Sakitawa Wi Iniwak , 'People of the place where the rivers flow out / meet' - 'People at the place where the rivers meet', the name for Lac Île-à-la-Crosse , a Extension of the Churchill River, lived between the Beaver River and Île-à-la-Crosse) (Métis)
  • Nelson River or North River Cree ( Nisichawayasihk - 'place where three rivers flow together', lived from the Upper Nelson River westward to the Sturgeon-weir River )

Swampy Cree (' Wetlands -Cree', Maskiki Wi Iniwak , Mushkegowuk , Maškēkowak , hence often called Maskegon / Nēhinawak , Swampy Cree lived in northern Manitoba, northeast of Saskatchewan along the Saskatchewan River and along the coast of Hudson Bay and adjacent areas inland in the south and west, as well as in Ontario along the coasts of Hudson Bay and James Bay)

• Western Swampy Cree ( Mushkego , Mushkegowuk )
• Eastern Swampy Cree / (Westliche) James Bay Cree / West Main Cree (also 'Lowland Cree', 'James Bay Mushkego', Omushkego , Omushkegowak )

Moose Cree (' Elch -Cree', Ililī )

• Moose Cree ( Mōsonī )

Eastern Cree / (Eastern) James Bay Cree, East Main Cree (lived in the James Bay and Nunavik regions in northern Quebec, are culturally, geographically and linguistically divided into two groups: the Iyyiw , Iiyiyuu in the north and along the coast and the Iyniw , Iinuu in the south and inland, had close cultural ties to the Innu and Naskapi who lived to the east )

• Northern James Bay Cree ( Wiinibeyk Iiyuu , Wiinipakw Iiyiyuu - 'people who live by the salty water', Iyiyuuch , Iyiyiw , Iiyiyuu , languages: Northern coastal dialects (Iyiyiw-Ayimiwin) of the East Cree)
  • Whapmagoostui Cree (ᐙᐱᒫᑯᔥᑐᐃ / Wâpimâkuštui - "place of the white whale "; English pronunciation 'Waup-mag-stoo-ee' or 'Waup-ma-GOO-stoo-ee', traditional hunting areas included the catchment areas of the Great Whale River , Little Whale and Rivière Nastapoka , northernmost group of the Iiyiyuu )
  • Chisasibi Cree (ᒋᓵᓰᐲ / Cisâsîpî - "large river", the Cree name for the La Grande Rivière , traditional hunting areas included the catchment areas of the Rivière Eastmain and the Rivière Opinaca , English pronunciation: 'Tsa-see-bee' or 'TCHEE- sa-see-bee ', largest group of the Iiyiyuu )
  • Wemindji Cree (ᐐᒥᓂᒌ / Wîminicî / Wiimin Uchii - " Red ocher -colored mountain", negotiated once at a small trading post - sometimes under French, sometimes under British control - called Vieux-Comptoir and Old Factory at the mouth of Vieux-Comptoir River, therefore once also called the Old Factory Band or based on their own name Paint Hills Band )
  • Waskaganish Cree (ᐙᔅᑳᐦᐄᑲᓂᔥ / Wâskâhîkaniš - "small house, trading post", the Cree named the HBC trading post, first built in 1668 as "Fort Charles" - which was later plundered and taken by the French as "Fort Rupert" in 1686 - in terms of its size and Function "small house, trading post", since "Fort Rupert" was reopened in 1776 as a branch of the Eastmain trading center, therefore previously also known as Rupert River Cree or Fort Rupert Cree )
• Southern James Bay Cree ( Nuuchcimiihc Iiyuu , Nuuchimiich Iinuu - 'People in the Inland', Iyniw , Iinuu , languages: Southern coastal dialects (Iyiyiw-Ayamiwin) of the East Cree)
  • East Main Cree (ᐄᔅᒣᐃᓐ / Îsmein, a Cree adaptation of Eastmain , the name of 1730 at the mouth of the same name Eastmain River in the James Bay established a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, of the center for trade across the east coast of James Bay and Hudson Bay became, original Cree name: ᐙᐸᓅᑖᐤ / Wâpanûtâw - "Land east of James Bay")
  • Mistissini Cree (ᒥᔅᑎᓯᓃ / Mistisinî - "big rock", refers to the huge boulder near the outflow of the Mistassini lake into the Rivière Rupert , English pronunciation: 'Mis-TIS-i-nee' or 'Mis-TI-see -nee ', traditional hunting grounds extend over the river areas of Mistassini, Marten, Rupert and Eastmain)
  • Nemaska ​​Cree (ᓀᒥᔅᑳᐤ / Nemiskâw - 'underwater point' - possibly "underwater connection", today however mostly associated as: "namesiskâw" - "a lot of fish", own name: Nemaskau Iinnuch or Nemaskau Eenouch - "people from the place where there is a lot of fish, ie Nemaskau Sagaheegan (Nemaska ​​Lake) ", English pronunciation: 'NE-mis-caw', also used the catchment area of ​​the Rivière Nemiscau )
  • Oujé-Bougoumou Cree (ᐆᒉᐳᑯᒨ / Ûcêpukumû - the name denotes both today's Cree settlement Oujé-Bougoumou and the neighboring town called Chibougamau , the exact meaning of the name has been lost and is now controversial, some linguists / historians believe that this is around “Place of assembly” or “The place where people come together” could mean; their original hunting grounds were in the area around Lake Chibougamau, English pronunciation: 'Oo-jay-Boo-guh-moo')
  • Waswanipi Cree (ᐙᔂᓂᐲ / - Wâswânipî - "lake where you can fish with torches", derived from wâswân - "a nocturnal place for fishing with a torch" + pî - "lake", but mostly rendered as "light on." the water "or" torch-lit water ", refers to the nocturnal fishing method of the Cree, who used birch bark torches to light the water and then tried to kill sturgeons with a spear and to catch fish, their traditional area was along the Lac Waswanipi of the same name and the Rivière Waswanipi, also the Rivière Opawica and the Rivière Chibougamau , southernmost group of the Iinuu )

Linguistically and culturally, the Cree (from west to east) can be divided into the above tribal groups.

The Atikamekw (Nehiraw / Nehirowisiwok) , Montagnais (Nehilaw / Ilniw) and Naskapi (Iyiyiw / Innu) are generally regarded as independent groups and are not considered to be Cree in the narrower sense.

Today's Cree First Nations

James Bay Cree / East James Bay Cree

• Grand Council of the Cree (Eeyou Istchee)
  • Northern James Bay Cree ( Wiinibeyk Iiyuu , Wiinipakw Iiyiyuu - 'People Who Live by Salty Water', Iyiyuuch , Iyiyiw , Iiyiyuu )
    • Whapmagoostui Cree Frist Nation (also 'Première nation de Whapmagoostui', Whapmagoostui , the northernmost Cree settlement in Quebec, adjacent to it is the southernmost Inuit community, Kuujjuarapik , both settlements arose near a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, near the mouth of the Great Whale River into Hudson Bay, formerly both mostly referred to as Poste-de-la-Baleine in French and Great Whale River in English, population: 863)
    • Cree Nation of Chisasibi (the settlement of Chisasibi is located on the southern bank of the La Grande Rivière (English 'La Grande River'), less than 10 km away from the confluence of the river in Hudson Bay, about 90 km west of Radisson , earlier Called 'Fort George Band' because the HBC established a trading post called Fort George on a nearby island, the traditional meeting place of nomadic Cree, and the Cree later settled there permanently as so-called homeguards until they later relocated to Chisasibi in 1980, population : 4,093)
    • Wemindji Cree (formerly 'Old Factory Band', 'Paint Hills Band')
    • Eastmain Cree (also South James Bay Cree)
    • Waskaganish Cree
  • Southern James Bay Cree ( Nuuchcimiihc Iiyuu , Nuuchimiich Iinuu - 'Inland People', Iyniw , Iinuu )
    • Eastmain Cree (also Northern James Bay Cree)
    • Cree Nation of Mistissini (the Mistissini Cree today have the largest hunting area of ​​the James Bay Cree. Many Cree from Neoskweskau (English pronunciation: 'Ness-wess-kaw') and Nitchequon (English pronunciation: 'NITCH-e-kun') joined them when these HBC trading posts were closed in the mid-1900s. With the Mistissini-Cree, the traditional myths and ethnic religion are still particularly alive today: They see themselves as residents of the center of a "world island", the one above , is surrounded below and all around by supernatural beings. In heaven reside four divine brothers who are responsible for the weather, the seasons and the maple syrup ; underwater creatures must be appeased by tobacco offerings; and one must be on the lookout for an evil giant Ideas are clearly linked to the hunting camp in order to separate this “pure and holy world” from the profane “spiritually contaminated” human world)
    • Cree Nation of Nemaska ​​(some Neoskweskau Cree joined the Nemaska ​​Cree in the mid-1900s when this HBC trading post was closed)
    • Oujé-Bougoumou Cree
    • Waswanipi Cree

The members of the Eastern Cree in Quebec, who live largely traditionally, now have a so-called compartmentalized religiosity ; That means, in the summer camp you go to Christian worship and in the winter hunting camps the traditional religion (with some syncretistic Christian elements mixed in) is still practiced.

Moose Cree (Mōsonī / ililī)

the Moose Cree often identify themselves as "Swampy Cree", so that a distinction can often only be made between these two groups on the basis of linguistic differences:

• Mushkegowuk Council
  • Moose Cree First Nation (formerly 'Moose Factory Band', reservations: Factory Island # 1, Moose Factory # 68, approx. Km², population:)
• Kashechewan First Nation (also Eastern Swampy Cree)
• Chapleau Cree First Nation (also Eastern Swampy Cree)
• MoCreebec Council
  • Mocreebec First Nation (formerly 'Moose Factory Cree of Quebec') (live in the Moose Factory - Moosonee area, originally a group of the East James Bay Cree of Quebec)
• Swampy Cree Tribal Council
  • Brunswick House First Nation (formerly 'New Brunswick House Band of Ojibway', an Ojibway-Cree First Nation)

Swampy Cree (Maškēkowak / nēhinawak, also Mushkegowuk)

• Eastern Swampy Cree / Westliche James Bay Cree (also 'Lowland Cree', 'West Main Cree', 'James Bay Mushkego', Omushkego )
  • Mushkegowuk Council
    • Attawapiskat First Nation (proper name: Āhtawāpiskatowi ininiwak - 'People of the parting of the rocks')
    • Chapleau Cree First Nation (also Moose Cree)
    • Fort Albany First Nation (also 'Albany First Nation', also Oji-Cree, Ojibwe)
    • Kashechewan First Nation (from Keeshechewan - 'where the water flows quickly', also Moose Cree)
    • Missanabie Cree First Nation
    • Taykwa Tagamou Nation (formerly 'New Post First Nation')
    • Weenusk First Nation (own designation: Wīnāsko Ininiwak - 'People of ground hog' - 'People of the woodchucks ', originally they lived in reserve # 90, but were forced because of a spring tide that destroyed most of their settlement on May 16 1986 about 30 km southwest to Peawanuck - 'a place where you can find flint ' ('Winisk Indian Settlement') to settle, next to Swampy Cree, there are mostly Oji-Cree, as well as Ojibwa and Métis, reserves: Winisk # 90 , Winisk Indian Settlement ('Peawanuck'), approx. 53 km², population: 539)

• Western Swampy Cree ( Mushkego , Mushkegowuk )
  • Swampy Cree Tribal Council
    • Chemawawin Cree Nation (also Rocky Cree)
    • Misipawistik Cree Nation (formerly called 'Grand Rapids First Nation', derived from the Cree word Meshea Pow-e-stick or Misipawistik (pronounced: Misi-paw-ist-ik) - 'big rapids', this Swampy Cree-Rocky Cree -Tribal group under Chief Peter Beardy and 115 members signed Treaty No. 5 in September 1875 , the MCN live near Grand Rapids, Manitoba, 400 km north of Winnipeg, at the confluence of the Saskatchewan River with Lake Winnipeg, the population consists mostly of Swampy Cree, Rocky Cree as well as Métis , Cree and English are the most used languages, reserve: Grand Rapids # 33, approx. 19 km², population: 1,652)
    • Marcel Colomb First Nation (formerly 'Black Sturgeon First Nation', reservation # 198A is located on Hughes Lake, approx. 30 km southeast of the city of Lynn Lake, Manitoba, reservation: Black Sturgeon # 198A, approx. 23 km², population: 366)
    • Mathias Columb First Nation (also Rocky Cree , administrative center is located on the most populous reservation # 198 on the east bank of Pukatawagan Lake, approx. 42 km east of the Saskatchewan border, 819 km northwest of Winnipeg, 210 km north of The Pas and 217 km west von Thompson, in 1875 the Plains Cree, Assiniboine, Stoney, Saulteaux, Rocky Cree and Chipewyan, who live in northern Alberta and Saskatchewans, signed Treaty No. 6, which this tribal group joined as part of the 'James Roberts Band of Cree Indians' in 1898, which was later concluded join the 'Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation', from which they split off in 1910 and became independent, Reserves: Granville Lake Indian Settlement, Highrock # 199, Kamihkowappihskak Pawistik, Kimosominahk, Mistiategameek Sipi, Moosowhapihsk Sakapikpi, Napahkapihskow Sakhikowapi, Napahkapihskow Sakhikowigan, Sakahegan, Pachapesihk Wasahow, Pukatawagan # 198, Sisipuk Sakahegan (A), (B), (C), Wepuskow Ohnikahp, approx. 799 km², Pop ulation: 2,977)
    • Mosakahiken Cree Nation ( Mosakahiken - 'Elk Lake', hence formerly 'Moose Lake First Nation', also Rocky Cree, most populous reserve # 31A is about 63 km southeast of The Pas, reserves: Moose Lake # 31A, 31C, 31D, 31G, 31J, approx. 23 km², population: 1,914)
    • Opaskwayak Cree Nation (formerly 'The Pas Indian Band', The Pas is an English adaptation of the Cree word Opasquia - 'the place where the river narrows', also Rocky Cree)
    • Sapotaweyak Cree Nation
    • Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation
  • Prince Albert Grand Council
    • Cumberland House Cree Nation (mostly Cree and Métis, reservations: Budd's Point # 20D, Cumberland House Cree Nation # 20, Muskeg River # 20C, Pine Bluff # 20A, 20B, approx. 21 km², population: 1,181)
    • Red Earth Cree Nation (also Woodland Cree, reserves: Carrot River # 29A, Red Earth # 29, approx. 23 km², population: 1,524)
    • Shoal Lake Cree Nation (also Woodland Cree, reservation: Shoal Lake # 28A, approx. 15 km², population: 867)
  • Wabun Tribal Council
    • Brunswick House First Nation (formerly 'New Brunswick House Band of Ojibway', this is an Ojibway-Cree First Nation, the reserve is located on Highway 101, about 7 km from the town of Chapleau, Ontario and about 157 km northeast of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, signed the James Bay Treaty of 1905 - Treaty No. 9 on July 25, 1906, traditionally made a living from hunting, gathering, and trapping, and trading their pelts at New Brunswick House on Brunswick Lake and Missinaibi Lake , Reserves: Duck Lake # 76B, Mountbatten # 76A, approx. 93 km², population: 676)
    • Matachewan First Nation (an Ojibwa-Cree First Nation, administrative headquarters is in reservation # 72, approx. 42 km west of Kirkland Lake, reservation: Matachewan # 72, approx. 42 km², population: 551)
  • Keewatin Tribal Council
    • Fox Lake Cree Nation (Reserves: A Kwis Ki Mahka IR, Fox Lake # 1, 2, Fox Lake West # 3, Gillam Indian Settlement, approx. 17 km², population: 1,085)
    • Shamattawa Cree Nation (belong to the 'Eastern Swampy Cree' (also Omushkego ), reservation: Shamattawa # 1, approx. 23 km², population: 1,429)
    • Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Reserves: Split Lake # 171, 171A, 171B, approx. 176 km², population: 3,395)
    • War Lake First Nation (Reserves: Mooseocoot, Mooseocoot # 2, 3, approx. 2 km², population: 276)
    • York Factory First Nation (also 'York Factory Cree Nation', belong to the 'Eastern Swampy Cree' (also Omushkego ), reservation: York Landing, approx. 10 km², population: 1,139)
  • Independent First Nation
    • Flying Post First Nation (also Ojibwa, the reserve is approx. 40 km southeast of Smooth Rock Falls, reservation: Flying Post # 73, approx. 40 km southeast of Smooth Rock Falls, approx. 60 km², population: 174)

Oji-Cree / Severn Ojibwa (Northern Ojibwa / Anishinini)

the Oji-Cree today include several First Nations and are descendants of mixed marriages between Anishinabe (Ojibwa) and Cree - hence their English. Name, lived between the traditional territories of the Ojibwa in the south and the Cree in the north and are mostly attributed to the Ojibwa (Anishinaabe), since the "Oji-Cree" identified themselves as Cree and not as Ojibwa, called British and Canadian governments also call them Cree ; their language, the Anishininiimowin or the Oji-Cree language with approx. 12,600 speakers, is structurally closer to the Ojibwa , although the literary tradition reflects more the Cree and Anishininiimowin uses the Cree syllabary (today, together with "n-Cree" -Dialect-speaking Woodland Cree, the Lowlands and Uplands Swampy Cree, the Moose Cree (who speak however the "l-Cree" dialect) and neighboring Upland Cree, the Oji-Cree culturally identify as Swampy Cree ).

• Matawa First Nations Management
  • Aroland First Nation (formerly 'Fort Hope Band of Ojibway or Cree', the First Nation consists of Ojibwa and Oji-Cree and lives about 20 km west of Nakina, Ontario, the settlement of Aroland, on the Canadian National Railway, was after named by the Arrow Land and Logging Company, which operated in this area from 1933 to 1941, members of the 'Aroland First Nation' originally come from various First Nations ('Long Lake 58 First Nation', 'Long Lac 77 First Nation'; now: 'Ginoogaming First Nation'; 'Fort Hope First Nation'; now: 'Eabametoong First Nation'; 'Marten Falls First Nation' and 'Fort William First Nation'), their settlement Aroland Indian Settlement has the status of a Canadian Indian Reserve, is not a reserve itself, population: 325)
  • Constance Lake First Nation (formerly known as the English River First Nation, a splinter group of the Albany Band , lived along the English River (Kenogami River) in Ontario, signed Contract No. 9 separately in 1901, now live along the Kabinakagami River and on East bank of the Kenogami River (or English River) in Ontario, the reserve, including Constance Lake, is approx. 32 km west of Hearst, Ontario, reserves: Constance Lake # 92, approx. 31 km², population: 1,572)
  • Eabametoong First Nation ('the reversing of the waterplace', formerly 'Fort Hope Band of Ojibway or Cree', therefore previously called 'Fort Hope First Nation', the community of Fort Hope is located on the north bank of Eabamet Lake, part of the Albany River -The catchment area is, approx. 360 km north of Thunder Bay, the next city accessible by car or train is Armstrong, 155 km southwest, reservation: Fort Hope # 64, approx. 259 km², population: 2,360)
  • Hornepayne First Nation
  • Marten Falls First Nation (live in two settlements, Ogoki Post and Marten Falls , which is also the administrative center, at the confluence of the Albany River and Ogoki River , reservation # 65 is on the north bank of the Albany River, approx. 170 km northeast of Nakina, Ontario , The First Nation was named after its 250-year-old settlement near the waterfalls around 80 km upstream from the current settlement of Marten Falls, but had to give up and relocate it in 1926, reservation: Martin Falls # 65, approx. 77 km² , Population: 642)
  • Neskantaga First Nation (also 'Lansdowne House First Nation'), reserves: Neskantaga (approx. 5 km southwest / southeast of Lansdowne House, Summer Beaver Settlement, approx. 8.3 km², population: 415)
  • Nibinamik First Nation (derived from Niibinamik - 'summer beaver ', hence also 'Summer Beaver Band', the Summer Beaver Settlement is 385 km northeast of Sioux Lookout in northern Ontario, population: 461)
  • Webequie First Nation (English pronunciation: 'Way-bih-quay', derived from the Anishininiimowin (Oji-Cree) word Webikwe - 'shaking the head', the settlement of Webequie is on the northern peninsula of Eastwood Island in Winisk Lake, 540 km north of Thunder Bay, 450 km north of Sioux Lookout, only accessible by plane or seasonal winter road, the next city accessible all year round by car is Pickle Lake, 250 km southwest or Nakina, 320 km southeast, reservations: Webequie, Webiqui Indian Settlement, approx . 342 km², population: 814)
• Wabun Tribal Council
  • Mattagami First Nation (reserve: Mattagami # 71, approx. 53 km², population: 474)
• Windigo First Nations Council
  • Bearskin Lake First Nation (formerly Trout Lake Band of Cree)
  • Cat Lake First Nation ( Bizhiw-zaaga'iganiwininiwag - 'Volk am Wild-cat Lake', also Bizhiw-zaaga'iganiing Nitam Anishinaabeg - 'The First Nation at Wild-cat Lake', formerly 'Osnaburgh House Band of Ojibway')
  • Mishkeegogamang First Nation (formerly 'Osnaburgh House Band of Ojibway')
  • North Caribou Lake First Nation (also 'Weagamow First Nation' or 'Round Lake First Nation', derived from the Oji-Cree word Wiyaagamaa - 'Round Lake', formerly 'Caribou Lake Band of Cree')
  • Sachigo Lake First Nation (formerly 'Trout Lake Band of Cree')
• Shibogama First Nations Council (in Oji-Cree: Zhibwagamaa Nistam-Anashinaabeg Onashaweniniwag )
  • Kasabonika (Lake) First Nation ( Gasabaanakaa Nistam Anišininiwaad , formerly 'Caribou Lake Band of Cree')
  • Kingfisher First Nation ( Giishkimanisiiwaaboong - 'At Kingfisher-waters', formerly 'Caribou Lake Band of Cree')
  • Wapekeka First Nation (formerly known as 'Angling Lake First Nation', formerly 'Trout Lake Band of Cree')
  • Wawakapewin First Nation (formerly 'Caribou Lake Band of Cree')
  • Wunnumin Lake First Nation ( Wanaman-zaaga'iganiing - 'At Wunnumin Lake', formerly 'Caribou Lake Band of Cree')
• Island Lake Tribal Council
  • Garden Hill First Nation (formerly 'Island Lake Band of Cree')
  • Red Sucker Lake First Nation (formerly 'Island Lake Band of Cree')
  • St. Theresa Point First Nation (formerly the Island Lake Band of Cree)
  • Wasagamack First Nation (formerly 'Island Lake Band of Cree')
• Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council ( Giiwedinoog Ogimaakaanag - 'Northern Chiefs')
  • Deer Lake First Nation
  • Keewaywin First Nation
  • McDowell Lake First Nation ( Misi-zhaaga'iganiing )
  • North Spirit Lake First Nation
  • Fort Severn First Nation (also 'Washaho Cree Nation', also James Bay Mushkego or Omushkego West Main Cree)
• Independent First Nations Alliance
  • Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (also Gichi-namegosib ininiwag , Gichi-namegosibiwininiwag , also 'Big Trout Lake First Nation', formerly 'Trout Lake Band of Cree')
  • Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation (formerly Trout Lake Band of Cree) - formerly a member of the Windigo First Nations Council
• Independent First Nations
  • Ojibway Nation of Saugeen First Nation (formerly 'Osnaburgh House Band of Ojibway', signed Contract No. 3 on October 3, 1873, the administrative seat is in the only reservation about 20 km northwest of Savant Lake, Ontario, reservation: Ojibway Nation of Saugeen, approx. 60 km², population: 217)
  • Sandy Lake First Nation (also Negaw-zaaga'igani Nitam-Anishinaabe , the main settlement and administrative seat of Sandy Lake, Ontario (formerly known as Wabitigweyaang) is located in northwestern Ontario, about 227 km northeast of Red Lake, Ontario, chief and shaman Robert Fiddler (also 'South Wind'), member of the Sucker Clan, signed Treaty No. 5 as leader of today's Dear Lake and Sandy Lake First Nations, the following totems or clans are represented today: Namebin (aa) - ('Suckers' - ' Redhorse ' Surname: Fiddler, Goodman, Harper), name or Maame ( 'sturgeon' - ' interference ', Surname: Mamakeesic) Zhedeg ( 'pelicans' - ' pelicans ', Surname: Meekis) Ajijaak (we) ( 'Cranes' - ' Kraniche ', family name: Kakegamic, Kakepetum), Adik ('Caribou' - caribou , family name: Linklater, Rae), reserve: Sandy Lake # 88, approx. 42 km², population: 2,738)

Rocky Cree (Asinīskāwiyiniwak)

• Prince Albert Grand Council
  • Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation ( Assin'skowitiniwak - 'Rocky Cree' - 'People in rocky, mountainous region' also 'Peter Ballantyne Band of Cree Indians', on February 11, 1889 signed the' Montreal Lake 'and' Lac La Ronge First Nations 'in Molanosa, on the north bank of Montreal Lake, an appendix to Treaty No. 6 of 1876 made at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt with the Plains Cree, Saulteaux and Assiniboine of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, in 1894 Peter Ballantyne joined with his group at Potato Lake, near La Ronge, to contract no. 6, finally more and more small Cree groups around Pelican Narrows joined contract no. 6 and in 1898 became part of the 'La Range Indian Band', im August 1900 the Canadian government recognized the group as independent of the 'Lac La Ronge Indian Band', Peter Ballantyne then became the first chief, Reserves: Amisk Lake # 184, Amiskosakahikan # 210, Birch Portage # 184A, Chief Joseph Custer, Denarii Beach Indian Settlement, Deschambault Lake Indian Settlement, Kinosom Pwatinahk # 203, Kinoosao-Thomas Clark # 204, Kipahigan Sakahikan # 222, Kiskaciwan # 208, Kistapinan # 211, Kistapinanihk # 231, Manawanstawayak # 230, Maskikopawiscikosik # 229, McKay # 209, McKay # 209 Mirond Lake # 184E, Mistahe Wasahk # 209, Mistik, Muskwaminiwatim # 225, Nakiskatowaneek # 227, Nemekus Sakahikan # 221, Northern Lights # 220, Pelican Narrows # 184B, 206, Pisiwiminiwatim # 207, Sandy Bay Indian Settlement, Sandy Narrows # 184C , Sokatisewin Sakahikan # 224, Southend # 200, 200A, Sturgeon Weir # 184F, 205, Wapaskokimaw # 202, Waskwaynikapik # 228, Waskwiatik Sakahikan # 223, Woody Lake # 184D, approx. 373 km², population: 8,995)
• Keewatin Tribal Council
  • Barren Lands (Brochet) First Nation (reservation # 197 is on the north shore of Reindeer Lake, approx. 256 km northeast of Thompson, Manitoba, the administrative headquarters and main settlement of the First Nation, which consists mostly of Rocky Cree and Chipewyan (Denesuline), is approx. 928 km north of Winnipeg and 19 km east of the border with Saskatchewan, in 1906 they signed Treaty No. 10 , later some members split off and formed the 'Northlands Dene First Nation', which after Lac Brochet, on the lake of the same name, Resettled approx. 70 km further north, reserve: Brochet # 197, approx. 43 km², population: 1,021)
  • Bunibonibee Cree Nation (formerly 'Oxford House First Nation', the First Nation signed the appendix to Treaty No. 5 in 1909 , the most populous reservation # 24 is located on a ridge between Oxford Lake in the west and Back Lake in the east, about 160 km southeast von Thompson and also houses the administrative headquarters and the main settlement of Oxford House, approx. 950 km northeast of Winnipeg on the east bank of Oxford Lake at the outlet of the Hayes River, the Carrot River flows into Oxford Lake in the northwest and is made possible by a portage on the Nelson River the transport route to Cross Lake, downstream is Knee Lake, Reserves: High Hill Lake, Kisipikamak, Munro Lake IR, Notin Sakahekun, Opischikonayak Nation, Oxford House # 24, 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, Oxford Lake North Shore, Wapisew Lake, Whitemud Lake, population: 2,737)
  • God's Lake First Nation (Reserves: Andrew Bay, Chataway Lake / Knife Lake, Esker Ridge #A, B, God's Lake # 23, God's Lake Southeast of Community, Hawkins, Kenyan Lake, North Prominent Ridge, Peter Burton's / Shorty Rapids, Red Cross Lake East, Red Cross Lake North, Vermilyea Lake, approx. 102 km², population: 2,469)
  • Manto Sipi Cree Nation (also Swampy Cree)
  • Tataskweyak Cree Nation (formerly Split Lake First Nation, reserves: Split Lake # 171, 171A, 171B, approx. Km², population: 3,392)
• Swampy Cree Tribal Council
  • Chemawawin Cree Nation (also Swampy Cree)
  • Mathias Columb First Nation (also Swampy Cree)
  • Misipawistik Cree Nation (formerly 'Grand Rapids First Nation', also Swampy Cree)
  • Mosakahiken Cree Nation ( Mosakahiken - 'Elk River', hence also 'Moose Lake First Nation', also Swampy Cree)
  • Opaskwayak Cree Nation (The Pas is the English adaptation of the Cree word Opasquia - 'the place where the river narrows', hence earlier 'The Pas Indian Band', also Swampy Cree)
• Independent First Nations
  • Cross Lake First Nation
  • Pimicikamak Cree Nation
  • Fisher River Cree Nation ( Ochekwi-Sipi , from the English name fisher for the fishing marten , signed two treaties - first the Norway House Treaty in 1875 , followed in 1905 by Treaty No. 5, occupy two reserves about 193 km north of the provincial capital Winnipeg , Manitoba, the most populous # 44 is on the south bank of Fisher Bay and also includes the Fisher River administrative center, # 44A is about 3 km to the west and borders the ' Peguis First Nation ' (formerly 'St. Peter's Band') in the south -Reservat, of the more than 3000 tribal members, mostly Cree, Ojibwa and Métis, around 1,700 live outside the reservations, English is the lingua franca, Cree and partly Ojibwa are mostly only spoken by the ancients, reservations: Fisher River # 44, 44A , approx. 63 km², population: 3,335)
  • Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (formerly 'Nelson House First Nation', live on various reservations around Nelson House, Manitoba, about 80 km west of Thompson, Nisichawayasihk - 'where the rivers meet', is the Cree name for Nelson House, as the rivers Burntwood, Footprint and Rat Rivers converge here, approx. 2,500 tribe members live in the reservations, the rest outside, reservations: Kapawasihk, Mile 20 Second Revision, Monahawuhkan, Nelson House # 170, 170A, 170B, 170C, Numaykoos Sakaheykun, Odei River, Opekanowi Sakaheykun, Opekunosakakanihk, Suwannee Lake 79459, Suwanne Lake 09748, Wapasihk, Wapikunoo Bay, Wapisu Lake, Wuskwi Sakaheykun, Wuskwi Sipi, approx. 237 km², population: 4,542)
  • O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (live in the settlement of Southern Indian Lake in Manitoba on the shores of Southern Indian Lake, about 130 km north of the city of Thompson, originally the second largest community of the 'Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation', they split in 2005 as an independent First Nation, reservations: O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation # 1, South Indian Lake Settlement, approx. 113 km², population: 1,403)
  • Norway House Cree Nation ('Kinosao Sipi Cree Nation', administrative seat is at Norway House, Manitoba, on Playgreen Lake on the east bank of the Nelson River, most populous reservation Norway House # 17, reservations: Anderson, Hart, Norway House # 17, 17A, 17B , Norway House IR, Norway House IR # 17D-1, Norway House # 17C-1 - 46, Ponask Lake, Winnipekosihk, approx. Km², population:)

Woodland Cree (Sakāwithiniwak / nīhithawak)

• Athabasca Tribal Council
  • Fort McKay First Nation (the parish of Fort McKay is in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo , about 65 km north of Fort McMurray , the Fort McKay First Nation is one of the signatories of Treaty No. 8 , the nomadic Chipewyan ( Denesulins) from hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering in the woods along the Athabasca River , but with the advent of the fur trade and the establishment of a Hudson's Bay Company trading post in 1820 and hostile bush cree advancing northwest of Woodland Cree, they settled soon together with the Cree as so-called homeguards permanently at the posts, reservations: Fort McKay # 174, 174C, 174D, Namur Lake # 174B, 174A, approx. 149 km², population: 696)
  • Fort McMurray # 468 (First Nation) (the First Nation signed an appendix to Treaty No. 8 in 1899, the Fort McKay First Nation was once part of Fort McMurray but became independent in 1942, Reservation # 175 is 20 km east of Fort McMurray and Reserves # 176, 176A and 176B near Anzac on Gregoire Lake, about 50 km southeast of Fort McMurray, # 176 is the largest and most populous, the members are predominantly Woodland Cree and Chipewyan (Denesuline), Reserves: Fort McMurray # 468 , Clearwater # 175, Gregoire Lake # 176, 176A, 176B, approx. 31 km², population: 632)
  • Mikisew Cree First Nation (also Bush Cree , reservations: Allison Bay # 219, Charles Lake # 225, Collin Lake # 223, Cornwall Lake # 224, Devil's Gate # 220, Dog Head # 218, Old Fort # 217, Peace Point # 222 , Sandy Point # 221, approx. 51 km², population: 2,644)
• Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC)
  • Canoe Lake First Nation (also Plains Cree)
• Western Cree Tribal Council
  • Duncan's First Nation
  • Horse Lake First Nation
  • Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation - also a member of the Prince Albert Grand Council
• Prince Albert Grand Council
  • Lac La Ronge First Nation (formerly 'La Ronge & Stanley Mission Band of Woods Cree Indians', administrative headquarters is La Ronge in Kitsaki Reservation # 156B, Lac La Ronge is the largest First Nation in Saskatchewan and one of the 10 largest in Canada, was originally two groups, from 1950 they joined together to form the 'Lac La Ronge First Nation', reservations: Bittern Lake # 218, Four Portages # 157C, Fox Point # 157D, 157E, Grandmother's Bay # 219 - with the community of Grandmother's Bay, Kitsakie # 156B, Lac La Ronge # 156 - with the La Ronge Ward , Little Hills # 158, 158A, 158B, Little Red River # 106C - with the Little Red River Ward, 106D, Morin Lake # 217 - with the Hall Lake, Old Ward Fort # 157B, Pinehouse Lake Indian Settlement, Potato River # 156A, Stanley # 157 - with the Stanley Mission Ward, 157A, Sucker River # 156C - with the Sucker River Ward, Stanley Mission and Grandmother's Bay self-administer approximately 433 km² Population: 9,250)
    • La Ronge Band (formerly also 'James Roberts Band of Cree Indians', based in La Ronge, about 150 miles north of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, signed together with the' Amos Charles Band of Cree Indians' and 'Peter Ballantyne Band of Cree Indians' on February 11, 1889 Treaty No. 6 under Chief James Roberts)
    • Stanley Mission Cree Nation (formerly also 'Amos Charles Band of Cree Indians', Amachêwêspimawin - 'the cliffs over which the hunters try to shoot their arrows ', traditionally the Cree hunters tried to determine their hunting luck here - they managed to get theirs To shoot arrows over the cliffs, they would have a successful hunting season, if not, it would mean a hapless year, the eponymous Stanley Mission was built in 1851 under the name Church Mission Point, the main settlement and administration is on the Churchill River in northern Saskatchewan , about 80 km northeast of La Ronge, or 310 km north of Prince Albert)
  • Montreal Lake First Nation (on February 11, 1889, in Molanosa, on the north bank of Montreal Lake, the Montreal Lake and Lac La Ronge First Nations signed an appendix to Treaty No. 6 of 1876, made at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt with the Plains Cree, Saulteaux and Assiniboine of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan had been closed Reserves: Montreal Lake # 106, 106B, Timber Bay Indian Settlement, approx. 83 km², population: 3,504)
  • Red Earth Cree Nation (also Swampy Cree)
  • Shoal Lake Cree Nation (also Swampy Cree)
  • Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
• North Peace Tribal Council (NPTC)
  • Little Red River Cree Nation (also Bush Cree )
  • Lubicon Lake Indian Nation (also Bush Cree . The Lubicon Cree were at the beginning of the 20th century one of the few bands that did not have to sign a land assignment agreement and for whom no reservation was set up. Until the 1980s, they lived largely self-sufficient and undisturbed by subsistence Hunting and gathering as well as commercial trapping. Then the oil industry came to their country and changed the living conditions fundamentally. Since then they have been fighting for the establishment of a reservation, a forest and wildlife protection agreement and compensation payments.)
  • Tallcree First Nation (signed Contract No. 8 at Lesser Slave in 1899, administrative headquarters is on the most populous reservation # 173A, approximately 40 km southeast of Fort Vermilion, reservations: Beaver Ranch # 163, 163A, 163B, Fort Vermilion # 173B, Tall Cree # 173, 173A, Wadlin Lake # 173C, approx. 82 km², population: 1,123)
• Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council (LSLIRC)
  • Driftpile First Nation (also 'Driftpile Cree Nation', also Bush Cree , the settlement and seat of the Driftpile administration is located on reservation # 150, along Highway 2, 74 km west of the town of Slave Lake (formerly Sawridge), approx. 50 km east of High Prairie as well as east of Grande Prairie , reservation # 150 itself extends 10 km along the sandy south shore of Lesser Slave Lake, from 1899 to 1910 all five Cree groups of the Lesser Slave area were considered as one band , so the Cree under Chief Kinasayoo (also 'Kinuso'), who signed Contract No. 8 at Slave Lake in 1899, and whose adviser Wechewasis moved between the reservations as they wanted, in 1929 the government decided to reduce confusion and administration, to organize the individual groups separately as First Nations in their own regions - this is how the Driftpile , Sawridge River , Swan River , Sucker Creek and Kapawe'no , reservation: Drift Pile River # 150, approx. 6 4 km², population: 2,425)
  • Kapawe'no First Nation (also 'Kapawe'no First Nation', formerly called 'Grouard Band'), the administration is located near Grouard (also known as Grouard Mission ) in the most populous reservation # 150B, approx. 8 km NW / NE of the Lesser Slave Lake , 30 km northeast of High Prairie and 171 km northeast of Grande Prairie , Alberta, Reserves: Kapawe'no First Nation # 150B, # 150C, # 150D, # 229, # 230, # 231, approximately 16 km², population : 339)
  • Sawridge First Nation (the most populous reservation # 150G is approximately 250 km north of Edmonton, reservations: Sawridge # 150G, 150H, approximately 22 km², population: 1,200)
  • Swan River First Nation (the administration is located in the most populous reservation Swan River # 150E, on the south bank of Lesser Slave Lake, reservations: Assineau River # 150F, Swan River # 150E, approx. 43 km², population: 1,153)
• Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council
  • Whitefish (Goodfish) Lake First Nation # 128 (also Bush Cree , the administrative seat is approx. 220 km northeast of Edmonton, 90 km northwest of St. Paul and 68 km west of Bonneyville, Alberta in the most populous reservation # 155, approx. 61 km north of High Prairie, Chief James Seenum (also known as Pakan - 'tough nut, hard to crack') signed Treaty No. 6 in 1876 with other First Nations in what is now Alberta and Saskatchewan, in the area between the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers , an important trade passage for the fur trade from Carlton to Fort Edmonton, reservations: Utikoomak Lake # 155, 155A, 155B, approx. 82 km², population: 2,258)
  • Woodland Cree First Nation (reservations: Cadotte Lake Indian Settlement, Woodland Cree # 226, 227, 228, approx. 161 km², population: 1,008)
  • Loon River Cree (Reserves: Loon Lake # 235, Loon Prairie # 237, Swampy Lake # 236, approx. Km²Population: 515)
• Treaty 8 Tribal Association
  • Blueberry River First Nations (the name is derived from the abundant blueberry deposits in the river valley, known as the 'St. John Beaver Band' until 1950, the main settlement is in the Blue Berry River Reservation # 205, approx. 80 km northwest of Fort St. John, Reserves: Beaton River # 204 (southern half), Blueberry River # 205, approx. 15 km², population: 450)
  • West Moberly First Nations (originally part of the 'Hudson Hope Band', which split into the West Moberly and Halfway River First Nations in 1977, the First Nation, consisting of Daneẕaa and Bush Cree , lies on the west bank of Moberly Lake, approx. 90 km southwest of Fort St. John, reservation: West Moberly Lake # 168A, approx. 20 km², population: 227)
  • Saulteau First Nations (Daneẕaa, Bush Cree and Saulteaux ('Soto'), the First Nation is located on the east bank of Moberly Lake, approx. 100 km southwest of Fort St. John on Highway 29, reservation: East Moberly Lake # 169, approx. 30 km², population: 840)
• Independent First Nations
  • Bigstone Cree Nation (formerly also 'Wabasca First Nation', also Bush Cree , their reserve land borders on four lakes (North Wabasca, South Wabasca, Sandy, and Calling Lake) and is therefore very rich in fish and game, signed the appendix to the treaty No. 8 on August 14, 1899, but many Cree groups north of the Bigstone Cree Nation in the catchment area of ​​the Wabasca River had been forgotten during the contract negotiations, these were now settled on land of Bigstone Cree, the Cree in the parishes of Peerless Lake and Trout Lake consider themselves to be independent and demand to be recognized as their own First Nations, Reserves: Desmarais Settlement, Jean Baptiste Gambler # 183, Wabasca # 166, 166A, 166B, 166C, 166D, approx. 210 km², population: 6,834)
  • Peerless Trout First Nation (once the parishes of Peerless Lake and Trout Lake belonged to the Bigstone Cree Nation, but split off in 2003 to act as an independent First Nation, approx. 255 km², population: 732)
  • Fort Nelson First Nation (is a First Nation consisting of 14 extended families of Slavey and Bush Cree , Chief 'Jimmie Badine' and Sub-Chief 'Tommy Whitehead', signed the appendix to Treaty No. 8 in August 1910, the First Nation is 7 km south the city of Fort Nelson in northeast British Columbia, reservations: Fontas # 1, Fort Nelson # 2, Kahntah # 3, Snake # 5, approx. 95 km², population: 819)

Plains Cree (Paskwāwiyiniwak / nēhiyawak)

• Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC) or Battleford Agency Tribal Council (BATC)
  • Ahtahkakoop First Nation (member of the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs, reservation: Ahtahkakoop # 104, on the shores of Sandy Lake, approx. 72 km northeast of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, approx. 173 km², population: 3,110) - also a member of the Fort Carlton Agency Council
  • Moosomin First Nation (Chief 'Yellow Sky' did not take part in the negotiations on Treaty No. 6 in 1876, but in the spring of 1881 Yellow Sky's sub-chief 'Moosomin' signed an appendix to Treaty No. 6, 'Yellow Sky' was recognized chief until 1884 , then Moosomin was appointed chief by Indian Commissioner Dewndey, reservations: Moosomin # 112A, B, E - H, J, L, M, N, P, approx .: 187 km², population: 1,593)
  • Red Pheasant First Nation (Chief Wuttunee ('Porcupine') and his Cree group hunted and fished along the Battle River in the Battleford region. When Wuttunee rejected Treaty No. 6, he appointed his brother Pihew-kamihkosit ('Red Pheasant ') to sign the contract on September 9, 1876, the latter was then recognized by the Canadian government as chief, in 1878 the Red Pheasant # 108 reservation was established in the Eagle Hills, about 33 km south of North Battleford, about 252 km², population: 2,209)
  • Saulteaux First Nation (also Saulteaux) (Population: 1,198)
  • Sweetgrass First Nation (the chiefs Wikaskokiseyin ('Sweet Grass') and Wah-wee-kah-oo-tah-mah-hote ('Strike him on the Back') signed Contract No. 6 at Fort Pitt and Fort Carlton, before the establishment of the reservation in the Battle River region southwest of Battleford, Apseenes ('Young Sweet Grass') succeeded Wah-wee-kah-oo-tah-mah-hote, reservations: Sweet Grass # 113, 113-028, A, B, C19, C7, E22, F16, G7, H1, I4, J3, K32, L6, M16, N27, P2, S6, population: 1,747)
• Northwest Professional Services Corp. or Battlefords Tribal Council (BTC)
  • Little Pine First Nation (named after Chief Minahikosis ('Little Pine'), administrative seat and largest settlement is in the Little Pine # 116 reservation, along the Battle River, approx. 53 km northwest of North Battleford, reservations: Little Pine # 116, Min-a-he-quo-sis # 116A, 116C, approx. 248 km², population: 1,788)
  • Lucky Man First Nation (also 'Lucky Man Cree Nation', gives its name to Papewes - 'Lucky Man', chief of the River Cree , a subgroup of the Plains Cree , who was a leader of Mistahimaskwa ´s ('Big Bear') River in the 1870s Cree was once ousted and united with the Little Pine First Nation, about 60 km east of North Battleford near Mayfair, Saskatchewan, and now the members are returning to their ancestral home, three parishes, Hafford, Mayfair and Blaine Lake in close proximity to the reserve, reserve: Lucky Man, approx. 31 km², population: 110)
  • Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man First Nation (is an amalgamation of three once independent Assiniboine-Cree groups in the Eagle Hills south of North Battleford. The Mosquito Reservation was established after Misketo succeeded Little Chief as chief and annexed it to the Signed Contract No. 6 on August 29, 1878. The Grizzly Bear's Head group under Chief Teepee Hoska ('Long Lodge') signed Contract No. 4 in the Cypress Hills in 1877 and moved to the Battleford region in 1882 after Teepee Hoska's death, the two groups merged in 1951. After signing the appendix to Contract No. 4, the Lean Man group moved south of Battleford from 1882, but in 1931 there was only one person in this group who now joined the Mosquito Grizzly Bear's Head group , the Mosquito Reservation is approximately 27 km south and the Grizzly Bear's Head and Lean Man Reservations approximately 15 miles south of North Battleford, Reserves: Gold Eagle, Grizzly Bear's Head # 110 & Lean Man # 111, Mosquito # 109, Mosquito Grizzly Bear's Head Lean Man Tle # 1, approx. 173 km², population: 1,243)
  • Poundmaker First Nation (Chief Pitikwahanapiwiyin ('Poundmaker'), once a member of the 'Red Pheasant First Nation', an important advocate of the Cree in the negotiations for Contract No. 6, chose the location for the current reservation for his group, the administrative headquarters are located on Poundmaker Reservation # 114, near Cut Knife Township, about 25 miles northwest of North Battleford and Saskatoon, Reserves: Poundmaker # 114-10A, 12, 13, 15, 15C, 17, 17A, 18A, 18B, 19, 1A, 21, 22, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, 5A, 5B, 6A2, 6A3, 6B2, 6C2, 7A, 8A, 9, 9A, 11A, 16, 28, approximately 145 square kilometers, population : 1,582)
• Independent First Nations
  • Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation (administrative headquarters is approx. 68 km north of Saskatoon and 54 km south of Prince Albert, between the historical sites Fort Carlton and Batoche, here the so-called Riel Resistance began in 1885 , reservations: Beardy's & Okemasis # 96 & # 97-A, Beardy's # 97 & Okemasis # 96, Beardy's & Okemasis # 96 & # 97-B, Beardy's & Okemasis # 96 & # 97-C, Willow Cree, approx. 203 km², population: 3,048)
  • Big Island Lake First Nation (or 'Joseph Bighead First Nation', headquartered on Big Head # 124, the most populous reservation, 24 miles east of Cold Lake), Chief Joseph Bighead signed an appendix to Treaty No. 6 on June 25th 1913 and demanded that his tribal group could continue to hunt and fish in the region around Lac des Iles, but Big Head IR # 124 was established in 1916, reservations: Big Head IR # 124, Big Island Lake Cree Territory, approx. 47 km² , Population: 1060)
  • Cowessess First Nation (administrative headquarters is in the most populous reservation # 73, approx. 15 km northwest of Broadview, Saskatchewan and approx. 155 km east of the provincial capital Regina in the Qu'Appelle Valley near the Crooked Lake, Round Lake and the Qu'Appelle River , The reserve was established with the signing of Contract No. 4 on September 15, 1874 by Chief Cowessess (Little Child), four sub-chiefs and 69 band members, but the Saulteaux-Cree tribal group continued to hunt on the plains in the Canadian-American border area, eventually they settled at Fort Walsh (Maple Creek), but were forcibly relocated to the present reservation in 1882–1883, reservations: Cowessess # 73, 73A, Treaty 4 Reserve Grounds 77, approx. 370 km², population: 3,795)
  • Ermineskin Cree Nation (Reserves: Ermineskin # 138, Pigeon Lake # 138A, approx. 123 km², population: 4,042)
  • Louis Bull Tribe (Headquarters and main settlement is on Louis Bull Reservation # 439, near Hobbema, approx. 90 km south of Edmonton Reserves: Louis Bull # 138B, # 439, Pigeon Lake # 138A, approx. 53 km², population: 2,020 )
  • Montana First Nation (the administrative seat is in the Montana # 139 reservation, approx. 90 km south of Edmonton and 3 km east of Highway No. 2A, the Montana First Nation is therefore the smallest of the four First Nations of Hobbema, Alberta Reserves: Montana # 139, Pigeon Lake # 138A, approx. 48 km², population: 939)
  • Paul First Nation (also Stoney) (Reserves: Buck Lake # 133C, Wabamun # 133A, 133B, approx. 74 km², population: 1,893)
  • Onion Lake First Nation (administrative headquarters located about 50 km north of Lloydminster , the Saskatchewan-Alberta border town in the Central Parkland region , in the transition area between grassy areas in the south and boreal forest in the north, originally two independent Cree groups that formed on 16. January 1914 for 'Onion Lake First nation joined forces: the Seekashootch and Weemisticooseahwis .. group the contract No. 6 signed at Fort Pitt on September 9, 1876 for the Weemisticooseahwis instead of a chief' Makaoo ', a council member, and established the Makaoo -Reservate # 120 along the lake later known as Onion Lake, after signing the contract, Seekaskootch ('Cut Arm') became chief, he took part in the surveying of Seekaskootch reservation # 119, which was established in 1889 northwest of Fort Pitt, 'Seekaskootch 'was killed at Steele Narrows in 1885 during the Northwest Rebellion when he tried to make peace unarmed that encompass reservations approx. 643 km² in both Saskatchewan and Alberta, with 70% of the land area being in Saskatchewan)
  • Saddle Lake Cree First Nations (Reserves: Blue Quills First Nation, Saddle Lake # 125, White Fish Lake # 128, approx. 304 km², population: 9,365)
    • Blue Quills Band of Cree
    • Saddle Lake Band of Cree
    • Wahsatenaw Band of Cree (Chief Muskegwatic - 'Bear's Ears')
    • Whitefish Lake First Nation 128 (Goodfish) (also Bush Cree , administrative headquarters located approx. 220 km northeast of Edmonton, 90 km northwest of St. Paul and 68 km west of Bonneyville, Alberta, Chief James Seenum, also known as Pakan)
  • Samson Cree Nation
  • Thunderchild First Nation in August 1879, Chief Piyesiw Awasis ('Thunderchild') signed an appendix to Treaty No. 6, Chief Piyesiw Awasis was a supporter of Chief Mistahimaskwa ('Big Bear')
• Agency Chiefs Tribal Council (ACTC)
  • Big River First Nation (derived from the Cree word Oklemow Cee Pee - 'Big River', the name for the Cowan River), in 1878 Chief Saseewahum signed Treaty No. 6 and moved to the approx. 120 km² reserve approx. 120 km northwest of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, near the cities of Debden, Big River and Spiritwood, also 'Whitefish Lake Nation' or 'Kenemotayo Band', population: 3,062)
  • Pelican Lake First Nation
  • Witchekan Lake First Nation
• File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council (FHQTC)
  • Little Black Bear First Nation ( Kees kee hew mus-coo muskwa ('Little Black Bear'), chief of a Cree Assiniboine or Nehiyaw Pwat group from the Cypress Hills, signed Treaty No. 4, 1880, on September 15, 1874 they moved to the reservation in the File Hills, approx. 4 km south and 4 km west of Goodeve, administrative headquarters are in the Little Black Bear # 84 reservation, approx. 19 km east of Fort Qu'Appelle, reservations: Little Black Bear # 84, 84SC, Treaty 4 Reserve Grounds # 77, approx. 80 km², population: 452)
  • Nekaneet First Nation
  • Pasqua First Nation
  • Peepeekisi's First Nation
  • Piapot First Nation
  • Star Blanket First Nation
• Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC)
  • Canoe Lake First Nation
  • Flying Dust First Nation (Chief Ko-pat-a-wa-ke-num signed the appendix to Treaty No. 6 on September 3, 1878, which gave the tribal group the same rights as the Plains Cree, Assiniboine and Cree of 1876 by contract but had to give up all their rights to tribal areas within the treaty area)
  • Island Lake First Nation
  • Makwa Sakahikan First Nation
  • Waterhen Lake First Nation (the Cree called the Waterhen Lake Sîkîp Sâkahikan , Chief Running Around signed the appendix to Treaty No. 6 on November 8, 1921, required that their traditional lifestyle be protected by the Canadian government, in 1916 a reservation was established , The First Nation continued to make a living from hunting, fishing and trapping around Lost Lake , Fleet Lake to Primrose Lake , in 1954 they lost many of their traditional hunting grounds with the establishment of the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range and in 1975 tried in vain to get compensation , Administrative headquarters are in reservation # 130, approx. 39 km north of the city of Meadow Lake, approx. 246 km east of Lloydminster and approx. 156 km north of North Battleford, reservation: Waterhen # 130, approx. 80 km², population: 1,841)
• Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC)
  • James Smith First Nation
  • Sturgeon First Nation
• Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC)
  • Mistawasis First Nation (Chief Mistawasis ('Big Child') signed Treaty No. 6 at Fort Carlton in 1876)
  • Muskeg Lake Cree Nation
  • Muskoday First Nation (formerly 'John Smith First Nation', a Cree-Saulteaux First Nation)
  • One Arrow First Nation
• Southeast Treaty # 4 Tribal Council (SET4)
  • Ochapowace First Nation
  • Whitebear First Nation (also Saulteaux, Assiniboine, and Dakota)
• Touchwood Agency Tribal Council (TATC)
  • Daystar First Nation ( Kisecawchuck ('Daystar'), chief of a group of the 'Touchwood Hills Cree' ( Pasākanacīwiyiniwak ) and Salteaux)
  • George Gordon First Nation (Chief Kaneonuskatew ('One that walks on four claws', also 'George Gordon'), Chief of a group of the 'Touchwood Hills Cree' ( Pasākanacīwiyiniwak ) and Salteaux)
  • Kawacatoose First Nation ( Kawacatoose ) ('Poorman' or 'Lean Man', chief of a group of the 'Touchwood Hills Cree' ( Pasākanacīwiyiniwak ) and Assiniboine and Salteaux)
• Yorkton Tribal Council (YTC)
  • Kahkewistahaw First Nation (Chief Kahkewistahaw ('He who flies around') signed for the 'Rabbit Skins Cree' ( Wapoos Wi Iniwak ) and 'Saulteaux' ( Soto ) tribal group that hunted in Wood Mountain and the Cypress Hills on September 15, 1874 Contract No. 4, every year they returned to the Qu'Appelle Valley to receive their rations and payments until a reservation was established in 1881, the administrative center is in the most populous reservation # 72C, about 13 km north of Broadview, Reserves: Kahkewistahaw # 72, 72 A-1, IR # 72F, 72B, 72C, 72D, 72E, 72G, 72H, Treaty 4 Reserve Grounds # 77, approx. 103 km², population: 1,784)
  • Key First Nation (Chief Ow-tah-pee-ka-kaw ('He Who Unlocks' or 'The Key') signed the Appendix to Treaty No. 4 on September 24, 1875, for his of Saulteaux, Saulteaux-Cree and Saulteaux -Orkney existing tribal group that lived along the Shoal River in southwest Manitoba, in 1878 a reservation was established further west 145 km northeast of Fort Pelly, administrative headquarters are in reservation # 65, approx. 26 km northeast of Kamsack, reservations: The Key # 65, Treaty 4 Reserve Grounds # 77, approx. 64 km², population: 1,171)
  • Ocean Man First Nation (predominantly Cree-speaking Assiniboine, Cree, Saulteaux)
  • Sakimay First Nation (Cree-Saulteaux First Nation)
• Tribal Chiefs Association (TCA) or Tribal Chiefs Ventures Inc (TCVI)
  • Beaver Lake Cree Nation (also Bush Cree , administrative seat is in Beaver Lake # 131 reservation, approx. 105 km northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, reservations: Beaver Lake # 131, Blue Quills First Nation, approx. 63 km², population: 967)
  • Frog Lake First Nation (the administrative headquarters and main settlement are located east of Edmonton, approx. 90 km north of Lloydminster and 80 km south of Cold Lake, along the secondary Highway 897, neighboring communities are: Marwayne, Elk Point and Heinsburg, reservations: Blue Quills First Nation, Puskiakiwenin # 122, Unipouheos # 121, approx. 190 km², population: 2,762)
  • Kehewin Cree Nation (Reserves: Blue Quills First Nation, Kehewin # 123, approx. 83 km², population: 1,899)
• Yellowhead Tribal Development Foundation
  • Alexander First Nation (also 'Wapski Mahikan Society', also Bush Cree ) (administrative seat is Morinville, Alberta, approx. 34 km north of Edmonton, reservations: Alexander # 134, 134A, 134B, approx. Km², population:)
  • Enoch Cree Nation (Reserves: Stony Plain # 135, 135A, approx. 53 km², population: 2,227)
• Interlake Reserves Tribal Council
  • Peguis First Nation (formerly 'St. Peter's Band', this Saulteaux-Cree First Nation is the largest First Nation of Manitoba, administrative headquarters is in the most populous reservation # 1B, approx. 145 km north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, reservations: Peguis # 1B , 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 1H, 1I, St. Peters Fishing Station 1A, approx. 307 km², population: 8,893)
• Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, in Montana (also Ojibwa)

See also

• First Nations history
• History of Alberta
• Ontario history
• History of Québec
• List of Indian tribes recognized in Canada
• Cree font
• Prophecy of the Cree
• Okichitaw
• "Subarctic" cultural area

literature

• Claus Biegert , Rainer Wittenborn: The great river drowns in water. James Bay. Travel to a dying part of the world . Rowohlt, Reinbek 1983, ISBN 3-498-00479-4 .
• Hans M. Carlson: Home Is the Hunter. The James Bay Cree and Their Land . University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver 2008, ISBN 978-0-7748-1494-2 .
• Sarah Carter: Aboriginal People and Colonizers of Western Canada to 1900 . University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1999, ISBN 0-8020-4147-7 ( Themes in Canadian social history , 5).
• Peter Dörrenbächer: Baie James. An indigenous region? Journal for Canada Studies , 30, 1996, 16, ISSN  0944-7008 , pp. 33-45 online (PDF; 81 kB) .
• H. Peter Dörrenbächer: James Bay - institutionalization of a region. Use of hydropower in Northern Quebec and the emergence of regional self-government structures of the Cree Indians. Self-published in the field of geography at Saarland University , Saarbrücken 2003, ISBN 3-924525-48-X ( Saarbrücker geographical works, 48) (also: Saarbrücken, Univ., Diss., 2003)
• Dwayn Trevor Donald: Edmonton Pentimento. Re-Reading History in the Case of the Papaschase Cree. In: Journal of Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies. = Journal d'Association Canadienne pour l'Étude du Curriculum. 2, 2004, 1 ZDB -ID 2413777-7 pp. 21-53.
• Tupuhsi, autobiography of a Cree woman. In: Hartmut Krech (Ed.): IndianerLeben. Indian women and men tell their lives . Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2009, ISBN 978-3-8391-1047-8 .
• John S. Milloy: The Plains Cree. Trade, Diplomacy and War, 1790 to 1870 . University of Manitoba Press, Winnipeg 1988, ISBN 0-88755-141-6 , ( Manitoba studies in native history , 4)
• Toby Morantz: "Attention! L'homme blanc va venir te chercher." L'épreuve coloniale des Cris au Québec. Presses de l ' Université de Laval 2017
• Boyce Richardson: Strangers devour the land. A Chronicle of the Assault upon the last coherent Hunting Culture in North America, the Cree Indians of northern Quebec, and their vast primeval homelands . Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1976, ISBN 0-394-49838-0 .
• Gabrielle Slowey: Navigating Neoliberalism. Self-Determination and the Mikisew Cree First Nation . UBC Press, Vancouver 2008, ISBN 978-0-7748-1405-8 .
• Joachim Fromhold:
  • The Western Cree (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak) - Buffalo Pounds and the Donalda Pound, Alberta , Publisher: lulu, 2010, ISBN 978-0-557-72966-1 .
  • The Western Cree (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak) - The Canoe Cree 1650-1770 , lulu, 2010, ISBN 978-0-557-56744-7 .
  • The Western Cree (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak) - Ethnography , lulu, 2010, ISBN 978-0-557-49765-2 .
  • The Western Cree (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak) - Warfare on the Northwest Plains . lulu, 2010, ISBN 978-0-557-53342-8 .
• Flora Beardy, Robert Coutts: Voices from Hudson Bay: Cree Stories from York Factory. Publisher: Mcgill Queens University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-7735-1441-4 .
• Theodore Binnema: Common and Contested Ground: A Human and Environmental History of the Northwestern Plains. University of Toronto Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8020-8694-2 .
• Victor P. Lytwyn, Michael Lytwyn: Muskekowuck Athinuwick: Original People of the Great Swampy Land. University of Manitoba Press, 2002, ISBN 0-88755-651-5 .
• D'Arcy Jenish: Indian Fall: The Last Great Days of the Plains Cree and the Blackfoot Confederacy , Viking / Allen Lane, 1999, ISBN 0-670-88090-6 .
• David G. Mandelbaum: The Plains Cree: An Ethnographic, Historical, and Comparative Study. Canadian Plains Research Center, 1979, ISBN 0-88977-013-1 .

Web links

Commons : Cree  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikipedia on Cree

• Grand Council of the Crees website
• History of Tataskweyak
• York Factory First Nation website
• Norway House Cree Nation website
• Website of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation
• Moose Cree First Nation website
• Waswanipi Cree First Nation website
• History of the Oujé-Bougoumou
• Friends of the Lubicon
• Cree Nation of Wemindji
• River Cree Resort website
• Pequis First Nation
• The role of the "silent fighters" in the First World War

Remarks

1. ^ Cree Glossary
2. ↑ Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Center ( Memento of the original from August 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ David Miller, Dennis Smith, Joseph R. McGeshick: The History of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, 1800-2000. Montana Historical Society, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9759196-5-1 .
4. ^ W. Hildebrandt: Views from Fort Battleford: Constructed visions of an Anglo-Canadian west. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center 1994, p. 8.
5. ^ Pettipas: Severing the Ties That Bind. Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 1994, ISBN 0-88755-638-8 .
6. ↑ Loretta Fowler: The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Great Plains. Columbia University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-231-11700-0 .
7. ↑ Bruce Vandervort: Indian Wars of Canada, Mexico, and the United States 1812-1900. Taylor & Francis, 2005, ISBN 0-415-22472-1 .
8. ↑ The Cree called them Amiskiwiyiniw or Amisk Wiyiniwak and the Dakelh Tsat'en , Tsattine or Tza Tinne , both means - 'Beaver People', so they were often referred to as Beaver in English .
9. ↑ Joachim Fromhold: The Western Cree (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak)
10. ↑ Joachim Fromhold: The Western Cree (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak) - Ethnography, Publisher: lulu.com, 2010, ISBN 978-0-557-49765-2 .
11. ↑ H. Hiebner: Papa Chase Indian Reserve Number 136. In: Papa Chase Historical History. Edmonton, South Edmonton History 1984, South Edmonton saga, pp. 15-27.
12. ↑ See JL Gilpin: The Edmonton and district settlers' rights movement, 1880–1885. In: RC Macleod (Ed.): Swords and ploughshares: War and agriculture in Western Canada. University of Alberta Press, Edmonton 1993, pp. 149-172.
13. ↑ Cf. (PDF, 48 kB): Statement of Claim ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 47 kB). 
14. ↑ Mistahimaskwa . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
15. ↑ Kapapamahchakwew . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
16. ^ Jack Aubrey: Quebec Cree fear "ethnic occupation". In: Vancouver Sun. September 9, 1997.
17. ↑ ^{a b} Mistawasi's First Nation
18. ↑ AHTAHKAKOOP FIRST NATION ( Memento of the original dated August 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
19. ↑ Not to be confused with Ahtahkakoop ('Starblanket'), chief of House Cree
20. ↑ Ahchuchhwahauhhatohapit
21. ↑ Nehiyawak Leadership ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
22. ↑ Due to his knowledge of the spirituality and medicine of the Sioux, he was called by the Cree Payipwât - 'One who knows the secrets of the Sioux'
23. ↑ More than any other Cree group, they had adapted to life on the plains, were known as horse thieves and warriors, and, since they did little trade, they were considered troublemakers by the HBC.
24. ↑ A final refuge for bison groups, as a contested border area between Sioux, Assiniboine, Siksika , Kainai and Cree
25. ↑ Both of them required agricultural instruction as well as the provision of mills, forges, mechanics, tools and machinery, and medical care - all of which became part of Contract No. 6 of 1876 (at Fort Carlton and Pitt with the Rivers , House and Willow Cree )
26. ↑ KIWISÜNCE
27. ↑ PAYIPWAT
28. ^ Cree Nation ( Memento from July 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
29. ↑ Not to be confused with the Ojibwa chief Fine Day ('Min-o-ke-shig')
30. ↑ Received his Mistawasis First Nation Poundmaker because he had a special skill in the establishment of the Buffalo Pounds for the killing of grazing bison
31. ↑ Back to Batoche
32. ↑ Pitikwahanapiwiyin
33. ^ Treaty 6 - The Signing
34. ↑ Peechee`s band
35. ↑ Reference to his Métis ancestry, as the ermine fur is white in winter and brown in summer - just like the skin of a Métis
36. ^ The People Who Own Themselves
37. ↑ Beardy's Okemasis First Nation
38. ↑ She was the daughter of George Sutherland's first wife Papamikiwis ('Swinger')
39. ↑ Indians Who Fought in the 1185 Resistance ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
40. ^ One Arrow
41. ↑ Little Pine First Nation
42. ↑ Lucky Man Cree Nation ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
43. ↑ PAPEWES
44. ↑ Mask petoon
45. ↑ It was he who refused to sign the contract himself and let his brother handle the negotiations.
46. ↑ Red Pheasant First Nation ( Memento of the original from February 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
47. ↑ The "dit" is used to distinguish between unrelated branches of the family with identical family names - or to distinguish between descendants of the same family
48. ↑ Kahkewistahaw First Nation ( Memento of the original from September 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
49. ↑ Kahkewistahaw band ( Memento of the original from December 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
50. ↑ PASKWÜW ( Memento of the original dated August 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
51. ^ Métis Who Withdrew From Treaty
52. ↑ SUBSISTENCE AND ECONOMIC ADAPTATION IN THE ONION LAKE AGENCY, 1876-1920 (PDF; 20.0 MB)
53. ^ Joachim Fromhold: The Western Cree (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak) ISBN 978-0-557-49765-2 .
54. ^ Western Plains Cree
55. ↑ They later evolved into the Mountain Stoney
56. ↑ The Stoney called Edmonton Ti oda - 'Big House'
57. ↑ Linda Goyette and Carolina Jakeway Roemmich: Edmonton in Our Own Words. University of Alberta Press, 2005, ISBN 0-88864-449-3 .
58. ↑ Erminenskin
59. ↑ ^{a b} Western Cree ( Memento from April 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
60. ↑ Lesser Slave Lake Region
61. ↑ Descendants are today's five First Nations: Driftpile, Kapawe'no, Sawridge, Sucker Creek and Swan River First Nations
62. ↑ Lesser Slave Lake ( Memento of the original from December 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
63. ↑ Saddle Lake was a traditional meeting place for Cree, Blackfoot, Chipewyan, Daneẕaa and Slavey
64. ↑ Merger of what were once four independent bands - Little Hunter`s ( Oonah-tah-mee-na-hoos , also 'Little Chief') 'Saddle Lake band', John Seenum`s' Seenum band ', Blue Quill`s' Blue Quill band 'and Muskegwatic`s (also Bear's Ears )' Wahsatenaw or Wasatnow band '
65. ↑ Saddle Lake Cree Nation
66. ↑ The Story of Buffalo Child Stone ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
67. ^ Trading in Fur - Fort Carlton
68. ↑ KÜPEYAKWÜSKONAM
69. ↑ The Duck Lake Regional Center ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
70. ↑ Cree band names (PDF; 24 kB)
71. ↑ Battleford Agency Cree (PDF; 19 kB)
72. ^ Cree Indians of Canada
73. ↑ Brief discussion of certain marriage taboos (PDF; 22 kB)
74. ^ Sarah Carter: Lost Harvests: Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy, Mcgill Queens University Press; 1993, ISBN 0-7735-0999-2 .
75. ↑ later Piapot's band or Acimosisak called
76. ↑ Turtle Mountain - Pembina Chippewa Band ( Memento of the original from November 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
77. ↑ Aseniwuche Winewak
78. ↑ Cross Lake Band ( Memento of the original from March 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
79. ↑ Sakitawak
80. ↑ Ile-a-la-Crosse ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
81. ↑ The name probably has its origin in the fact that the first French dealers saw Cree play lacrosse
82. ↑ Île-à-la-Crosse
83. ^ Confluence of the Burntwood River, Footprint River and Rat River
84. ↑ Nisichawayasihk
85. ↑ Path of the Elders
86. ↑ AANISCHAAUKAMIKW Cree Cultural Institute The Iiyiyuu-Iinuu - Our people ( Memento of the original from December 14, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
87. ↑ By Paul R. Magocsi: Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples. Multicultural History Society of Ontario, University of Toronto Press, 1998, ISBN 978-0-8020-2938-6 .
88. ↑ regarding the rivers flowing through Lake Nemiscau
89. ^ Location of the Algonquin Groups: Map of 17th-century Algonkin and Attikamekw ("Attikamegue") territory.
90. ↑ Grand Council of the Cree (Eeyou Istchee) ( Memento of the original from July 20, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
91. ^ Whapmagoostui and Kuujjuaraapik
92. ↑ Chisasibi Cree First Nation
93. ↑ ^{a b} Christian F. Feest : Animated Worlds - The Religions of the Indians of North America. In: Small Library of Religions. Volume 9, Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-451-23849-7 , pp. 41–42, 192.
94. ↑ Oujé-Bougoumou Cree  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
95. ^ Moose Cree First Nation
96. ^ Moose Cree First Nation ( Memento from February 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
97. ↑ MoCreebec First Nation ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
98. ^ Brunswick House First Nation
99. ^ Mushkegowuk Council
100. ^ Chapleau Cree First Nation
101. ↑ Missanabie Cree First Nation
102. ^ Swampy Cree Tribal Council - Our First Nations
103. ↑ Misipawisitik Cree Nation ( Memento from April 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
104. ↑ Marcel Colomb First Nation ( Memento of the original from May 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
105. ^ Mathias Colomb First Nation
106. ↑ SCTC - Mosakahiken Cree Nation
107. ↑ Opaskwayak Cree Nation
108. ^ Prince Albert Grand Council
109. ^ Cumberland House Cree Nation
110. ^ Wabun Tribal Council
111. ^ Brunswick House First Nation
112. ↑ Matachewan First Nation  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
113. ^ Fox Lake Cree Nation
114. ↑ Tataskweyak Cree Nation ( Memento of the original from December 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
115. ^ York Factory First Nation
116. ↑ Flying Post First Nation ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
117. ↑ the Ojibwa called the Oji-Cree Noopiming-ininiwag - "people of the woods" or Ajijaakoons - "little crane"
118. ↑ Matawa First Nations Management
119. ↑ Aroland First Nation
120. ^ Constance Lake First Nation
121. ↑ Eabametoong First Nation ( Memento of the original from January 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
122. ^ Marten Falls First Nation
123. ↑ Neskantaga First Nation ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
124. ↑ Nibinamik First Nation
125. ↑ Webequie First Nation
126. ^ Mattagami First Nation
127. ^ Windigo First Nations Council
128. ↑ Oji-Cree members of the earlier Osnaburgh House Band identify themselves in contrast to the other Oji-Cree as Ojibwe and are therefore usually referred to as such
129. ↑ Garden Hill First Nation ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
130. ↑ Red Sucker Lake First Nation
131. ^ St. Theresa Point First Nation
132. ↑ Wasagamack First Nation
133. ↑ Washaho Cree Nation
134. ^ Sandy Lake First Nation
135. ↑ the Anishinabe were divided into several odoodeman ( clans , singular: odoodem , English: totem ), mostly animal clans, were decisive for inter-tribal relationships and marriages, traditionally each tribal group had several odoodeman , with the leading odoodem ('clan ') they identified themselves, hence the traditional greeting was Aaniin odoodemaayan? - 'Which odoodem do you belong to?' to determine whether they were family members, friends or enemies, today mostly only Aaniin is used as a greeting - as in German 'Hallo'
136. ^ Prince Albert Grand Council
137. ↑ Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation
138. ↑ Keewatin Tribal Council ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
139. ↑ Barren Lands (Brochet) First Nation ( Memento of the original from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
140. ↑ Pimicikamak Cree Nation
141. ^ Fisher River Cree Nation
142. ↑ Fisher River, Manitoba (Community Profile) ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
143. ↑ Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation
144. ↑ O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
145. ↑ Canada's Newest First Nation - O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 98 kB) 
146. ↑ Norway House Cree Nation ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
147. ↑ Fort McKay First Nation
148. ^ Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta
149. ↑ [Source: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC): Registered Population as of April, 2011]
150. ↑ Fort McMurray # 468 First Nation ( Memento of the original of July 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
151. ↑ Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC)
152. ^ Western Cree Tribal Council
153. ↑ Grandmother's Bay ( Memento from July 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
154. ^ Stanley Mission Cree Nation
155. ^ Montreal Lake Cree Nation
156. ↑ North Peace Tribal Council (NPTC) ( Memento of the original from August 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
157. ↑ Dionys Zinc: Predictable Tactics. In: Coyote, Indian presence. No. 27th year - 105, Action Group Indians & Human Rights eV, Munich, spring 2015, ISSN  0939-4362 , p. 22.
158. ^ Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council
159. ↑ Driftpile Cree Nation ( memento of the original from March 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
160. ↑ Grouard, Alberta - Home of the Kapawe'no Cree Nation
161. ↑ ^{a b} Whitefish Lake First Nation
162. ^ Treaty 8 Tribal Association
163. ^ Saulteau First Nation
164. ↑ Bigstone Cree Nation
165. ^ New First Nation part of largest Alberta claim settlement - the creation of the 45th First Nation in Alberta
166. ↑ Fort Nelson First Nation
167. ^ Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs
168. ↑ Source for population: INAC Registered Population as of March, 2011 ( Memento of the original dated September 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
169. ↑ Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation ( Memento of the original from August 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
170. ^ Sweetgrass First Nation
171. ↑ Lucky Man First Nation
172. ↑ Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man First Nation ( Memento of the original from December 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
173. ^ Poundmaker First Nation
174. ↑ Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation ( Memento of the original from November 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
175. ↑ First Nations of the Qu'Appelle Valley ( Memento of the original from September 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
176. ↑ Cowessess First Nation
177. ↑ Louis Bull Tribe ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
178. ↑ Montana First Nation ( Memento of the original from July 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
179. ^ Onion Lake First Nation
180. ↑ Thunderchild First Nation
181. ↑ Big River First Nation ( Memento of the original from February 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
182. ^ File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council Member First Nations
183. ↑ Little Black Bear First Nation ( Memento of the original from May 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
184. ↑ Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC)
185. ↑ derived from engl. water hen - ' pond rail ' which were widespread in this area
186. ^ Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC)
187. ^ Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC)
188. ↑ Muskeg Lake Cree Nation ( Memento of the original from August 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
189. ^ Muskoday First Nation
190. ^ Whitebear First Nation
191. ↑ George Gordon First Nation
192. ↑ Yorkton Tribal Council (YTC) ( Memento of the original from August 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
193. ^ Key First Nation
194. ^ Ocean Man First Nation
195. ^ Tribal Chiefs Association (TCA)
196. ↑ Beaver Lake Cree Nation
197. ↑ Frog Lake First Nation ( Memento of the original from September 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
198. ↑ Alexander First Nation
199. ↑ Enoch Cree Nation