Cree

The Cree are a North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations macro-communities. There are numerous Cree peoples and several nations closely related to the Cree, these being the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Rocky Cree, Swampy Cree, Moose Cree, and East Cree with the Atikamekw, Innu, and Naskapi being closely related. Also closely related to the Cree are the Oji-Cree and Métis, both nations of mixed heritage, the former with Ojibweg (Chippewa) and the latter with European fur traders. Cree homelands account for a majority of eastern and central Canada, from Eeyou Istchee in the east in what is now Quebec to northern Ontario, much of the Canadian Prairies, and up into British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Although a majority of Cree live in Canada, there are small communities in the United States, living mostly in Montana where they share Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation with the Ojibwe people.

The Cree are in a variety of treaty relations with the Canadian state. Most notable are the Numbered Treaties which cover a majority of Cree homelands. In Quebec, the East Cree (along with the Inuit of Nunavik) entered into one of the first modern treaties: the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement which formalized relations between the province and both Eeyou Istchee and the Nunavik region of Inuit Nunangat. A documented westward migration, over time, has been strongly associated with their roles as traders and hunters in the North American fur trade.

The word "Cree" comes into English from the French Cris, short for Christinaux (alternatively: Kristineaux, Kiristinous, or Kilistinous), which came from the Ojibwemowin word Kinistino. The Ojibweg used the term for numerous communities which they encountered north and west of Lake Superior, predominately in Manitoba. The French used these terms to refer to various groups of peoples in Canada, some of which are now better distinguished as Severn Anishinaabe (Oji-Cree), who speak a related but distinct Algonquian language (Ojibwemowin).

In general, Cree and peoples related to the Cree (like the Atikamekw and Innu) use one of two terms to refer to themselves. The first comes from the Proto-Algonquian roots *nehi and *rowi meaning "balance" and "action, movement" which, when combined, becomes the Cree word for "Indigenous person". Nations like the Plains Cree (sing. nêhiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ; plural: nêhiyawak ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐘᐠ), Woodland Cree (Nīhithaw ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐤ; pl.: Nīhithawak ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐘᐠ), and Western Swampy Cree (nêhinaw ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐤ; pl.: nêhinawak ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐘᐠ) use such a formulation. The Atikamekw also use this form (Nehirowisiw; pl.: Nehirowisiwok), which adds the Proto-Algonquian root *siw ("human being"), rendering "one who is in balance with nature" as its translation.

The other form comes from the Proto-Algonquian root *elenyiwa meaning "human", used by the rest of the Cree and related nations:

The Cree are generally divided into eight groups based on dialect and region. These divisions do not necessarily represent ethnic subdivisions within the larger ethnic group:

Due to the many dialects of the Cree language, the people have no modern collective autonym. The Plains Cree and Attikamekw refer to themselves using modern forms of the historical nêhiraw ("Indigenous person"), namely nêhiyaw and nêhirawisiw, respectively. The Moose Cree, East Cree, Naskapi, and Innu all refer to themselves using modern dialectal forms of the historical iriniw, meaning 'man.' Moose Cree use the form ililiw, coastal East Cree and Naskapi use iyiyiw (variously spelled iiyiyiu, iiyiyuu, and eeyou), inland East Cree use iyiniw (variously spelled iinuu and eenou), and Montagnais use ilnu and innu, depending on dialect. The Cree use "Cree", "cri", "Naskapi, or "montagnais" to refer to their people only when speaking French or English.

As hunter-gatherers, the basic units of organization for Cree peoples were the "lodge", a group of perhaps eight to a dozen people, usually the families of two separate, but related, married couples living together in the same wigwam (domed tent) or tipi (conical tent), and the band, a group of lodges who moved and hunted together. In the case of disagreement, lodges could leave bands, and bands could be formed and dissolved with relative ease. However, as there is safety in numbers, all families would want to be part of some band, and banishment or exile was considered a very serious punishment. Bands would usually have strong ties to their neighbours through intermarriage and would assemble together at different parts of the year to hunt and socialize together. Other than these regional gatherings, there was no higher-level formal structure, and decisions of war and peace were made by consensus, with allied bands meeting together in-council. People could be identified by their clan, which is a group of people claiming descent from the same common ancestor; each clan would have a representative and a vote in all important councils held by the band (compare: Anishinaabe clan system).