Cree

For other uses, see Cree (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Kree.
"Nêhiyawak" redirects here. For the rock group, see Nêhiyawak (band).
"Nehiyaw" redirects here. For the children's book author, see Glecia Bear.

Cree
néhinaw ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐤ
néhiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ
etc.
A Cree camp, likely in Montana, photographed c. 1893
Total population
356,655 (2016 census)[1]
Including Atikamekw and Innu
Regions with significant populations
Canada
Alberta95,300 (2016)[2]
Saskatchewan89,990 (2016)[2]
Manitoba66,895 (2016)[2]
Ontario36,750 (2016)[2]
British Columbia35,885 (2016)[2]
Quebec27,245 (2016)[2]
Languages
Cree, Cree Sign Language, English, French
Religion
Anglicanism, Indigenous religion, Pentecostalism, Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Métis, Oji-Cree, Ojibwe, Innu, Naskapi

The Cree (Cree: néhinaw, néhiyaw, nihithaw, etc.; French: Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. More than 350,000 Canadians are Cree or have Cree ancestry.[1] The major proportion of Cree in Canada live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories.[3] About 27,000 live in Quebec.[4]

In the United States, Cree people historically lived from Lake Superior westward. Today, they live mostly in Montana, where they share the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation with Ojibwe (Chippewa) people.[5]

The documented westward migration over time has been strongly associated with their roles as traders and hunters in the North American fur trade.[6]

  1. ^ a b "2016 Canadian Census". Statistics Canada. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Aboriginal Population Profile, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Cree". The Canadian Encyclopedia (online ed.). Historica Canada. 9 October 2018.
  4. ^ "2016 Canada Census". Statistics Canada. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Gateway to Aboriginal Heritage". Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation.
  6. ^ Mackenzie, Alexander (1903). Voyages from Montreal Through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in 1789 and 1793. New York: A. S. Barnes & Company at Project Gutenberg