Nadene Goldfoot
One of my friends here at the assisted living center is Shirley who has a father that is a Cree Indian. Shirley didn't know much about this tribe and wanted to know some facts.
The Cree, also known as Néhiyaw, are a large First Nations group in Canada and a North American Indigenous people. They are one of the largest Indigenous groups in Canada, with over 350,000 people of Cree descent. The Cree language is an Algonquian language spoken across a vast area of Canada, including Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
The Cree are indigenous people originally living in Manitoba, Canada. However, one branch later moved southwest to adopt a buffalo-hunting culture. This group, called the Plains Cree, lived from Lake Superior westward in northern Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana.
Living as hunter-gatherers, the Cree people lived in lodges comprised of several groups who moved and hunted together. Within each lodge were several family groups of about 8-12 people who lived together in the same wigwam or tipi. Separate lodges were part of larger bands that could be easily formed and dissolved. In the case of disagreement, lodges could leave bands, but as there was safety in numbers, a departing lodge would quickly find another band to travel and dwell with. Various bands usually had ties to other neighboring bands through intermarriage, often assembled to hunt and socialize together. Though each band was independent, they sometimes joined together when facing outside enemies. If they went to war, the various bands would nominate a temporary military commander, called a okimahkan, which loosely translated as “war chief.”
The Cree were first contacted by Europeans in 1682, at the mouth of the Nelson and Hayes Rivers in northern Manitoba, Canada, by a Hudson’s Bay Company party traveling about 100 miles inland. Contact was made again with southern bands in 1732 in northwestern Ontario when Pierre Gaultier de Varennes met with an assembled group of 200 Cree warriors and members of the Monsoni tribe, a branch of the Ojibwe (Chippewa), near present-day Fort Frances. At that time, the Indian groups were wearing war paint and preparing to attack the Dakota Sioux and another group of Ojibwe Indians.
The Cree, a large First Nations group, are thriving in North America today, with over 350,000 Cree people or those with Cree ancestry in Canada. They maintain self-governed communities, many still speaking Cree dialects, and are actively involved in cultural preservation and language engagement initiatives. In the United States, Cree populations are primarily in Montana, often sharing reservations with other tribes.
Today, American Cree are mostly enrolled in the federally recognized Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation. Others are enrolled as "Landless Cree" on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and as "Landless Cree" and "Rocky Boy Cree" on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, all in Montana.
- Traditional Lifestyles: The Cree traditionally practiced hunting, fishing, and gathering for food. The Cree were mostly hunter-gatherers. They hunted a variety of game including moose, duck, elk, buffalo, and rabbit. They also gathered food from plants such as berries, wild rice, and turnips.
- Housing: They used birch bark to build cone-shaped houses and canoes.
- Fur Trade: The Cree were involved in the fur trade with European traders.
- Modern Life: Today, many Cree live on reservations or in communities throughout Canada.
- Languages: The Cree language is a dialect continuum with various dialects, according to Wikipedia.
- Health: Cree communities face significant health challenges, including high rates of physical and mental health problems, often linked to historical trauma and ongoing systemic inequities. Traditional Cree healing practices, such as smudging and sweat ceremonies, play a vital role in maintaining health and well-being alongside western healthcare. Understanding the cultural context of health is crucial for providing effective and culturally responsive care.
- The Cree people practice smudging, a traditional ceremony that involves burning sacred herbs like sage, sweetgrass, cedar, and tobacco to purify and cleanse a person, place, or space. The smoke from these herbs is believed to carry away negative energy and promote well-being.
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