Cree Indian Prairie Chicken Dance

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Cree is an exonym applied to various people indigenous to North America, namely the Nehiyaw, Nehithaw, Nehilaw, Nehinaw, Ininiw, Ililiw, Iynu, and Iyyu. These peoples can be divided into two major groups, those that identify themselves using a derivative of their historical appellation Nehilâw and those identifying themselves using the word "person", historically Iliniw.[1] Both groups share a common ancestry but are now divided mainly along linguistic lines. Those residing west of the Ontario border (except for the Rocky Cree sub-group of the Swampy Cree, and one group residing in Quebec mistakenly called Attikamek but who self-identify as Nehiraw) all the way to the Rocky Mountains tend to refer to themselves using the first name, "Nehilaw". The second group includes the Rocky Cree and all the groups east of James Bay, who tend to use the term for man "Iliniw".[citation needed]

Both major groups speak mutually-intelligible languages of the Algonquin language family, generically also referred to as "Cree".[2] "It is not so much a language, as a chain of dialects, where speakers from one community can very easily understand their neighbours, but a Plains Cree speaker from Alberta would find a Québec Cree speaker difficult to speak to without practice."[3] There is a major division between both groups however, in that the Eastern group palatalizes the sound /k/ when it precedes front vowels. There is also a major difference in grammatical vocabulary (particles) between the groups. Within both groups but, there is variation around the pronunciation of the Proto-Algonquian phoneme *l, which can be realized as /l/, /r/, /y/, /n/, or /th/ by different groups.

By definition, the exonym "Cree" is not Cree; it was French slang[4], and has become part of the English language. Crees usually referred to themselves collectively as Nahathaway (those who speak our language); they called themselves "Cree" only when speaking English or French.

Skilled buffalo hunters and horsemen, the Plains Cree were allied to the Assiniboine and the Sioux before encountering English, Scottish (especially Orcadian) and French settlers in the 16th century. Right now, the remaining Cree in the United States live on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation which is shared with the Chippewa.
The Cree are the largest group of First Nations in Canada, with over 200,000 members and 135 registered bands.[7] This large number may be due to the Cree's traditional openness to inter-tribal marriage. Together, their reserve lands are the largest of any First Nations group in the country.[7] The largest Cree band and the second largest First Nations Band in Canada after the Six Nations Iroquois is the Lac La Ronge Band in northern Saskatchewan.

The Métis (from French Métis - any person of mixed ancestry) are people of mixed ancestry such as Nehiyaw (or Anishinaabe) and French, English, or Scottish heritage. According to the Canadian Government's Indian and Northern Affairs, the Metis were historically the children of French fur traders and Nehiyaw women or, from unions of English or Scottish traders and Northern Dene women (Anglo-Métis). It is now generally accepted though in academic circles that the term Métis can be used to refer to any combination of persons of mixed Native American and European heritage. Although, historical definitions for Metis remain. Canada's Indian and Northern Affairs specifically but broadly define Metis to be those persons of mixed First Nation and European ancestry.
Cree First Nations:
* Barren Lands First Nation
* Beaver Lake Cree Nation
* Bigstone Cree Nation
* Big River First Nation
* Bunibonibee Cree Nation
* Chapleau Cree First Nation
* Enoch Cree Nation
* Fisher River Cree Nation
* James Smith First Nation
* Kashechewan First Nation
* Lac La Ronge First Nation
* Little Pine First Nation
* Little Red River Cree Nation
* Louis Bull Tribe First Nation
* Lubicon Lake Indian Nation
* Misipawistik Cree Nation
* Mushkego James Bay Cree

* Muskoday First Nation
* Neskantaga First Nation
* Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation
* Norway House Cree Nation
* One Arrow First Nation
* Opaskwayak Cree Nation
* Paul Band First Nation
* Pimicikamak[8]
* Saddle Lake Cree First Nation
* Sapotaweyak Cree Nation
* Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
* Sturgeon Lake First Nation
* Sweetgrass First Nation
* Thunderchild First Nation
* Canoe Lake First Nation