Cree
néhinaw ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐤ
néhiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ etc. | |
|---|---|
A Cree camp, likely in Montana, photographed c. 1893 | |
| Total population | |
| 356,655 (2016 census) Including Atikamekw and Innu | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Canada | |
| Alberta | 95,300 (2016) |
| Saskatchewan | 89,990 (2016) |
| Manitoba | 66,895 (2016) |
| Ontario | 36,750 (2016) |
| British Columbia | 35,885 (2016) |
| Quebec | 27,245 (2016) |
| 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, or nehinaw (néhiyaw, nihithaw), are a North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. They live primarily to the north and west of Lake Superior in the provinces of Alberta, Labrador, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. Another roughly 27,000 live in Quebec.
In the United States, the Cree, historically, lived from Lake Superior westward. Today, they live mostly in Montana, where they share Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation with Ojibwe (Chippewa) people.
A documented westward migration, over time, has been strongly associated with their roles as traders and hunters in the North American fur trade.