Gorgeous portraits of Cree Tribe, the largest group of First Nations in North America

With more than 200,000 members living in Canada, The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations in North America.

1480412274-8345-g-Bear-Mistahimaskwa-387x640
Big Bear Mistahimaskwa 1480412272-1327-rother-of-Ermineskin-424x640 Bobtail, (Keskayiwew), Head Chief of the Montana Cree, 1887. Brother of Ermineskin 1480412273-7927-Chief-Duckhunter-468x640 Chief Duckhunter

The name Cree derives from te Alongikian language exonym Kirištino, which Ojibwa commonly used to describe tribes living around Hudson Bay.

1480412273-2664-ief-King-of-the-Wind-467x640 Chief King of the Wind 1480412273-3330-Chief-Thundercloud-479x640 Chief Thundercloud

French explorers and colonist when encountered tribes north and west of Lake Superior, spell the term  Kiristinon, KilistinonCristenaux, Knisteneaux, and Cristinaux.

These terms were used by the French to refer to several groups of peoples in Canda, some of which are now distinguished as Anishinaabe (Ojibwa), who speak different dialects from the Algonquin.

The Cree call themselves the nīhithawnēhilaw,nēhiyawak, and nēhinaw; or ininiw, ililiw, iynu (innu), or iyyu, depending on the community.

1480412274-7333-e-Indian-sun-dancers-640x383 Cree Indian sun dancers 1480412273-3578-y-G.-E.-Fleming-1903-515x640 Cree Indian, taken by G. E. Fleming, 1903

Cree peoples were hunter-gatherers, and the basic unit of an organization were the lodge, a group formed of eight dozen people, most often the families of two separate but related married couple who lived in the same tipi or wigwam, and the band, group of two lodges who moved and hunted together.

1480412276-9055-Cree-Woman-469x640 Cree Woman 1480412277-3228-atchewan-20364542162-640x445 Cree Women Performing the Round Dance Waterhen River, Northern Saskatchewan 1480412276-1382-the-Paul-Coze-fonds-640x458 From the Paul Coze fonds,

The lodges could leave bands in case of disagreement. Although Cree-speaking bands work together and with neighbors against outside enemies,  usually each band remained independent of each other.

The Cree who migrated onto the Great Plain and started bison hunting were called the Plains Cree and allied with the Assiniboine and the Saulteaux, a major force in the North American fur trade from the 1730s to 1870s.

1480412276-3408-the-Paul-Coze-fonds.-436x640 From the Paul Coze fonds. 1480412276-3768-Group-of-Cree-people-640x452 Group of Cree people 1480412276-8144-Nehiyaw-girl-1928-459x640 Nehiyaw girl (1928) 1480412280-4219-Paul-Coze-fonds..-640x456 Paul Coze fonds.. 1480412280-7759-Paul-Coze-fonds-640x466 Paul Coze fonds 1480412279-4530-Cree-Indian-469x640 Cree Indian 1480412279-7227-Cree-Indians-in-camp-640x382 Cree Indians in camp

The Cree generally can be divided into eight groups based on dialect and region: Naskapi( inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, caribou hunters),Attikamekw (inhabitants of   Nitaskinan (Our Land), in the upper St. Maurice River valley of Quebec (about 300 km north of Montreal).Population around 4,500,James Bay Cree – Grand Council of the Crees (population of 18,000 Cree   of Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik regions of Northern Quebec), Plains Cree( 34,000 people in Alberta,  Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Montana.),Moose Cree – Moose Factory in the Cochrane District, Ontario, Swampy Cree – this group lives in northern Manitoba along the Hudson Bay and Woods Cree  in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan.