The Cree are a North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations macro-communities. There are numerous Cree peoples and several nations closely related to the Cree, these being the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Rocky Cree, Swampy Cree, Moose Cree, and East Cree with the Atikamekw, Innu, and Naskapi being closely related. Also closely related to the Cree are the Oji-Cree and Métis, both nations of mixed heritage, the former with Ojibweg (Chippewa) and the latter with European fur traders. Cree homelands account for a majority of eastern and central Canada, from Eeyou Istchee in the east in what is now Quebec to northern Ontario, much of the Canadian Prairies, and up into British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Although a majority of Cree live in Canada, there are small communities in the United States, living mostly in Montana where they share Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation with the Ojibwe people.
The Cree are in a variety of treaty relations with the Canadian state. Most notable are the Numbered Treaties which cover a majority of Cree homelands. In Quebec, the East Cree (along with the Inuit of Nunavik) entered into one of the first modern treaties: the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement which formalized relations between the province and both Eeyou Istchee and the Nunavik region of Inuit Nunangat. A documented westward migration, over time, has been strongly associated with their roles as traders and hunters in the North American fur trade.
The word "Cree" comes into English from the French Cris, short for Christinaux (alternatively: Kristineaux, Kiristinous, or Kilistinous), which came from the Ojibwemowin word Kinistino. The Ojibweg used the term for numerous communities which they encountered north and west of Lake Superior, predominately in Manitoba. The French used these terms to refer to various groups of peoples in Canada, some of which are now better distinguished as Severn Anishinaabe (Oji-Cree), who speak a related but distinct Algonquian language (Ojibwemowin).
In general, Cree and peoples related to the Cree (like the Atikamekw and Innu) use one of two terms to refer to themselves. The first comes from the Proto-Algonquian roots *nehi and *rowi meaning "balance" and "action, movement" which, when combined, becomes the Cree word for "Indigenous person". Nations like the Plains Cree (sing. nêhiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ; plural: nêhiyawak ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐘᐠ), Woodland Cree (Nīhithaw ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐤ; pl.: Nīhithawak ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐘᐠ), and Western Swampy Cree (nêhinaw ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐤ; pl.: nêhinawak ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐘᐠ) use such a formulation. The Atikamekw also use this form (Nehirowisiw; pl.: Nehirowisiwok), which adds the Proto-Algonquian root *siw ("human being"), rendering "one who is in balance with nature" as its translation.
The other form comes from the Proto-Algonquian root *elenyiwa meaning "human", used by the rest of the Cree and related nations:
Rocky Cree: Īthiniw; pl.: Īthiniwak
Eastern Swampy Cree: ininîw ᐃᓂᓃᐤ; pl.: ininîwak ᐃᓂᓃᐘᐠ'
Moose Cree: ililîw ᐃᓕᓕᐤ; pl.: ililîwak ᐃᓕᓕᐗᒃ
Coastal: Iiyiyuu ᐄᔨᔫ; pl.: Iiyiyuuch ᐄᔨᔫᒡ
Inland: Iinuu ᐄᓅ; pl.: Iinuuch ᐄᓅᒡ
Western: Innu; pl.: Innut / Innuat
Naskapi: iiyuw ᐃᔪᐤ; pl.: iiyinaahch ᐃᔨᓇᒡ
The Cree are generally divided into eight groups based on dialect and region. These divisions do not necessarily represent ethnic subdivisions within the larger ethnic group:
Plains Cree – a total of about 34,000 people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Montana, USA.
Woodland Cree and Rocky Cree – homelands include northern Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
Swampy Cree – this nation lives in northern Manitoba, along the Hudson Bay coast, and adjacent inland areas to the south and west, as well as in Ontario, along the coasts of Hudson Bay and James Bay. Some also live in eastern Saskatchewan, around Cumberland House. Their dialect has 4,500 speakers.
Moose Cree – Moose Factory in Northeastern Ontario; this nation lives on Moose Factory Island, near the mouth of the Moose River, at the southern end of James Bay. "Factory" used to refer to a trading post.
East Cree – Grand Council of the Crees; numbering at approximately 18,000, the Eeyouch and Eenouch live predominately in their homeland, Eeyou Istchee, in northern Quebec as well as in neighbouring Nunavik.