n.
One of the major Algonquian -speaking Indian peoples of Canada living mainly in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The name is a truncated form of the name "Kristineaux," the French traders' version of the self-name of the James Bay band. The Cree formerly occupied an immense area from western Quebec to eastern Alberta. They acquired firearms and engaged in the fur trade with Europeans beginning in the 17th century. There were two major divisions: the Woodland Cree, whose culture was essentially an Eastern Woodlands type, and the Plains Cree, bison hunters of the northern Great Plains (see Plains Indian ). Social organization in both groups was based on local band s. Among the Woodland Cree, rituals and taboos relating to the spirits of game animals were pervasive, as was fear of witchcraft. Among the more militant Plains Cree, rites intended to foster success in warfare and the bison hunt were common. Some 600,000 Canadians claim some portion of Cree ancestry, and about 2,500 individuals claimed sole Cree descent in the 2000 U.S. census.