Cree ( / k r iː / KREE ; also known as Cree– Montagnais – Naskapi ) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 indigenous people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to Labrador . If considered one language, it is the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. The only region where Cree has any official status is in the Northwest Territories , alongside eight other aboriginal languages. There, Cree is spoken mainly in Fort Smith and Hay River .
40-420: The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (Rocky Cree : ᐊᓯᓃᐢᑳᐏᑎᓂᐘᐠ , Asinîskâwitiniwak) is a Woodland Cree First Nation in northern Saskatchewan consisting of eight communities: Denare Beach (Amisk Lake), Deschambault Lake , Kinoosao , Pelican Narrows , Prince Albert (Kiskaciwan), Sandy Bay , Southend and Sturgeon Landing . The administrative centre of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation is Pelican Narrows and
80-428: A consonant , can be written four ways, each direction representing its corresponding vowel . Some dialects of Cree have up to seven vowels, so additional diacritics are placed after the syllabic to represent the corresponding vowels. Finals represent stand-alone consonants. The Cree language also has two semivowels . The semivowels may follow other consonants or be on their own in a word. The following tables show
120-462: A band wide referendum was slated for January 30, or early February 2014. The governance workers, Randy Clarke, Loretta Ballantyne, the band lawyer and other staff used input collected from technology such as surveys and the PBCN website as well as the community meetings to gather input from communities. After this process, the first draft of the 2014 Election Act was produced after it had been reviewed by
160-465: A complex polysynthetic morphosyntax. A common grammatical feature in Cree dialects, in terms of sentence structure, is non-regulated word order. Word order is not governed by a specific set of rules or structure; instead, "subjects and objects are expressed by means of inflection on the verb". Subject, Verb, and Object (SVO) in a sentence can vary in order, for example, SVO, VOS, OVS, and SOV. Obviation
200-805: A full-stop glyph ( ⟨᙮⟩ ) or a double em-width space has been used between words to signal the transition from one sentence to the next. For Plains Cree and Swampy Cree , Standard Roman Orthography (SRO) uses fourteen letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet to denote the dialect's ten consonants ( ⟨p⟩ , ⟨t⟩ , ⟨c⟩ , ⟨k⟩ , ⟨s⟩ , ⟨m⟩ , ⟨n⟩ , ⟨w⟩ , ⟨y⟩ and ⟨h⟩ ) and seven vowels ( ⟨a⟩ , ⟨i⟩ , ⟨o⟩ , ⟨ā⟩ , ⟨ī⟩ , ⟨ō⟩ and ⟨ē⟩ ). Upper case letters are not used. For more details on
240-582: A large role in the Peace Country economy. Pulp mills were built in Chetwynd, Peace River and Grande Prairie beginning in the 1970s. The economy received another boost when oil and gas were found in the region. In 1952, gas was struck in the Fort St. John No. 1 well, and the first refinery was built in 1957 at Taylor . The massive Elmworth natural gas field in northwestern Alberta was discovered in
280-593: A work. The vowel ē /eː/ , used in southern Plains Cree, is always long and the grapheme ⟨e⟩ is never used. In northern Plains Cree the sound has merged with ī , and thus ⟨ē⟩ is not used at all. The use of unmarked ⟨o⟩ and marked ⟨ō⟩ for the phonemes /u/ and /oː/ emphasizes the relationship that can exist between these two vowels. There are situations where o can be lengthened to ō , as for example in ᓂᑲᒧ! nikamo! 'sing (now)!' and ᓂᑲᒨᐦᑲᐣ! nikamōhkan! 'sing (later)!'. In alphabetic writing,
320-464: Is also a key aspect of the Cree language(s). In a sense, the obviative can be defined as any third-person ranked lower on a hierarchy of discourse salience than some other (proximate) discourse-participant. "Obviative animate nouns, [in the Plains Cree dialect for instance], are marked by [a suffix] ending –a , and are used to refer to third persons who are more peripheral in the discourse than
360-564: Is believed to have begun as a dialect of the Proto-Algonquian language spoken between 2,500 and 3,000 years ago in the original Algonquian homeland , an undetermined area thought to be near the Great Lakes. The speakers of the proto-Cree language are thought to have moved north, and diverged rather quickly into two different groups on each side of James Bay . The eastern group then began to diverge into separate dialects, whereas
400-504: Is not phonologically transparent, which means gender must be learned along with the noun. As is common in polysynthetic languages, a Cree word can be very long, and express something that takes a series of words in English. For example: kiskinohamātowikamikw know. CAUS . APPL . RECP .place kiskinohamātowikamikw know.CAUS.APPL.RECP.place 'school' ( lit. 'knowing-it-together-by-example place') This means that changing
440-539: Is used in Eastern dialects where s and š are distinct phonemes. In other dialects, s is used even when pronounced like [ʃ] . ⟨l⟩ and ⟨r⟩ are used natively in Moose and Attikamek Cree, but in other dialects only for loanwords. The stops, p , t , k , and the affricate, c , can be pronounced either voiced or unvoiced, but the symbols used for writing these sounds all correspond to
SECTION 10
#1732776634168480-575: Is used. John John cî Q kî-mîciso-w PST -eat- 3SG Peace River Region The Peace River Country (or Peace Country ; French : Région de la Rivière-de-la-paix ) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada . It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia , where a certain portion of
520-476: The Pacific Ocean . Subsequently, the region saw a surge in the fur trade , with forts built along the river from Fort Vermilion to Hudson's Hope. At the beginning of the 20th century, the farming potential of the area was advertised by the federal government, but a settlement was scarce because of difficult travel conditions through the muskeg . With the arrival of the railway in 1916, and following
560-644: The fur trade posits that the Western Woods Cree and the Plains Cree (and therefore their dialects) did not diverge from other Cree peoples before 1670, when the Cree expanded out of their homeland near James Bay because of access to European firearms. By contrast, James Smith of the Museum of the American Indian stated, in 1987, that the weight of archeological and linguistic evidence puts
600-469: The proximate third person". For example: Sam Sam wâpam- ew see- 3SG Susan- a Susan- 3OBV Sam wâpam- ew Susan- a Sam see-3SG Susan-3OBV "Sam sees Susan." The suffix -a marks Susan as the obviative, or 'fourth' person, the person furthest away from the discourse. The Cree language has grammatical gender in a system that classifies nouns as animate or inanimate. The distribution of nouns between animate or inanimate
640-492: The syllabaries of Eastern and Western Cree dialects, respectively: Speakers of various Cree dialects have begun creating dictionaries to serve their communities. Some projects, such as the Cree Language Resource Project, are developing an online bilingual Cree dictionary for the Cree language. Cree syllabics has not commonly or traditionally used the period ( ⟨.⟩ ). Instead, either
680-488: The y dialect, refer to their language as nēhi y awēwin , whereas Woods Cree speakers say nīhi th awīwin , and Swampy Cree speakers say nēhi n awēwin . Another important phonological variation among the Cree dialects involves the palatalisation of Proto-Algonquian *k : East of the Ontario–Quebec border (except for Atikamekw), Proto-Algonquian *k has changed into /tʃ/ or /ts/ before front vowels. See
720-577: The Cree as far west as the Peace River Region of Alberta before European contact. The Cree dialect continuum can be divided by many criteria. Dialects spoken in northern Ontario and the southern James Bay, Lanaudière, and Mauricie regions of Quebec differentiate /ʃ/ (sh as in sh e ) and /s/ , while those to the west have merged the two phonemes as /s/ and in the east the phonemes are merged as either /ʃ/ or /h/ . In several dialects, including northern Plains Cree and Woods Cree,
760-615: The PBCN lawyer. The last round of consultations took place early December 2013 and it was passed in 2014 through a referendum. It was the membership of PBCN who decided on what amendments would be included in the election code, therefore, it was easily passed by the people. There are 14 elected councillors, two each from Sandy Bay, Southend, and Deschambault Lake, five from Pelican Narrows, and one each from Denare Beach (Amisk Lake), Prince Albert (Kiskaciwan), and Sturgeon Landing. Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has reserved for itself several reserves : Cree language Endonyms are: Cree
800-778: The Plains Cree [j] that is [ð] in Rocky Cree as ⟨ý⟩ . Similarly, in dictionaries focused on Western Swampy Cree, Woods Cree may readily substitute ⟨ē⟩ with ⟨ī⟩ , while materials accommodating Woods Cree will indicate the Western Swampy Cree [n] that is [ð] in Woods Cree as ⟨ń⟩ . Atikamekw uses ⟨c⟩ [ ʃ ], ⟨tc⟩ [ t͡ʃ ], and ⟨i⟩ [ j ] (which also serves as ⟨i⟩ [ i ]). Eastern James Bay Cree prefers to indicate long vowels (other than [eː] ) by doubling
840-735: The area extends from Monkman Provincial Park and Tumbler Ridge in the south, to Hudson's Hope and the Williston Lake in the west, to Fort St. John and Charlie Lake in the north. The term is used also in a broader sense to mean the whole of the Northeastern Interior past the Rockies, including Fort Nelson and other parts of the Liard drainage , and before W.A.C. Bennett Dam included the upper Peace River through its canyon between Finlay Forks and Hudson's Hope. In Alberta,
SECTION 20
#1732776634168880-645: The centralized government of the First Nation is located in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation is governed by an Indian Act Chief and Council, elected for three year terms under the 2014 Election Code. In 2003 and 2004, work in amending the Election Act was undertaken by staff and a Cree speaking lawyer. PBCN membership consultations were done through utilization of community committees and staff for many months. Membership at
920-508: The dialects which use syllabics as their orthography (including Atikamekw but excluding Kawawachikamach Naskapi), the term Montagnais then applies to those dialects using the Latin script (excluding Atikamekw and including Kawawachikamach Naskapi). The term Naskapi typically refers to Kawawachikamach (y-dialect) and Natuashish (n-dialect). The Cree dialects can be broadly classified into nine groups. Roughly from west to east: This table shows
960-407: The language phonetically. Cree is always written from left to right horizontally. The easternmost dialects are written using the Latin script exclusively. The dialects of Plains Cree, Woods Cree, and western Swampy Cree use Western Cree syllabics and the dialects of eastern Swampy Cree, East Cree, Moose Cree, and Naskapi use Eastern Cree syllabics . In Cree syllabics, each symbol, which represents
1000-457: The long vowels /eː/ and /iː/ have merged into a single vowel, /iː/ . In the Quebec communities of Chisasibi , Whapmagoostui , and Kawawachikamach , the long vowel /eː/ has merged with /aː/ . However, the most transparent phonological variation between different Cree dialects are the reflexes of Proto-Algonquian *l in the modern dialects, as shown below: The Plains Cree, speakers of
1040-683: The mid-70s along with other major gas fields in British Columbia and Alberta. Both Fort St. John and Grande Prairie experienced rapid economic and population growth as a result. Peace Country contains Canada's northernmost lands suitable for agriculture . Crops raised include canola , oats, peas, and barley. Some cattle ranching and beekeeping is also done in the area. In 2006, the region accounted for 14.4% of Canada's total bison-producing herd. Other industries include oil and gas extraction and forestry . Lumber, oriented strand board , and pulp are produced in many forestry mills throughout
1080-548: The opening of land for homesteaders in 1910, farming and ranching took off in the fertile Peace Country. The settlement of the British Columbia portion of the agricultural area, known as the Peace River Block, originated as a railway grant which wound up for a time under Dominion jurisdiction and managed by offices in Alberta until returned to British Columbia following ongoing jurisdictional conflicts. Forestry plays
1120-494: The phonetic values of these letters or variant orthographies, see the § Phonology section above. The /ð/ sound of Woods Cree is written ⟨th⟩ , or ⟨ð⟩ in more recent material. Plains and Swampy material written to be cross-dialectical often modify ⟨y⟩ to ⟨ý⟩ and ⟨n⟩ to ⟨ñ⟩ when those are pronounced /ð/ in Swampy. ⟨š⟩
1160-511: The possible consonant phonemes in the Cree language or one of its varieties. In dictionaries focused on Eastern Swampy Cree, Western Swampy Cree may readily substitute ⟨sh⟩ with ⟨s⟩ , while Lowland Moose Cree may readily substitute ⟨ñ⟩ with their ⟨l⟩ . In dictionaries focused on Southern Plains Cree, Northern Plains Cree may readily substitute ⟨ē⟩ with ⟨ī⟩ , while materials accommodating Rocky Cree will indicate
1200-540: The region is also referred to as the Peace River Block . The Peace River Country includes the incorporated communities of Fort St. John , Dawson Creek , Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd in British Columbia. Major communities in the Alberta portion of the Peace Country include Grande Prairie , Peace River , High Level and Fairview . It has no fixed boundaries but covers some 260,000 to 390,000 km (100,000 to 150,000 square miles). In British Columbia,
1240-586: The region stretches from Grande Prairie and Valleyview in the south, to High Prairie and Lesser Slave Lake in the east, to Fort Vermilion , High Level and Rainbow Lake in the north. The first European to explore the area was Sir Alexander MacKenzie , who travelled down the Peace in 1789 and eventually reached the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean . In 1793 he used the same route to reach
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-671: The region. Peace Country is crossed by the southern leg of the Alaska Highway , the western extremity of Alberta Highway 43 and the southern portion of the Mackenzie Highway . Other important transportation routes include the northern part of Alberta Highway 2 , Alberta Highway 35 , British Columbia Highway 29 , British Columbia Highway 97 , and Alberta Highway 49 . Regional air transport hubs are Grande Prairie Airport and Peace River Airport in Alberta and Fort St. John Airport in British Columbia. Health care
1320-493: The table above for examples in the * kīla column. Very often the Cree dialect continuum is divided into two languages: Cree and Montagnais. Cree includes all dialects which have not undergone the *k > /tʃ/ sound change (BC–QC) while Montagnais encompasses the territory where this sound change has occurred (QC–NL). These labels are very useful from a linguistic perspective but are confusing as East Cree then qualifies as Montagnais. For practical purposes, Cree usually covers
1360-490: The time did a remarkable job in updating the 1994 Band Custom Election Act. However, the proposed 2004 Election Act did not pass the referendum process with 2 communities rejecting the new election act. In August 2013, Chief and Council acquired funding from Indian Northern Affairs of Canada to begin the process again of amending the existing Election Act of 1994. Due to limited funding from the INAC, Chief and Council had suggested
1400-444: The unvoiced pronunciation, e.g. ⟨p⟩ not ⟨b⟩ , ⟨t⟩ not ⟨d⟩ , etc. The phoneme /t͡s/ is represented by ⟨c⟩ , as it is in various other languages . Long vowels are denoted with either a macron , as in ⟨ā⟩ , or a circumflex , as in ⟨â⟩ . Use of either the macron or circumflex is acceptable, but usage should be consistent within
1440-418: The use of punctuation has been inconsistent. For instance, in the Plains Cree dialect, the interrogative enclitic cî can be included in the sentence to mark a yes–no question such that this is sometimes considered to be sufficient without including a question mark (?). However, in many modern publications and text collections ( cf. The Counselling Speeches of Jim Kâ-Nîpitêhtêw (1998) ) full punctuation
1480-466: The vowel, while the western Cree use either a macron or circumflex diacritic; as [eː] is always long, often it is written as just ⟨e⟩ without doubling or using a diacritic. While Western Cree dialects make use of ⟨o⟩ and either ⟨ō⟩ or ⟨ô⟩ , Eastern Cree dialects instead make use of ⟨u⟩ and either ⟨uu⟩ , ⟨ū⟩ , or ⟨û⟩ . Cree features
1520-501: The western grouping probably broke into distinct dialects much later. After this point it is very difficult to make definite statements about how different groups emerged and moved around, because there are no written works in the languages to compare, and descriptions by Europeans are not systematic; as well, Algonquian people have a tradition of bilingualism and even of outright adopting a new language from neighbours. A traditional view among 20th-century anthropologists and historians of
1560-471: The word order in Cree can place emphasis on different pieces of the sentence. Wolfart and Carroll give the following example by transposing the two Cree words: Cree dialects, except for those spoken in eastern Quebec and Labrador , are traditionally written using Cree syllabics , a variant of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics , but can be written with the Latin script as well. Both writing systems represent
1600-411: The work done in 2003 and 2004 be revisited and taken back to the membership for further consultations and amendments. The work to amend the 1994 Election Act started in early September 2013. The first round of community meetings with the membership were completed on October 23, 2013. It was expected that the process would be fast-paced in order to meet the amendment deadline date. A tentative date to hold
#167832