Example of a drainage basin. The dashed line is the main water divide of the hydrographic basin

Animation of Latorița River drainage basin, Romania.

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a single point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake, dry lake, or a point where surface water is lost underground.^[1] The drainage basin includes both the streams and rivers that convey the water as well as the land surfaces from which water drains into those channels, and is separated from adjacent basins by a drainage divide.^[2]

The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the area covered by the basin and channelling it to a single point. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a geographical barrier such as a ridge, hill or mountain.

Other terms that are used to describe a drainage basin are catchment, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin.^[3] In the United Kingdom and Australia, a watershed refers to a divide that separates one drainage area from another drainage area,^[4] while in North America, it means the drainage basin or catchment area itself. Drainage basins drain into other drainage basins in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins combining into larger drainage basins.^[5]

Drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units, which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system. Hydrologic units are designed to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks. In a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins.^[1]

The United States Environmental Protection Agency launched the website Watershed Central for the US public to exchange information and locate resources needed to restore local drainage basins in that country.

Major drainage basins of the world[link]

Map[link]

Ocean basins[link]

The following is a list of the major ocean basins:

• About 48.7% of the world's land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. In North America, surface water drains to the Atlantic via the Saint Lawrence River and Great Lakes basins, the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the Canadian Maritimes, and most of Newfoundland and Labrador. Nearly all of South America east of the Andes also drains to the Atlantic, as does most of Western and Central Europe and the greatest portion of western Sub-Saharan Africa. The three major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic:
  • The American Mediterranean Sea (the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) basin includes most of the U.S. interior between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, a small part of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, eastern Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and the Gulf, and a small part of northern South America.
  • The European Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa (through the Nile River), Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the coastal areas of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria.
• The Arctic Ocean drains most of Western and Northern Canada east of the Continental Divide, northern Alaska and parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana in the United States, the north shore of the Scandinavian peninsula in Europe, and much of central and northern Russia.
• Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean. Its basin includes much of China, southeastern Russia, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, most of Indonesia and Malaysia, the Philippines, all of the Pacific Islands, the northeast coast of Australia, and Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide (including most of Alaska), as well as western Central America and South America west of the Andes.
• The Indian Ocean's drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earth's land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, and most of Australia.
• The Southern Ocean drains Antarctica. Antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earth's land.

Largest river basins[link]

The five largest river basins (by area), from largest to smallest, are the Amazon basin, the River Plate basin, the Congo basin, the Nile basin, and the Mississippi basin. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganga, and Congo Rivers.^[6]

Endorheic drainage basins[link]

Endorheic basin in Central Asia

Endorheic drainage basins are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Around 18% of all land drains to endorheic lakes or seas or sinks. The largest of these consists of much of the interior of Asia, and drains into the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. Other endorheic regions include the Great Basin in the United States, much of the Sahara Desert, the watershed of the Okavango River (Kalahari Basin), highlands near the African Great Lakes, the interiors of Australia and the Arabian Peninsula, and parts in Mexico and the Andes. Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, adjacent closed basins.

In endorheic bodies of standing water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example is the Dead Sea.

Importance of drainage basins[link]

Geopolitical boundaries[link]

Drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important. For example, the English crown gave the Hudson's Bay Company a monopoly on the fur trade in the entire Hudson Bay basin, an area called Rupert's Land. Bioregional political organization today includes agreements of states (e.g., international treaties and, within the U.S.A., interstate compacts) or other political entities in a particular drainage basin to manage the body or bodies of water into which it drains. Examples of such interstate compacts are the Great Lakes Commission and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Hydrology[link]

Drainage basin of the Ohio River, part of the Mississippi River drainage basin.

In hydrology, the drainage basin is a logical unit of focus for studying the movement of water within the hydrological cycle, because the majority of water that discharges from the basin outlet originated as precipitation falling on the basin. A portion of the water that enters the groundwater system beneath the drainage basin may flow towards the outlet of another drainage basin because groundwater flow directions do not always match those of their overlying drainage network. Measurement of the discharge of water from a basin may be made by a stream gauge located at the basin's outlet.

Rain gauge data is used to measure total precipitation over a drainage basin, and there are different ways to interpret that data. If the gauges are many and evenly distributed over an area of uniform precipitation, using the arithmetic mean method will give good results. In the Thiessen polygon method, the watershed is divided into polygons with the rain gauge in the middle of each polygon assumed to be representative for the rainfall on the area of land included in its polygon. These polygons are made by drawing lines between gauges, then making perpendicular bisectors of those lines form the polygons. The isohyetal method involves contours of equal precipitation are drawn over the gauges on a map. Calculating the area between these curves and adding up the volume of water is time consuming.

Isochrone maps can be used to show the time taken for runoff water within a drainage basin to reach a lake, reservoir or outlet, assuming constant and uniform effective rainfall.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Geomorphology[link]

Drainage basins are the principal hydrologic unit considered in fluvial geomorphology. A drainage basin is the source for water and sediment that moves through the river system and reshapes the channel.

Ecology[link]

The Mississippi River drains the largest area of any U.S. river, much of it agricultural regions. Agricultural runoff and other water pollution that flows to the outlet is the cause of the hypoxic, or dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Drainage basins are important elements to consider also in ecology. As water flows over the ground and along rivers it can pick up nutrients, sediment, and pollutants. Like the water, they get transported towards the outlet of the basin, and can affect the ecological processes along the way as well as in the receiving water source.

Modern usage of artificial fertilizers, containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, has affected the mouths of watersheds. The minerals will be carried by the watershed to the mouth and accumulate there, disturbing the natural mineral balance. This can cause eutrophication where plant growth is accelerated by the additional material.

Resource management[link]

Because drainage basins are coherent entities in a hydrological sense, it has become common to manage water resources on the basis of individual basins. In the U.S. state of Minnesota, governmental entities that perform this function are called watershed districts. In New Zealand, they are called catchment boards. Comparable community groups based in Ontario, Canada, are called conservation authorities. In North America this function is referred to as watershed management. In Brazil, the National Policy of Water Resources, regulated by Act n° 9.433 of 1997, establishes the drainage basin as territorial division of Brazilian water management.

Catchment factors[link]

The catchment is the most significant factor determining the amount or likelihood of flooding.

Catchment factors are: topography, shape, size, soil type and land use (paved or roofed areas). Catchment topography and shape determine the time taken for rain to reach the river, while catchment size, soil type and development determine the amount of water to reach the river.

Topography[link]

Topography determines the speed with which the runoff will reach a river. Clearly rain that falls in steep mountainous areas will reach the river faster than flat or gently sloping areas.

Shape[link]

Shape will contribute to the speed with which the runoff reaches a river. A long thin catchment will take longer to drain than a circular catchment.

Size[link]

Size will help determine the amount of water reaching the river, as the larger the catchment the greater the potential for flooding.

Soil type[link]

Soil type will help determine how much water reaches the river. Certain soil types such as sandy soils are very free draining and rainfall on sandy soil is likely to be absorbed by the ground. However, soils containing clay can be almost impermeable and therefore rainfall on clay soils will run off and contribute to flood volumes. After prolonged rainfall even free draining soils can become saturated, meaning that any further rainfall will reach the river rather than being absorbed by the ground.

Land use[link]

Land use can contribute to the volume of water reaching the river, in a similar way to clay soils. For example, rainfall on roofs, pavements and roads will be collected by rivers with almost no absorption into the groundwater.

See also[link]

• Integrated catchment management
• Interbasin transfer
• International Journal of River Basin Management (JRBM)
• Main stem
• River Basin Management Plans
• River bifurcation
• Time of concentration

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• DeBarry,Paul A. (2004). Watersheds: Processes, Assessment and Management. John Wiley & Sons.

External links[link]

• Science week catchment factsheet
• Catchment Modelling Toolkit
• Water Evaluation And Planning System (WEAP) - modeling hydrologic processes in a drainage basin
• eWater CRC
• New Mexico State University - Water Task Force
• Recommended Watershed Terminology
• Science in Your Watershed, USGS
• Studying Watersheds: A Confluence of Important Ideas
• Water Sustainability Project Sustainable water management through demand management and ecological governance, with the POLIS Project at the University of Victoria
• Map of the Earth's primary watersheds, WRI
• What is a watershed and why should I care?
• Cycleau - A project looking at approaches to managing catchments in North West Europe
• American Water Resources Association
• flash animation of how rain falling on to the landscape will drain into a river depending on the terrain
• StarHydro – software tool that covers concepts of fluvial geomorphology and watershed hydrology
• EPA Surf your watershed
• Florida Watersheds and River Basins - Florida DEP

Cree
Nēhilaw

Nēhiyaw camp near Vermilion, Alberta, in 1871
Total population
over 200,000
Regions with significant populations
Canada, United States
Languages
Cree, English, French
Related ethnic groups
Métis, Oji-Cree, Ojibwe, Innu

The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. The major proportion of Cree in Canada live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories. About 15,000 live in eastern Quebec.^[1]

In the United States, this Algonquian-speaking people historically lived from Lake Superior westward. Today, they live mostly in Montana, where they share a reservation with the Ojibwe (Chippewa).^[2]

The documented westward migration over time has been strongly associated with their roles as traders and hunters in the North American Fur Trade.^[3]

Tribes[link]

The Cree Nation is generally divided into eight groups (some political, others cultural):

1. Naskapi (Innu) and
2. Montagnais (Innu) are inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan. Their territories comprise most of the present-day political jurisdictions of eastern Quebec and Labrador. Their cultures are differentiated, as the Naskapi are still caribou hunters and more nomadic than the Montagnais, but the Montagnais have more settlements. The total population of the two groups in 2003 was about 18,000 people, of which 15,000 lived in Quebec. Their dialects and languages are the most distinct from the Cree spoken by the groups west of Lake Superior.
3. Attikamekw are inhabitants of the area they refer to as Nitaskinan (Our Land), in the upper St. Maurice River valley of Quebec (about 300 km north of Montreal). Their population is around 4,500.
4. James Bay Cree - Grand Council of the Crees; approximately 16,357 Cree (Iyyu in Coastal Dialect / Iynu in Inland Dialect) of the James Bay and Nunavik regions of Northern Quebec.
5. Moose Cree - Moose Factory^[4] in the Cochrane District, Ontario; this group lives on Moose Factory Island, near the mouth of the Moose River, at the southern end of James Bay.
6. Swampy Cree - this group lives in northern Manitoba along the Hudson Bay coast and adjacent inland areas to the south and west, and in Ontario along the coast of Hudson Bay and James Bay. Some also in eastern Saskatchewan around Cumberland House. It has 4,500 speakers.
7. Woods Cree group in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan.
8. Plains Cree 34,000 people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Montana.

Collectively the Cree used the autonym Nēhilawē (those who speak our language).^[5] They used "Cree" to refer to their people only when speaking the languages of the European colonists, French or English.^[6]

Skilled American bison hunters and horsemen, the Plains Cree were allied with the Assiniboine and the Saulteaux before they encountered French settlers in the 18th century.

Name[link]

The name "Cree" is derived from the Algonkian-language exonym Kiristino, which the Ojibwa used for tribes around Hudson Bay. The French colonists and explorers, who spelled the term Kilistinon, Kiristinon, and Cristinaux, used the term for numerous tribes which they encountered north of Lake Superior, in Manitoba, and west of there.^[7] The French used these terms to refer to various groups of peoples in Canada, some of which are now better distinguished as Severn Anishinaabe (Ojibwa), who speak languages different from the Algonkian or the Cree.^[8] Depending on the community, the Cree may call themselves by the following names: the nēhiyaw, nīhithaw, nēhilaw, and nēhinaw; or ininiw, ililiw, iynu (innu), or iyyu. These names are derived from the historical autonym nēhiraw (uncertain meaning) or from the historical autonym iriniw (meaning "person"). Cree using the latter autonym tend to be those living in the territories of Quebec and Labrador.^[9]

Language[link]

Linguistic subdivisions in Canada

The Cree language (also known in the most broad classification as Cree-Montagnais, Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi, to show the groups included within it) is the name for a group of closely related Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories to Labrador. It is the most widely spoken aboriginal language in Canada.^[10] The only region where Cree has official status is in the Northwest Territories, together with eight other aboriginal languages.^[11][12]

The two major groups: Nehiyaw and Innu, speak a mutually intelligible, Cree dialect continuum, which can be divided by many criteria. In a dialect continuum, "It is not so much a language, as a chain of dialects, where speakers from one community can very easily understand their neighbours, but a Plains Cree speaker from Alberta would find a Quebec Cree speaker difficult to speak to without practice."^[13]

One major division between the groups is that the Eastern group palatalizes the sound /k/ to either /ts/ (c) or to /tʃ/ (č) when it precedes front vowels. There is also a major difference in grammatical vocabulary (particles) between the groups. Within both groups, another set of variations has arisen around the pronunciation of the Proto-Algonquian phoneme *l, which can be realized as /l/, /r/, /y/, /n/, or /ð/ (th) by different groups. Yet in other dialects, the distinction between /eː/ (ē) and /iː/ (ī) has been lost, merging to the latter. In more western dialects, the distinction between /s/ and /ʃ/ (š) has been lost, both merging to the former.

If the consonants /p/ /t/ /c/ and /k/* used in Cree are compared^[14] to their English counterparts, it is noticeable that there is little distinction of voicing. In English, voicing marks the difference of meaning in words such as "bin : pin". Since there is not distinction of voicing in Cree, it is common for variants of /t/ to sound more like [d] without any difference in meaning.^[15]

Victor Gollum lists Cree in the Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages as one of fifty five languages that have more than 1,000 speakers which are being actively acquired by children.^[16]

In Canada[link]

Nehiyaw girl (1928).

The Cree are the largest group of First Nations in Canada, with over 200,000 members and 135 registered bands.^[17] This large population may be a result of the Crees' traditional openness to inter-tribal marriage. Together, their reserve lands are the largest of any First Nations group in the country.^[17] The largest Cree band and the second largest First Nations Band in Canada after the Six Nations Iroquois is the Lac La Ronge Band in northern Saskatchewan.

The Métis (from French Métis - any person of mixed ancestry) are people of mixed ancestry, such as Nehiyaw (or Anishinaabe) and French, English, or Scottish heritage. According to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, the Métis were historically the children of French fur traders and Nehiyaw women or, from unions of English or Scottish traders and northern Dene women (Anglo-Métis). Generally in academic circles, the term Métis can be used to refer to any combination of persons of mixed Native American and European heritage, although historical definitions for Métis remain. Canada's Indian and Northern Affairs broadly define Métis as those persons of mixed First Nation and European ancestry.

In the United States[link]

At one time the Cree were located in northern Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana. Today they live as part of the federally recognized Chippewa Cree tribe, located on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in Montana. They share the reservation with the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians, who form the "Chippewa" half of the Chippewa Cree tribe. (In Canada the Chippewa are known as Ojibwa.) Traditionally, the southern limits of the Cree territory in the United States were the Missouri River and the Milk River in Montana.

First Nation communities[link]

Illustration of a Snake woman (left) and a Nehiyaw woman (right), c. 1840-1843, Karl Bodmer

Notable chiefs[link]

• Mistāwasis ("Big Child", also known as Pierre Belanger), Chief of the Parklands/Willow Cree (Paskokopāwiyiniwak), born about 1813. He was one of the influential chiefs of the House Cree or Wāskahikaniwiyiniwak, supplied between 1852–1854 Fort Carlton with bison meat and pemmican, acquired in his youth by constant military conflicts the respect of Crowfoot, the chief of the Siksika, the Blackfoot called Mistāwasis respectfully “The Iron Buffalo of the Plains”)^[19]
• Ahtahkakoop ("Starblanket"), Chief of the House Cree (Wāskahikaniwiyiniwak). He was born about 1815-16, signed together with his cousin, Mistāwasis in 1876 the Treaty 6 at Fort Carlton, where he agreed that his group were settled into a reserve near the present-day Prince Albert, died 4 December 1896 at the age of 81 years)^[20]
• Ahchuchhwahauhhatohapit (Ahchacoosacootacoopits - ‘Starblanket’,^[21] Chief of a band of Calling River Cree (Kātēpwēwi-sīpīwiyiniwak), born about 1845 in the lower Qu’Appelle Valley, son of Wāpiy-mōsētōsis ("White Calf"), his tribal group was closely associated with the Ka Kichi Wi Winiwak under the leadership of chief Kakeesheway (‘Loud Voice’), and a close ally of Payipwāt ("Piapot"), the chief of the Cree-Assiniboine or "Young Dogs", 1879 after the disappearance of the bison Ahchuchhwahauhhatohapit settled on a reserve in the File Hills of the lower Qu'Appelle Valley, died 1917 in the Star Blanket reserve, Saskatchewan)^[22]
• Payipwāt (or Piapot: "[One who Knows the] Secrets of the Sioux"), also known as "Hole in the Sioux" or Kisikawasan - ‘Flash in the Sky’, Chief of the Cree-Assiniboine or the Young Dogs with great influence on neighboring Assiniboine, Downstream People, southern groups of the Upstream People and Saulteaux (Plains Ojibwa), born 1816, kidnapped as a child by the Sioux,^[23] he was freed about 1830 by Plains Cree, significant Shaman,^[24] most influential chief of the feared Young Dogs,^[25] convinced the Plains Cree to expand west in the Cypress Hills, the last refugee for bison groups, therefore disputed border area between Sioux, Assiniboine, Siksika Kainai and Cree, refused to participate in the raid on a Kainai camp near the present Lethbridge, Alberta, then the Young Dogs and their allies were content with the eastern Cypress Hills to the Milk River, Montana, does not participate at the negotiations on the Treaty 4 of 1874, he and Cheekuk, the most important chief of the Plains Ojibwa in the Qu'Appelle area, signed on 9 September 1875 the treaty only as preliminary contract, tried with the chiefs of the River Cree Minahikosis ("Little Pine") and Mistahi-maskwa ("Big Bear") to erect a kind of Indian Territory for all the Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa and Assiniboine - as Ottawa refused, he asked 1879-80 along with Kiwisünce (cowessess- 'Little Child')^[26] and the Assiniboine for adjacent reserves in the Cypress Hills, Payipwāt settled in a reserve about 37 miles northeast of Fort Walsh, Minahikosis ("Little Pine") and Papewes (‘Lucky Man’) asked successfully for reserves near the Assiniboine or Payipwāt - this allowed the Cree and Assiniboine to preserve their autonomy - because they went 1881 in Montana on bison hunting, stole Absarokee horses and alleged cattle killed, arrested the U.S. Army the Cree-Assiniboine group, disarmed and escorted them back to Canada - now unarmed, denied rations until the Cree and Assiniboine gave up their claims to the Cypress Hills and went north - in the following years the reserves changed several times and the tribes were trying repeated until to the Northwest Rebellion in 1885 to build an Indian Territory, Payipwāt remained under heavy guard, until his death he was a great spiritual leader, therefore Ottawa deposed Payipwāt on 15 April 1902 as chief, died in April 1908 on Piapot Reserve, Saskatchewan)^[27]
• Kee-a-kee-ka-sa-coo-way (‘The Man Who gives the War Whoop’), Chief of the Plains Cree, was in the middle of the 19th century the leading chief of the Plains Cree, had also a large following among the Plains Ojibwa around Fort Pitt, his sub-chief was Mukitou (‘Black Powder’), the father of Mistahi-maskwa.
• Mistahi-maskwa (recorded as Mistihui'muskwa or as Mistahimusqua; better known as Big Bear in English and as Gros Ours in French), Chief of the Plains Cree, born about 1825, son of the Ojibwa-Chief Mukitou (‘Black Powder’), mastered his native language, the Cree language, as well as Ojibwe language, led the last resistance to the dispersal of the Cree on many reservations and asked for a big total reserve, a revolt of the young warriors under the leadership of one of his sons in 1885 destroyed these plans, died 17 January 1888 on the Poundmaker reservation in North Battleford in Saskatchewan.
• Kapapamahchakwew (Kā-papāmahcahkwêw, Kapapa Machatiwe, Papamahchakwayo, French: ‘Esprit Errant’, better known as Wandering Spirit, war chief of the Plains Cree under Mistahimaskwa, born 1845 near Jackfish Lake, Saskatchewan, committed on 2 April 1885, the so-called Frog Lake massacre, killed the Indian Agent Thomas Quinn and eight whites and one Métis, surrendered in July at Fort Pitt, was hanged on 27 November 1885 in Battleford, Saskatchewan)^[28]
• Kamiokisihkwew (Miyo Kisikaw - Fine Day,^[29] Chief of the Plains Cree, born 1850 in the Battle River region, died 193[?], was a shaman and war chief under Pitikwahanapiwiyin`s River Cree, during the North-West Rebellion Battleford was sacked by River Cree, subsequently Fine Day was as war chief the leader in the uprising, defeated the Canadian army in the Battle of Cut Knife, later joined a group of Plains Cree under the leadership of Chief Wikaskokiseyin(‘Sweet Grass’), whose chief he became later)
• Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Pîhtokahânapiwiyin - ‘Poundmaker’,^[30][31] Chief of the River Cree, born about 1842 in the North Battleford Region in Saskatchewan; son of Sikakwayan (‘Skunk Skin’), an shaman of the Assiniboine and a Franco-Canadian Métisse, the sister of Chief Mistāwasis ("Big Child"), Chief of a band consisting of Plains River Cree (Sīpīwininiwak-paskwāwiyiniwak), Woods River Cree (‘Sīpīwininiwak-sakāwiyiniwak’), Western Woodland Cree (Sakāwiyiniwak) and Nakoda (Stoney), was adopted in 1873 by the Siksika chief Crowfoot as son, lived several years by the Blackfeet-name Makoyi-koh-kin (‘Wolf Thin Legs’) under the Siksika, returned to the Cree, became counselor of the Chief Pihew-kamihkosit (‘Red Pheasant’), was involved in the negotiations for the Treaty 6 in 1876 and went in 1879 in the Poundmaker reservation, later he participated in the siege of Battleford and the Battle of Cut Knife, died 4 July 1886 in Blackfoot Crossing, Alberta)^[32]
• Wikaskokiseyin (Wee-kas-kookee-sey-yin, better known as Chief Sweet Grass, Chief of the Plains Cree, his mother was a captured Absaroke, as he grew up he was also called Apistchi-okimas- 'Little Chief', signed the Treaty 6 on 9 September 1876 at Fort Pitt, along with bands of Woodland Cree, Chipewyan, some Saulteaux, only a quarter of the participating groups were Plains Cree, while his successor as chief Wah-wee-oo-kah-tah-mah-hote ('Strike him on the back') signed the Treaty 6 at Fort Carlton on the 28th August 1876 together with the Willow Cree, died 11 January 1877 in a shootout accident on the Plains, probably at Saint-Paul-des-Cris, Alberta)^[33]
• Peechee (Pesew - ‘Mountain Lion’, also known as Louis Piche), Chief of the Asini Wachi Nehiyawak and later the head chief of the 'Rocky/Mountain Cree' or Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak, born about 1821, introduced under the Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak the Catholic rite, his three sons, Piyesew Chak, Keskayiwew('Bobtail') and Ermineskin were also significant chiefs, Pesew and his elder son Chak Piyesew were killed during a gambling dispute in 1843, among his sons-in-law were the chiefs Samson, Chiniki, Bearspaw, Capote Blank and Jacques Cardinal)^[34]
• Ermineskin (‘One with teh skin like a ermine’,^[35] Sehkosowayanew, Sikosew Inew, also known as Baptiste Piche, Chief of the Bear Hills Cree (Maskwa Wachi-is Ininiwak), son of Pesew (‘Mountain Lion’), brother-in-law of Pitikwahanapiwiyin)^[36]
• Keskayiwew (Kiskiyew, Kiskiyo - Bobtail, also known as Alexis Piche, Chief of the Bear Hills Cree (Maskwa-wachi-is Ininiwak), son of Pesew (‘Mountain Lion’), brother of Ermineskin, became chief after the death of his older brother, was elected instead of Maskepetoon ('Broken Arm') to the chieftainship of the Rocky Cree and later became head chief of the Western Cree(‘Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak’) and soon after became the head chief of all the groups of the Upstream People)
• Kamdyistowesit (Kanaweyihimitowin,^[37] ‘Beardy’, French: ‘Barbu’, Chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree, born 1828 near Duck Lake, became in the 1870th chief, married Yaskuttsu-s,^[38] the half-sister of chief Küpeyakwüskonam (‘One Arrow’), among the members of his tribal group were many Métis descendants of the Hudson's Bay Company employee George Sutherland)^[39]
• Küpeyakwüskonam (Kupeyakwuskonam, Kah-pah-yak-as-to-cum - One Arrow, French: ‘Une Flèche’, Chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree, born 1815 in the Saskatchewan River Valley, son of George Sutherland (‘Okayasiw’) and his second wife Paskus (‘Rising’), tried to prevent in 1876 negotiations on the Treaty 6 at Fort Carlton along with Kamdyistowesit ('Beardy') and Saswaypew ('Cut Nose'), but finally signed on August 28 the treaty, in August 1884 he attended a meeting with chief Mistahimaskwa ('Big Bear') and Papewes (‘Papaway’ - 'Lucky Man'), his tribal group joined first the Métis in 1885, died on 25 April 1886 in the prison)^[40]
• Minahikosis (Little Pine, French: ‘Petit Pin’, Chief of the Plains Cree, born about 1830 in the vicinity of Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan, his mother was a Blackfeet, became famous in the 1860s, as armed Plains Cree to find the last remaining bison, penetrated more and more into the territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, led three years bitter resistance, signed however, in view of his starving people in 1879 the Treaty 6, and moved into a reserve at the foot of Blue Hill along the Battle River, his reputation was comparable to that of Mistahimaskwa' ('Big Bear'))^[41]
• Papewes (Papaway - ‘Lucky Man’, Chief of the Plains River Cree (Sīpīwininiwak-paskwāwiyiniwak), born in the late 1830s near Fort Pitt, was in the 1870s a leader of Mistahimaskwa´s Plains River Cree, as the bison disappeared, signed along with Little Pine on the 2nd July 1879 for the 470 members of his tribal group an annex to the Agreement No. 6 at Fort Walsh, in vain he asked for a reserve in the Cypress Hills and the Buffalo Lake, so many members went back to Mistahimaskwa ("Big Bear") or joined Minahikosis ("Little Pine"), Papewes asked 1884 in vain a reserve adjacent to the reserves of Pitikwahanapiwiyin (' Poundmaker'), Minahikosis and Mistahimaskwa, during the rebellion of 1885 were the two groups of Papewes and Minahikosis scattered and some of their members fled in the U.S., 1886 settled the remaining members of the two groups in the Little Pine's reserve^[42] died 1901 nahe Fort Assiniboine, Montana)^[43]
• Saswaypew (Sayswaypus, Seswepiu - ‘Cut Nose’, Chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree, son of Wimtchik, a Franco-Canadian Métis, married One Arrow’s sister Nawapukayus, his sisters Ayamis and Minuskipuihat were both married to ‘One Arrow’, Kamdyistowesit (‘Beardy’) and he were brother-in-law, because both were married to daughters of George Sutherland)
• Maskepetoon (Maski Pitonew - ‘Broken Arm’, ‘Crooked Arm’, later called Peacemaker, Chief of a group of Rocky /Mountain Cree or Asini Wachi Wi Iniwak, born about 1807 in the Saskatchewan River region, because of his bravery he was called by the hostile Blackfoot Mon-e-ba-guh-now or Mani-kap-ina (‘Young Man Chief’), turned later to the Methodist missionaries, what him and his followers brought into conflict with the Catholic free Rocky Cree under the leadership of Pesew, moved to the reserve and was soon known as the Peacemaker, was killed in 1869 in a Blackfoot camp in Alberta by the enemy war chief Big Swan, in an attempt to make peace between the two peoples unarmed)^[44]
• Pihew-kamihkosit (Pee-yahn-kah-nihk-oo-sit, better known as Red Pheasant, Chief of the Plains River Cree, brother and counselor of the chief Wuttunee (‘Porcupine’), signed on 23 August 1876 on behalf of his brother Wuttunee the Treaty 6, he was then regarded as a so called Treaty Chief by the Canadian government, moved with his tribal group 1878 onto the present Red Pheasant Reserve, about 33 km south of North Battleford, Saskatchewan)^[45]
• Peayasis (better known as François Desjarlais, Chief of the Beaver River Cree or Amisk Sipi Wi Iniwak, a subgroup of the Woodland Cree (Sakāwithiniwak), born 1824 at the Beaver River, son of Ladoucoeur dit Desjarlais and Josephte Suzette Cardinal, signed on 8 August 1876 the Treaty 6, participated in battle of Battle River)
• Kahkewistahaw, Chief of the Rabbit Skin Cree (Wāpošwayānak) and Saulteaux, signed in 15 September 1874 the Treaty 4, his tribal group was hunting in the area around Wood Mountain and the Cypress Hills and went back to the Qu'Appelle Valley to get once in the year their payments and gifts until a reserve was established in 1881)^[46][47]
• Paskwüw (Paskwa, Pisqua, usually called Pasquah - ‘The Plain’; French: Les Prairies), Chief of the Plains Cree, born 1828, son of the famous chief Mahkaysis, 1874 his tribal group were making their living with bison hunting in the vicinity of today's Leech Lake, Saskatchewan, they had also created gardens and raised a small herd of cattle, in September 1874 Pasqua took part in the negotiations on the Treaty 4 in Qu'Appelle Valley, he asked the Canadian government for the payment of £ 300,000 to the tribes, which the Hudson's Bay Company had received for the sale of Rupert's land to Canada, despite the refusal of Canada he finally signed the treaty and moved to a reserve five miles west of Fort Qu'Appelle, stayed out with his tribal group from the Northwest Rebellion of 1885, died in March 1889 he succumbed to the tuberculosis)^[48]
• Petequakey (‘Comes to Us With the Sound of Wings’, better known as Isidore Cayen dit Boudreau, Chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree at Muskeg Lake, born in St. Boniface, Manitoba, as son of Pierre Narcisse Cayen dit Boudreau and Adelaide Catherine Arcand (‘Kaseweetin’), though he was a Métis he became chief of the Willow Cree an the Métis, who were living with the Cree, brother and counselor of chief Kee-too-way-how (a.k.a. Alexander Cayen dit Boudreau), after Kee-too-way-how had left the reserve on the Muskeg Lake to live around Batoche, became Petequakey chief (1880–1889) of the remaining Cree and Métis living in the reserve, he participated on 26 March 1885 along with the Métis leader Gabriel Dumont at the battle at Duck Lake, thereafter he led his tribal group to St. Laurent to participate in the defense of Batoche, one of the largest Métis settlements and the seat of the Saskatchewan's provisional government during the rebellion)^[49]
• Kee-too-way-how (‘Sounding With Flying Wings’, better known as Alexander Cayen dit Boudreau, Chief of the Parklands or Willow Cree at Muskeg Lake, born 1834 St. Boniface, Manitoba, son of Pierre Narcisse Cayen dit Boudreau and Adelaide Catherine Arcand (‘Kaseweetin’), though he was of Métis descent he became chief of the Willow Cree and the Métis, who were living with the Cree, brother of Petequakey (‘Isidore Cayen dit Boudreau’), lived along Duck Lake, signed 1876 Treaty 6 and settled in a reserve at Muskeg Lake - that was later named after his brother Petequakey - but left the reserve in 1880 and lived again in the following years close to St. Laurent de Grandin mission, played a prominent role during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 in which he participated in every battle, served also as an emissary of the Métis leader Gabriel Dumont to ask the Assiniboine for support, on 23 May 1885 he also submitted the declaration of surrender of Pitikwahanapiwiyin ('Poundmaker') to General Middleton, was captured on the 1st June 1885, in the subsequent trial of Kee-too-way-how at Regina, Louis Cochin testified that he and the carters in the camp of Pitikwahanapiwiyin survived only thanks to the intercession by Kee-way-too-how and its people, despite the positive testimony, he was on 14 August 1885 sentenced to imprisonment for seven years for his involvement in the Métis rebellion, died 1886).

Other notable people[link]

Mähsette Kuiuab, chief of the Cree Indians, ca. 1840-1843, Karl Bodmer

• Janice Acoose, author, of Sakimay (Saulteaux) and Ninankawe Marival Métis ancestry
• Nathaniel Arcand, actor
• Irene Bedard, actress
• Mary Katherine Campbell, former Miss America pageant titleholder
• Harold Cardinal, writer, political leader, teacher, and lawyer
• Lorne Cardinal, actor
• Tantoo Cardinal, actor
• Jonathan Cheechoo, NHL hockey player
• Theoren Fleury, retired NHL hockey player, humanitarian, spokesperson, and author
• Edward Gamblin, musician
• Michael Greyeyes, actor
• Tomson Highway, playwright, librettist of the first Cree-language opera
• Tyson Houseman, actor
• Cody Lightning, actor
• Wilton Littlechild, lawyer, former Member of Parliament
• Delia Opekokew, lawyer and activist
• Bronson Pelletier, actor
• Romeo Saganash, Member of Parliament for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, Quebec
• Buffy Sainte-Marie, singer
• Cree Summer, singer/actress
• Richard Throssel (1882–1933), photographer
• Michelle Thrush, actor
• Gordon Tootoosis, actor
• Alfred Young Man (b. 1948), educator, writer, curator, artist

See also[link]

• Cree language
• Cree syllabics
• Iynu
• James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict
• Métis
• Michif
• Oji-Cree
• Okichitaw
• Politics of Saskatchewan

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Grant, Bruce (2000). The Concise Encyclopedia of the American Indian. New York: Wings Books. ISBN 0-517-69310-0. 
• Stevens, James R. (1971). Sacred Legends of the Sandy Lake Cree. McClelland and Stewart Ltd.. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cree

• Cree cultural site
• The East Cree language web
• The Cree-Innu linguistic atlas
• Grand Council of the Crees (GCC) website
• The Plains Cree - Ethnographic, Historical and Comparative Study by David Mandelbaum
• Lac La Ronge Band website
• Little Red River Cree Nation website
• Brief history of Cree from Canadian Geographic
• CBC Digital Archives - James Bay Project and the Cree
• Pimooteewin, a first Cree language opera
• Fisher River Cree Nation Official Website
• The Gift of Language and Culture website
• CBC Digital Archives – Eeyou Istchee: Land of the Cree
• On the Path of the Elders