Oji-Cree

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Oji-Cree
Anishinini
Anishinaabe-Anishinini Distribution Map.svg
Distribution of Anishinaabe peoples; the Oji-Cree are depicted by the orange band.
Regions with significant populations
Canada (Ontario, Manitoba)
Languages
Oji-Cree, English
Related ethnic groups
Ojibwe, Cree

The Anisininew [1] or Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west.

Contents

The Oji-Cree people are descended from historical intermarriage between the Ojibwa and Cree cultures, but constitute a distinct nation. [2] [3] They are considered one of the component groups of Anishinaabe, and reside primarily in a transitional zone between traditional Ojibwa lands to their south and traditional Cree lands to their north. Historically, the Oji-Cree were identified by the British and Canadian governments as "Cree." The Oji-Cree have identified with the Cree (or more specifically, the Swampy Cree) and not with the Ojibwa located to the south of them. [ citation needed ] Traditionally, they were called Noopiming-ininiwag (People in the Woods) by the Ojibwe. Oji-Cree at Round Lake First Nation were known as Ajijaakoons (little cranes), due to their chief's name, Ajijaak.[ citation needed ] Many Oji-Cree identify by the autonym Anishinaabe or Anishinini (Original Human).

In 2024, 22 different First Nations governments from both Manitoba and Ontario officially adopted the name Anisininew to replace the term "Oji-Cree." In their declaration, they likened the division of the Anisininew nation across provincial boundaries to the building of the Berlin Wall. [4]

In 2019, several Anisininew communities banded together in a Declaration of Sovereignty, [5] establishing the offices of a cross-community Grand Chief and Grand Council and formally enshrining a commitment to the traditional teachings and traditional laws of the Anisininew people. This declaration was signed by the chiefs and councils of Garden Hill First Nation, Red Sucker Lake First Nation, St. Theresa Point First Nation, and Wasagamack First Nation as well as representatives from Crown–Indigenous Relations and the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba.

Anishininimowin (the Oji-Cree language) is more closely related to Ojibwa structurally, although its literary tradition more closely resembles that of Cree.[ citation needed ] Anishininimowin has about 15,210 speakers according to the 2021 census. [6] Ontario Member of the Provincial Parliament Sol Mamakwa, elected in 2018, has used greetings and short phrases in Anishininimowin in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; [7] in 2024, after changes to the standing orders and interpretation services, he gave a ten-minute speech and asking the first question in Question Period in Anishininimowin, becoming the first person to officially address the legislature in an Indigenous language and in a language other than English or French. [8]

Today, Anishininimowin is used in online learning and through community radio broadcasting. [9]

Oji-Cree bands

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ojibwe</span> Group of indigenous peoples in North America

The Ojibwe are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and throughout the northeastern woodlands. Ojibweg, being Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and of the subarctic, are known by several names, including Ojibway or Chippewa. As a large ethnic group, several distinct nations also understand themselves to be Ojibwe as well, including the Saulteaux, Nipissings, and Oji-Cree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saulteaux</span> Westernmost branch of the Anishinaabe people

The Saulteaux, otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. They are a branch of the Ojibwe who pushed west. They formed a mixed culture of woodlands and plains Indigenous customs and traditions.

First Nations in Ontario constitute many nations. Common First Nations ethnicities in the province include the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and the Cree. In southern portions of this province, there are reserves of the Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca and Tuscarora.

First Nations in Manitoba constitute of over 160,000 registered persons as of 2021, about 57% of whom live on reserve. Manitoba is second to Ontario in total on-reserve population and in total First Nation population.

The Severn Ojibwa or the Oji-Cree language is the indigenous name for a dialect of the Ojibwe language spoken in a series of Oji-Cree communities in northern Ontario and at Island Lake, Manitoba, Canada. Ojibwa is a member of the Algonquian language family, itself a member of the Algic language family.

Aroland First Nation is a Ojibwa, Oji-Cree and cree First Nation within the Nishnawbe Aski Nation Territory and a signatory to Treaty 9, located in the Thunder Bay District approximately 20 kilometres west of Nakina. Aroland First Nation, has Indian reserve status, though the settlement itself is not a reserve. The Aroland First Nation is also a member of the Matawa First Nations Tribal Council.

Mishkeegogamang First Nation is an Ojibway band government in the Canadian province of Ontario. Until 1993, the band was called the Osnaburgh First Nation, with various settlements at times being called New Osnaburgh, Osnaburgh House, or Osnaburgh.

Wapekeka First Nation is a First Nation band government in the Canadian province of Ontario. An Oji-Cree community in the Kenora District, the community is located approximately 450 kilometres northeast of Sioux Lookout. In January, 2008, the total registered population was 375, of which the on-reserve population was 355.

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, also known as Big Trout Lake First Nation or KI for short, is an Oji-Cree First Nation reserve in Northwestern Ontario and is a part of Treaty 9. The community is about 580 km (360 mi) north of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Deer Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree First Nations band government in Northern Ontario, located north of Red Lake, Ontario Canada. It is one of the few First Nations in Ontario to have signed Treaty 5. It is part of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. As of December, 2007, the First Nation had 1,072 registered members, of which their on-reserve population was 868.

Woodlands style, also called the Woodlands school, Legend painting, Medicine painting, and Anishnabe painting, is a genre of painting among First Nations and Native American artists from the Great Lakes area, including northern Ontario and southwestern Manitoba. The majority of the Woodland artists belong to the Anishinaabeg, notably the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi, as well as the Oji-Cree and the Cree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nishnawbe Aski Nation</span>

Nishnawbe Aski Nation is a political organization representing 51 First Nation communities across Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 areas of Northern Ontario, Canada. Re-organized to its present form in 1981, NAN's original objective was "to represent the social and economic aspirations of our people at all levels of government in Canada and Ontario until such time as real effective action is taken to remedy our problems."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wunnumin Lake First Nation</span>

Wunnumin Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree First Nation band government who inhabit territory on Wunnummin Lake 360 kilometres (220 mi) northeast of Sioux Lookout in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It consists of two reserves: the main reserve Wunnumin 1 and the nearby Wunnumin 2. Its registered population as of January 2007 was 565.

Kingfisher First Nation is an Oji-Cree First Nation reserve located 350 kilometres (220 mi) north of Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada. It is accessible by air all year and by waterway in summer and ice roads in winter. As of December 2009, the First Nation had a total registered population of 500 people, the on-reserve population being 462. The community speaks the Oji-Cree language, but most of it is fluent in English as well.

Chapleau Ojibway First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation located near Chapleau Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. The First Nation have reserved for themselves the 67 ha Chapleau 61A Indian Reserve, 64.7 ha Chapleau 74 Indian Reserve and the 799.3 ha Chapleau 74A Indian Reserve. In September, 2007, their total registered population 39, of which their on-reserve population was 30.

North Caribou Lake First Nation or Weagamow First Nation, sometimes also known as Round Lake First Nation, is an Oji-Cree First Nations band government who inhabit the Kenora District in northern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 320 km (200 mi) by air north of Sioux Lookout. As of January 2008, the First Nations had a registered population of 928 people, of which their on-Reserve population was 677.

Sachigo Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree First Nation band government in Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located on Sachigo Lake, part of the Sachigo River system and Hudson Bay drainage basin, approximately 425 kilometres (264 mi) north of the town of Sioux Lookout. As of September 2011, the First Nation had a registered population of 814 people, of which the on-reserve population was 443.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasaya Airways</span> First Nations-owned airline in Ontario, Canada

Wasaya Airways LP is a First Nations-owned domestic airline with its headquarters in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Its main hubs are the Thunder Bay International Airport and the Sioux Lookout Airport; It also offers a charter and cargo service from a base in Red Lake Airport and Pickle Lake Airport. In 2003, Wasaya Airways bought the rights to serve remote First Nations communities from Bearskin Airlines. The airline also supplies food, clothing, hardware and other various supplies to 25 remote communities in Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Star Air</span> Canadian charter and cargo airline

North Star Air is a Canadian charter, passenger and cargo airline headquartered in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with secondary passenger hub in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, and cargo hubs located in Pickle Lake, Red Lake, Kapuskasing and Thompson, Manitoba. The majority of destinations served are First Nations communities, with regular service to 18 airports under "Flex Flight Passenger Service", and other regional destinations under an on-demand basis. Founded in 1997 as a floatplane operator with two DHC-2 Beaver aircraft based in Pickle Lake, the airline has grown over the years and came under new ownership in 2012. In 2015 Cargo North and North Star Air merged under the North Star banner. In 2022 North Star Air opened up their brand new cargo depot based in Winnipeg.

References

  1. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/anisininew-gathering-of-nations-winnipeg-1.7116855
  2. https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/iid/aid/brochure.pdf
  3. https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/original-voices/oji-cree
  4. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/anisininew-gathering-of-nations-winnipeg-1.7116855
  5. "Declaration Of Sovereignty". Anishininew Okimawin. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  6. "Cree". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  7. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/living-languages-mpp-sol-mamakwa-oji-cree-1.5485247
  8. "Ontario First Nation legislator makes history at Queen's Park". CBC News. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  9. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/lost-found-and-shared-indigenous-language-speakers-on-the-rise-1.3410203/radio-brings-oji-cree-to-remote-communities-1.3415507

Further reading