The Cree, the third most populous Nation in Quebec, is a large community that, with the Inuit, were at the center of the 1975 negotiations with the federal and provincial governments regarding hydroelectric projects in the region.

 

Cree is an Algonquian language that forms, along with Innu, Atikamekw and Naskapi, a linguistic continuum that extends from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Rocky Mountains.

 

The Cree language is spoken by several thousand people in Eeyou Istchee, the Cree traditional territory located in the Nord-du-Québec (Northern Quebec) region. The Cree language is taught in many homes and schools starting at daycare. In the territory of Eeyou Istchee, there are two main dialects: the "northern dialect", which is spoken in northern and coastal communities, and the "southern dialect" which is spoken more inland and among the communities located further south.

 

Cree is the most widely spoken Indigenous language in Canada.