The Cree as a whole are a Native American (First Nations) people who reside both in the United States and Canada. They are are divided into several major varieties including:

• Central Cree (York Cree, West Shore Cree, West Main Creek). Dialects include: Moose Cree (Ililîmowin), which is spoken in the southern tip of James Bay in Moosonee, Ontario, and Swampy Cree (Inilîmowin), which is spoken northwestward across Ontario into north-eastern Manitoba.
• Coastal Eastern Cree (Coastal Cree, Eastern Coastal Cree) is spoken in Quebec on the east coast of James Bay.
• Inland Eastern Cree (Inland Cree, Eastern Inland Cree) in Quebec.
• Western Cree in the United States and in north central Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada. Dialects include: Woods Cree, Plains Cree and Western Swampy Cree.
• East Cree, also known as (Eastern) James Bay Cree, and East Main Cree, is a group of Cree dialects spoken in Quebec, Canada on the east coast of lower Hudson Bay and James Bay, and inland southeastward from James Bay.

View Enlarged Map of this People Group

Cree happens to be one of the most spoken non-official aboriginal languages. The various dialects are mutually intelligible, though difficulty arises as the distance between communities increases. According to the statistics, Cree is the largest language practiced and alive in comparison to all the other languages in the Algonquian family.

For more information, see Woodland Cree, an informational video about the Woods Cree people.