Woodland Cree

Ceremonies

Woodland Cree

Among the woodland clans in the summer when more members of clans were together. Ceremonies took place to mark important events. Ceremonies showed thankfulness to the creator. The sacred pipe was used in all ceremonies.

The drum was considered sacred too. Drums were used in spiritual ceremonies particularly when there was dancing. Drums were round using the symbol of the circle . Often the symbol of the four directions and seasons was used. As well, the drum was considered the heartbeat of all life on Mother Earth. The heartbeat was at the center when people gathered to dance or sing.

Food

By: Joey and Wendy

Woodland Cree hunters understood that food was limited.

When a habitat had little game, the people moved away until the game returned or increased. People living farther south mainly hunted moose, deer, and bear. The people in the north also hunted woodland caribou. The forests were also the home of fur-bearing animals such as rabbits and hares, beavers, and muskrats. Migratory wildfowl and game birds provided meat and eggs. Fish could be caught at any season, but many Woodland Cree preferred hunting. Some groups were involved in summer gardening. The women also gathered nuts, berries, roots, maple syrup, honey, and plants used for medicine. Food were smoked and dried to preserve them and pemmican was made. Pemmican was a compact, nutritious food

that was valuable when traveling.

Trade

Woodland Cree Spirituality and Symbols

In much of the Woodland Cree territory, birch trees did not grow large enough to make birch bark canoes. Furs were trapped, cleaned, and stretched during winter to trade for other products. Birch bark, copper, arrowheads, wild rice (which grew around Lake Superior in the territory of the Anishinabe), corn, and tobacco from the Iroquoian peoples were products for which the Woodland Cree traded.

• Spirituality was part of every day life for the Woodland Cree. Elders taught all parts of the earth and all forms of life were made by the creator. They were all sacred and had a place within the sacred circle. It included rocks, lakes, rivers, trees, animals, the moon, thunder, spirits, and people. Woodland Cree lived in a world of sacred symbols, some important symbols included the circle, colours, the number 4 and eagle feathers.

Transportation

In the northern forest, travel was easiest by foot or by water. In summer, people either walked or traveled by canoe. In winter, they wore snow shoes to stay on top of the snow. They carried packs on their backs or pulled loads on toboggans.

Family and Clan

Woodland Cree Homes

The family is the main way a culture is passed from one generation to the next.The Woodland Cree lived in small hunting bands of 25-30 people. A winter hunting band was an extended family that lived in a camp of several wigwams. Everyone was related through kinship (having some of the same ancestors or being related by marriage) and marriage. Children became members of their father's clan at birth. Algonquin nations were patrilineal (tracing descent through the father). Members of a clan helped each other and treated other members as brothers and sisters. It was forbidden to marry someone from the same clan. The Algonquin clans were named after animals, fish, and birds that were important to their way of life.

Clothing

The Woodland Cree lived in wigwams. They were temporary structures that could be moved easily to another area.They were 2.5 by 3 meters in size. There were 2 types of wigwams. One was a pointed teepee style. The other one was when the supports were bent in a curve and both ends of the poles were placed in the ground. There was also no furniture so everyone had to sit on the floor. In the cold winters, branches, sod, and snow were heaped around the outside of the wigwam. That gave extra protection from the cold.

1st style: Teepee style

During the warm months women and girls wore dresses and moccasins made from animal skins. Knee-length were added when the weather got colder. Men and boys wore breech clothes, shirts, and moccasins during the warm months. In cold weather, thigh-length leggings were also worn. Coats and blankets were woven from strips of rabbit skin. Moose or caribou coats, hats, and blankets were made for winter wear. Boots lined with fur were worn over moccasins for extra warmth.

2nd style:

Bent support style