Essay On How Did The Cree Marry Outside Of Their Own Tribe

Inquiry Questions

1: Did the Cree marry outside of their own tribe?

A: Unlike many other tribes, the Cree people were permitted to marry outside of their group. Because of this openness to mixed marriages, mixed heritage and multiculturalism were normal. Lots of children would have parents from two different tribes. However it would usually be the fathers of the bride and groom that would make the arrangements, so they may have been marrying for reasons other than love. Girls would often be married off before they had even reached puberty.

The Cree tribe is the largest tribe out of all the tribes in Canada, probably because of the cross marriages. They didn't mind who you married, as long as they were Cree. I also think that the Crees maybe

didn't have a very large cultural difference in between their tribes, because if they did they wouldn't probably agree to the cross marriages. Other tribes did not let you marry outside of your group, so they would have been much smaller than the Cree tribe. In total the Cree tribe now has over 200,000 people in Canada.

2: Would people in the Cree tribe have hairstyles, or tattoos?

A: People in the Cree tribe would have various different tattoos, that would be symbolic. The tattoos would normally be nature related things, animals, or Cree symbols. Women would tattoo the corners of their mouths, which I think is an attempt for bigger lips. Men would tattoo their whole bodies, which may be for war. I think that tattoos would have been very cultural, and different from what we have today.

In the Cree tribe men paid lots of attention to the ¨popular¨ hairstyles, so that they would fit in. Men generally had long hair because cutting your hair would require a knife. Women in the Cree tribe would just braid their hair. They probably did this for convenience, because their hair was very long. There was no reason to cut your hair so barely anyone had short hair. Men and women would also pluck facial hair, such as eyebrows, moustaches, nose hair, and beards.

3: How did the Cree's fight smallpox, and did their medicine help?

A: The smallpox disease hit the Crees around 1781 and killed more than 5000 Crees.

The Crees had never been introduced to smallpox, so their immune system could not fight it as well. If they had been introduced they would of had a higher chance of survival. Because of this even more Crees died. The Europeans brought these diseases to Canada, so in my opinion, they should be blamed.

The Crees didn’t have very modern technology so they were mainly dependent on natural remedies. They believed that the spirits would take care of them and that the smallpox disease was simply a God being mad at them. The Cree’s medicine didn’t really help increase their chance of survival at all. Actually there was no chance of survival, so their medicine might as well of been non-existent. In fact there is no cure for smallpox now, however it is almost impossible to get smallpox.

4: Why would the Cree live in such spread out areas, and why did they live in these areas?

A: The Cree tribe lived in what is now more than 6 different provinces. The majority of Cree lived in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, but a few lived in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. I think that they the reason they lived in such a wide range of places, is because they were such a big tribe, and they needed lots of space. Also they didn’t need to travel that much, so being spread apart was

fine.

The Cree lived in places that had lots and lots of natural resources. Caribou, elk, and moose, as well as smaller game like beaver and rabbits are good examples of what they would eat. They would also hunt buffalo, which you wouldn’t be able to find up north. Cree women may also grow corn, which would need warm sunny weather and rich soil to grow well. I think the Crees lived where they lived because it provided them with good resources, space, and it was where they had always lived.