The Oji-Cree people are descended from historical intermarriage between the
Ojibwa and
Cree cultures, but are generally considered a nation distinct from either of their ancestral groups.[citation needed] 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. 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. The Oji-Cree identify by the
autonymAnishinaabe or Anishinini (Original Human).
Their language and culture also derive from mixed Ojibwa and Cree traditions. Anishininimowin (the
Oji-Cree language) is more closely related to
Ojibwa structurally, although its literary tradition more closely resembles that of
Cree. Anishinaabemowin has about 12,600 speakers.[1]
Wawakapewin First Nation (ᐙᐙᑲᐯᐎᐣ ᓂᐢᑕᒼ ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓂᓂᐗᐠ (Waawaagabewin Nistam Anishininiwag); unpointed: ᐗᐗᑲᐯᐎᐣ ᓂᐢᑕᒼ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐗᐠ) (formerly Nemeigusabins Lake Band, Long Dog Lake Band or Long Dog Band) –
Wawakapewin Indian Reserve
Favel, Fred (2001). Northern Lights and Satellites: Kenina Kakekayash, Oji-Cree, Director of Radio, Wawatay Radio Network. Ottawa: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
ISBN0-662-65945-7.
Long, John (2010). Treaty No. 9: Making the Agreement to Share the Land in Far Northern Ontario in 1905. Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press.
ISBN978-0-77353-760-6.
Macfie, John; Johnston, Basil (1991). Hudson Bay Watershed A Photographic Memoir of the Ojibway, Cree, and Oji-Cree. Toronto: Dundurn Press.
ISBN1-55002-088-9.
Rogers, Edward S.; Taylor, Garth (1978). "Northern Ojibwa". In Sturtevant, William C. (ed.). Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 6: Subarctic. Government Printing Office.
ISBN0-160-04578-9.
Valentine, Lisa Philips (1995). "Making It Their Own /Severn Ojibwe Communicative Practices". Anthropological Horizons. Vol. 7. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
ISBN0-8020-0643-4.
Valentine, Lisa Philips (1990). "Work to Create the Future You Want": Contemporary Discourse in a Severn Ojibwe Community.