Editing Cree (section)

== Political aboriginal organization ==

=== Historical ===
[[File:CreeCamp1871.jpg|thumb|alt=|nēhiyaw (Plains Cree) camp near the future site of [[Vermilion, Alberta]], in 1871]]

As [[hunter-gatherer]]s, the basic units of organization for Cree peoples were the "lodge", a group of perhaps eight to a dozen people, usually the families of two separate, but related, married couples living together in the same [[wigwam]] (domed tent) or [[tipi]] (conical tent), and the [[band society|band]], a group of lodges who moved and hunted together. In the case of disagreement, lodges could leave bands, and bands could be formed and dissolved with relative ease. However, as there is safety in numbers, all families would want to be part of some band, and [[Exile|banishment]] or exile was considered a very serious punishment. Bands would usually have strong ties to their neighbours through intermarriage and would assemble together at different parts of the year to hunt and socialize together. Other than these regional gatherings, there was no higher-level formal structure, and decisions of war and peace were made by consensus, with allied bands meeting together in-council. People could be identified by their '''[[clan]]''', which is a group of people claiming descent from the same common ancestor; each clan would have a representative and a vote in all important councils held by the band (compare: [[Anishinaabe clan system]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://johncochrane.ca/drupal/node/84|title=Traditional Cree Nation Custom Council|date=30 October 2012|first=Jon|last=Dorian|website=Kaministikominahiko-skak Cree Nation}}</ref>

Each band remained independent of each other. However, Cree-speaking bands tended to work together and with their neighbours against outside enemies. Those Cree who moved onto the [[Great Plains]] and adopted [[bison hunting]], called the Plains Cree, were allied with the [[Assiniboine people|Assiniboine]], the Metis Nation, and the [[Saulteaux]] in what was known as the "[[Iron Confederacy]]", which was a major force in the [[North American fur trade]] from the 1730s to the 1870s. The Cree and the Assiniboine were important intermediaries in the [[Great Plains Indian trading networks|Indian trading networks]] on the northern plains.<ref name="ce"/>

When a band went to war, they would nominate a temporary military commander, called a {{lang|cr-Latn|okimahkan}}, loosely translated as "war chief". This office was different from that of the "peace chief", a leader who had a role more like that of diplomat. In the run-up to the 1885 [[North-West Rebellion]], [[Big Bear]] was the leader of his band, but once the fighting started [[Wandering Spirit (Cree leader)|Wandering Spirit]] became war leader.
[[File:FEMA - 45024 - A Federal Disaster Assistance Agreement signing in Montana.jpg|thumb|[[Chippewa Cree]] Tribal Chairman Raymond Parker Jr. signs an agreement with the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency|FEMA]] in [[Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation|Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, Montana]] on August 17, 2010.]]

=== Contemporary ===
There have been several attempts to create a national political organization that would represent all Cree peoples, at least as far back as a 1994 gathering at the Opaskwayak Cree First Nation reserve.<ref name="brandonu">{{cite journal |last=Maclead |first=Neal |title=Plains Cree Identity: Borderlands, Ambiguous Genealogies and Narratives Irony |journal=Canadian Journal of Native Studies |volume=20 |issue=2 |year=2000 |pages=437–454 |url=http://www3.brandonu.ca/cjns/20.2/cjnsv20no1_pg437-454.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623191458/http://www3.brandonu.ca/cjns/20.2/cjnsv20no1_pg437-454.pdf |archive-date=23 June 2017 |access-date=27 October 2019}}</ref>