| Group: | Oji-Cree |
| Native Name: | Anishinini |
| Native Name Lang: | ojs |
| Popplace: | Canada (Ontario, Manitoba) |
| Related: | Ojibwe, Cree |
The Anisininew[1] or Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west.
The Oji-Cree people are descended from historical intermarriage between the Ojibwa and Cree cultures, but constitute a distinct nation.[2] [3] 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. Many Oji-Cree identify by the autonym Anishinaabe or Anishinini (Original Human).
In 2024, 22 different First Nations governments from both Manitoba and Ontario officially adopted the name Anisininew to replace the term "Oji-Cree." In their declaration, they likened the division of the Anisininew nation across provincial boundaries to the building of the Berlin Wall.[4]
In 2019, several Anisininew communities banded together in a Declaration of Sovereignty,[5] establishing the offices of a cross-community Grand Chief and Grand Council and formally enshrining a commitment to the traditional teachings and traditional laws of the Anisininew people. This declaration was signed by the chiefs and councils of Garden Hill First Nation, Red Sucker Lake First Nation, St. Theresa Point First Nation, and Wasagamack First Nation as well as representatives from Crown–Indigenous Relations and the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba.
Anishininimowin (the Oji-Cree language) is more closely related to Ojibwa structurally, although its literary tradition more closely resembles that of Cree. Anishininimowin has about 15,210 speakers according to the 2021 census.[6] Ontario Member of the Provincial Parliament Sol Mamakwa, elected in 2018, has used greetings and short phrases in Anishininimowin in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario;[7] in 2024, after changes to the standing orders and interpretation services, he gave a ten-minute speech and asking the first question in Question Period in Anishininimowin, becoming the first person to officially address the legislature in an Indigenous language and in a language other than English or French.[8]
Today, Anishininimowin is used in online learning and through community radio broadcasting.[9]