Nituskeenan - Our Land

Keith Goulet

One of the most signature and constraining effect of colonization in the world was the takeover of Indigenous lands. The losses have been staggering. After treaties had been signed in North America, all that was left as reservation lands for Indigenous peoples was 4% of all lands in the USA and .2% (two tenths of one percent) in Canada. To make life more challenging, the idea of reservation was not only stereotyped in a negative way by settlers, it was also given a blunt double-edged meaning in Cree.  Although Indigenous peoples continue to have a different interpretation of the sharing of lands in the treaties, the Cree did recognize the loss by designating  the reservation as iskonigun or left over land while the Treaty and Status Indians are still called Iskoniguneeniyuk or Left Over Land People. To be generous it could also be interpreted to mean the land that has been saved. But, even after this overwhelming loss of land Indigenous peoples have not given up their respect, reverence and attachment to the land. The political and legal stands by Indigenous peoples have recently started to bring hope as the highest courts have now recognized Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, Aboriginal title along with the duty to consult and accommodate in traditional/ancestral territories. Connection to land is also evident in the continued dialogue and conflicts regarding the protection of sacred lands, guardianship and the sustainability of the environment and the planet. The continued strong stand of Indigenous peoples and the sharing of information from local to international collaboration, exchange and action will be important aspects of respectful change in the future.

Uskee is the Cree Nehinuw word for land, country or territory.  For the Anishinabe and other northeastern Algonquians aki is the term used while aschee is used for the East Coast Cree of James Bay and assi for the Innu in Labrador. It is used in the broader sense of the earth and in the narrower sense as a particular territory for a particular Cree nation. For example Kaminstigominuhigoskak, Spruce Island or Cumberland House is not only the main center of the Cumberland Cree it also becomes the name of the national territory. The people in the main Indigenous centers like Cumberland House where the Hudson’s Bay Company built their posts have been labelled as “Home Guard Indians” in history but the oral historical term Waskahiguneeniyuk, means House People.  Waskahigun is a European house while meegiwap is a Cree home or dwelling. The latter stem –eeniyuk which is derived from Inniyuk means Indigenous  peoples or an Indigenous nation. As an added example Opaskiyak is both the center and the national territorial name of the Opasquia Cree Nation and Opaskiya-Inniyuk are the Opasquia Cree Nation or people.  Ininiw literally means a resourceful self-determining person and it is also inclusive of both Metis and First Nations. When it is stated as “e inineesit” it means that the person or the people have the resourcefulness, initiative and determination to act on something in a respectful way.

As an integral part of Cree Nehinuw culture, land is connected to many aspects of people’s lives. Land is connected to everything and every living being including animals, plants and water. It also provides food, clothing, medicines, heat, warmth and homes. Kituskeenuw, our land is a strong part of identity and essential to the lives and the spirit of people. In terms of time and history it is a referenced  marker of ancient long term history, as kuyaseskumik (kuyas is long ago, -esk refers to the land and umik is the functional structure)or “during the time of the ancient land” and in the short term as itatauskeenehin,  the denotation of one’s age. The land is also interconnected with the sky and the universe. From our ancient knowledge systems, it is said that we come from keesigohk, the sky, the heavens or the universe. Our everyday words like keesik , the sky,  keesigaw , the day and keesigawastew,  the daylight reinforce this connection. Stars are called achagosuk while the spirit or spirit being itself is called achak. Spirit beings are recognized in one of the three major forms of narrative. Achimowin, is the everyday story while ahtotumowin is the story of events but the narrative form that includes the special spirit beings or legends is called achunoogehin.

Two of the most well-known spirit beings are Weesagechak the crafty character who is often called the trickster spirit and Weetigo (also Weetigo-achak) the powerful terrifying cannibal spirit being. These spirit beings were here before people but they were also present in the legends with people. Achak , the Cree idea of spirit has come to include Christian concepts of the spirit or the holy ghost while the spirits of the dead are called Cheepuyuk. When a person passes away or dies their spirit being travels back to Keechigeesigohk, the Great Sky or the heavens. The Milky Way is called Cheepuhimeskunuw, the Road of the Spirits of the Dead. When one passes away or dies, the spirit entity returns to the Great Sky and this transition from earth to the spirit world is stated as nugutuskehin or “one leaves the earth or land.” During a person’s lifetime, a direct reference to the land is also made when one moves to leave their homeland or national territory and this is literally portrayed as atuskehin, “a move to another land.”  Land is therefore a n integral part of a Cree Nehinuw person’s culture, history and conceptual frameworks including the ancient legends.

Nituskeenan and kituskeenuw are the strongest words used when talking about “our land, our country, or our national territory.” Even after over 300 years of fur trade history, the formation of Canada and the USA, Treaties, Metis scrip, the creation of provinces, states, parks and modern developments these words still evoke a great attachment and concern over land issues. Direct involvement in decisionmaking and the protection of the environment continue to be perennial topics. This strong connection to the land and the unique environment is not only reflected in people’s way of life, it is also uniquely structured in the everyday language use and the unique grammatical forms. What is immediately apparent from the examples above is that Algonquian language speakers including the Cree and the Nehinuw (Cree) of Cumberland House have two different ways of stating, "Our land, our country, our national territory."  The translated comparision is as follows –

This is our land.                  Nituskeenan ooma. (exclusive, our land, not yours)

This is our land.                  Kituskeenuw ooma. (inclusive, both our land)

Whereas English has only one structural form for first person plural Cree has two. The difference lies behind the ideas of inclusivity and exclusivity.  Whereas the English and Cree speakers each have a form where they focus on the positioning of themselves, speech interactions in Cree additionally have an inclusive form where the positioning of the listener is also taken into consideration in the first person plural. In other words, the listener immediately knows whether or not they are part of the country that is being discussed. To elaborate further, a Nehinuw person from Cumberland House would use the exclusive form, nituskeenan when talking about the Cumberland territory to anyone from outside the territory. Without specific clarification, a researcher or judge might easily misconstrue the intended meaning of jurisdictional control and authority. Cree English translations are regularly challenging but it is even more so in certain key grammatical constructions and contexts. Whether in the courtroom or elsewhere, good accurate translation is a requirement.

I am presently working on the Cree concept of land. My preliminary analysis includes: 1) pimachihowin lifehood and land use; 2) kupesihina –camps; 3) weeginanuskiya –homelands; 4) eehitahina – places of existence or communities;  5) ootenuwa –gathering centers. But how is private property expressed? First of all, just as there is a distinction between the national territory of countries and private property there is also a distinctive contrast between the national territory of particular Cree Nehinuw nations and their private lands. The genuine real land of a particular Cree nation is stated in the collective forms as nituskeenan and kituskeenuw whereas private property is called uskeegan which means artificial land, substitute land or land that is not real. In terms of ideology, Europeans have often looked upon private property as a marker of civilization while the Cree have looked upon it as an artificial creation. Private land, private property or any other parceled off land usually by survey are called uskeegana. The final stem –gan connotes artificiality rather than genuineness, a cultural versus natural construction, and a subordinate or secondary status. The land of the whole nation, nituskeenan or kituskeenuw is the real genuine land of the nation or people while my private property is called nichuskeeganis or literally my little artificial plot of land. While there is an evolving concept of private property where nituskee or my land is now being used there was no formal concept of private property in traditional times. Long term private use of land at different levels of formality between generations did exist and continues to this day.