We Crees have for a long time been hunters and trappers and we will continue to do so. We will continue to maintain that special relationship with the land. But does being Cree mean being only a hunter and trapper?

Is it possible that being Cree might also be about taking very seriously the values, the beliefs and the philosophy that evolved from and developed out of the traditional Cree way of life and the incorporation of those values in everything we do today and in the future? I would like to suggest to you that we, as Cree people, are defined by our values and beliefs and by what our ancestors have learned from the traditional Cree way of life and passed them on to us.

The worth of Cree values and principles is not limited only to the pursuit of a traditional way of life. Being a genuine Cree is not just being a hunter and trapper. You can be a proud and genuine Cree and also be a teacher, a doctor or a judge.

Our way of life has never been a static one, fixed forever in time to be exactly the same thing. There have always been changes—there were many periods before contact with Europeans when we were completely independent, there were adjustments which our ancestors made to accommodate the fur trade, and there were other adjustments when the fur trade began to decrease in importance—and we have continuously adapted ourselves to make beneficial changes for our people. What has endured is our values.

What are those values? What are those beliefs and practices which make us Cree and which make us different from other cultures?

We are above all a people with an intimate knowledge of the land. We know how the land is capable of sustaining us and we know how to sustain the land.

We are self-reliant as individuals. The experiences of our ancestors in surviving in this environment has required that we, as individuals, learn to patiently rely on our own instincts and our own understanding of things around us. It is ingrained in us to be very careful and very keen observers. We notice the subtle changes in our environment so that we can make sense of them and make plans based on our understanding. If we were not like this then we would not have survived and thrived as we have.

We are a people guided by a profound sense of respect. We, as Crees, are taught about the importance of respect in everything we do and in every encounter. Our elders have passed on from generation to generation the importance of having respect for the animals we hunt and to be grateful to the animals for giving themselves to us for our sustenance. We are taught respect for the natural environment as it is the trees and the waters and all of nature that provide us with all we need for our survival. We are also taught respect for every individual since they too are part of the gift from the Creator. So, historically, when non-Native people first entered our territory our first instinct was not to impress upon them notions of ownership or restrictions, but to acknowledge their needs and to respect those needs and to expect that our respect would be reciprocated. That of course did not happen and indigenous people throughout the world have paid a dear price for that.

Part of the challenge which is facing us now as an indigenous nation is to stay true to the rich and meaningful cultural heritage which we have inherited and to apply it to our current realities and circumstances. The challenge which I believe lies before us is nothing more nor less than a process of reinventing ourselves.

We, as leaders of the Cree Nation, and the youth who will be the leaders of the future, have a profound duty to contribute to the building of the Cree Nation. Armed with our cultural heritage it is our task to take the future into our own hands and mold that future in a way that will enhance the way of life for the next generations of Cree people to come.