Editing Cree language (section)

==Legal status==
[[File:Mistassini roadsign.jpg|thumb|A Quebec stop sign in Cree, English and French]]
The social and legal status of Cree varies across Canada. Cree is one of the eleven official languages of the [[Northwest Territories]], but is only spoken by a small number of people there in the area around the town of [[Fort Smith, Northwest Territories|Fort Smith]].<ref name="lang">[http://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/PDF/ACTS/Official_Languages.pdf Northwest Territories Official Languages Act, 1988] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324202430/http://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/PDF/ACTS/Official_Languages.pdf |date=March 24, 2009}} (as amended 1988, 1991–1992, 2003)</ref> It is also one of two principal languages of the regional government of [[Eeyou Istchee James Bay]] in Northern Quebec, the other being French.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gcc.ca/pdf/LEG000000024.pdf |title=Agreement on Governance in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory Between the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Gouvernement du Québec, 2012 |access-date=2012-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011045759/http://www.gcc.ca/pdf/LEG000000024.pdf |archive-date=2017-10-11 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Robert Falcon Ouellette]], a Cree Member of Parliament, played a pivotal role in promoting Indigenous languages especially Cree within the [[Canadian Parliament]] and [[Canadian House of Commons]]. He was instrumental in obtaining unanimous consent from all political parties to change the standing orders to allow Indigenous languages to be spoken in the House of Commons, with full translation services provided. This historic change enabled Ouellette to deliver a speech in Cree with interpretation supported by language educator Kevin Lewis, marking the first use of an Indigenous language in the House of Commons on Jan 28, 2019.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.revparlcan.ca/en/honouring-indigenous-languages-within-parliament/ | title=Honouring Indigenous Languages within Parliament – Canadian Parliamentary Review – la Revue parlementaire canadienne | date=8 August 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4901314/indigenous-winnipeg-mp-delivers-historic-speech-in-house-of-commons/ | title=Indigenous Winnipeg MP delivers speech in Cree in House of Commons - Winnipeg &#124; Globalnews.ca }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/27/canada-native-languages-parliament-indigenous | title=Sound of native languages in parliament to mark win for indigenous Canadians | newspaper=The Guardian | date=27 January 2019 | last1=Cecco | first1=Leyland }}</ref>

Furthermore, Bill C-91, the ''Indigenous Languages Act'' passed in 2019, was enacted to support and revitalize Indigenous languages across Canada. This legislation, aims to reclaim, revitalize, and maintain Indigenous languages through sustainable funding and the establishment of the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. Ouellette was the chair of the Indigenous caucus in the House of Commons and helped ensure it passage before the election of 2019.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/42-1/bill/c-91/royal-assent | title=Government Bill (House of Commons) C-91 (42-1) - Royal Assent - Indigenous Languages Act - Parliament of Canada }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hudon |first=Marie-Éve |date=March 15, 2022 |title=Official Languages and Parliament |url=https://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/HillStudies/PDF/2015-131-E.pdf |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=lop.parl.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=Canadian Parliamentary Review › vol 42 no 2 |url=https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2019CanLIIDocs3786#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc3Page3/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgGYAFMAc0I4BKADTJspQhACKiQrgCe0AORLhEQmFwIZcxSrUatIAMp5SAIUUAlAKIAZGwDUAggDkAwjeGkwAI2ik7IKCQA |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=www.canlii.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-education/news-all/meet-robert-falcon-ouellette-veteran-former-parliamentarian-and-professor#:~:text=Professor%20Ouellette%20holds%20a%20doctorate,Chair%20of%20the%20Indigenous%20Caucus | title=Meet Robert-Falcon Ouellette: Veteran, former parliamentarian, and professor }}</ref>