Dreaming of Animals: The Waswanipi Cree Shaking Tent Ceremony in Relation to Environment, Hunting and Missionization

The distinct religious practices and knowledge of shaking tent ceremonies have not disappeared with the adoption by many Waswanipi Cree of Christianity and a less isolated way of life, nor have the ceremonies remained unchanged. I explore the changes and continuities in the religious ceremonies and knowledge among two generations of Waswanipi Cree from the James Bay region of northern Quebec. The focus is on the possible reasons for a reported decrease in the frequency of occurrences of the ceremony from the early decades of the 20th century to mid-century. Less frequent occurrence of the shaking tent was taken by some observers as a sign of the demise of Cree religious practice and knowledge. I believe, however, that the change was part of Cree choices that explored variations on Cree religious practices, rather than a radical break with tradition. I concentrate on the period from 1925 to 1970 in order to show that these changes in ceremonial occurrences were closely related to environmental changes, and Cree social decisions and choices about the kind of way of life they wanted to continue. This is explored by considering the way in which the shaking tent ceremony was viewed by a significant number of Cree elders of different ages in 1968-70, and how it was valued by them even though all but a few them came to chose not to do ceremonies themselves.