Pimicikamak Cree Nation is sometimes used as a name forPimicikamak, one of the more populousCree indigenous peoples in Canada.Etymologically, "Pimicikamak Cree Nation" is a description of this indigenous people, and is not a name.

"Pimicikamak" is theCree name of anindigenous people whose traditional territory was thedrainage basin of the upperNelson River in what came to be known asRupert's Land.^[1] "Cree" is 18th-Century French slang derived from "the Old Algonkin dialect form "kiristino", which was "the name of an obscure band of Indians who roamed the region south of James Bay in the first half of the seventeenth century".^[2] It is anexonym that was not used by the Pimicikamak people to describe themselves.^[3] Today, "Crees use the name Cree to refer to themselves only when speaking English or French."^[4] "Nation" is an English word. The combination of these three terms describes the Pimicikamak people less accurately than its own name "Pimicikamak".

"Pimicikamak Cree Nation" may be abbreviated as "PCN" referring erroneously to the Cross Lake Band of Indians orCross Lake First Nation, not to be confused with the Mexican metal band of that name.Pimicikamak is anindigenous people whose origins lie inpre-history; the Cross Lake Band of Indians is a pseudo-corporate legal entity created by theIndian Act.^[5] The Pimicikamak people isgoverned by four councils under customary law.Cross Lake First Nation is governed by aBand Council under theIndian Act.^[6]

The Pimicikamak Cree Nation has, as of 2016, the highest suicide rate in all of Canada. Residents made 140 attempts in the span of a fortnight in March 2016, or ten per day. Band councillor Donnie McKay blamed the epidemic on the isolated community's lack of jobs, guidance counselors and suicide prevention specialists.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

One noted program to counter the suicide epidemic is the Pimicikamak Thunder, a youthsoftball team.^[14] The team was profiled inThe Sound of Thunder, a 2017 documentary feature produced by and aired onTSN as part ofBell Let's Talk.^[15]

The film "Twilight Dancers" was written and directed by Theola Ross, a member of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation. It centered around the 2016 suicide crisis and how a group of young dancers used their art and tradition to heal and survive.

During the2025 Canadian wildfires, the reserve was threatened by wildfire. The community struggled to stage an evacuation as wildfires threatened their community and the roads -Manitoba Provincial Road 373 andManitoba Provincial Road 374 - that connected them to the outside world.^[16]

• Cree
• First Nations in Manitoba

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• CS1 Canadian French-language sources (fr-ca)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2016