The major language of the Algonquian family in North America. It is spoken by ~60,000 Indians over a territory that extends from Hudson's Bay, across Ontario to Saskatchewan and Alberta, and northwards to Kewatin. The syllabary was developed by the Reverend James Evans in the 1830s, and was being used to print religious texts by 1840. It was further improved by Rev. John Horden (author of A Cree Grammar).