First Nations Of Canada - The Huron (Wendat)

Introduction
At one time there existed an Aboriginal people who lived in what is now central Ontario between Lake Simcoe and Lake Huron. French explorers called them "Huron" because the bristly way the men wore their hair reminded the explorers of wild boar, which were called "hure" in French. The Huron referred to themselves as Wendat, which means "people who live on the back of a great turtle." The Wendat believed that the back of this great turtle was an island that supported the whole world. After the Wendat were forced from their land, some of them called themselves Wyandot, meaning "floating islanders", because they no longer had a homeland to live on. Today the descendants of the Wendat have a community just north of Quebec City in the province of Quebec. The Wyandot live in the state of Oklahoma in the United States. Others live in Southern Ontario and Kansas City, in the state of Kansas, without an established community.

Origins
No one knows for sure when the Wendat arrived in the traditional territory they inhabited, around Lake Simcoe, in what is now central Ontario. There are some oral and written traditions that say they were living along the St. Lawrence River and fled the Iroquois who lived south of them. Another tradition says that they moved west after being attacked by Algonquin peoples. They finally made an alliance with the Algonquins and were allowed to settle in their territory. Even before this, some traditions say the Wendat moved up the Mississippi River with other Iroquoian peoples, heading north and settling in their territory

Creation Story - Aataentsic
The Wendat have several versions of the story of how they came to be. This is one of them. There once were two worlds. One of the worlds was up in the sky. The other world was the Earth. At that time the Earth was covered with water. The only beings that lived on the Earth were those that could live in or on the water. The sky world, on the other hand, was inhabited by beings that could walk on land. Some of these beings were like humans. These people would pick the corn from one patch of corn to get their food. Each day they would take corn from the stalks. One day, a young woman decided to cut the corn stalks, instead of simply plucking the corn. Once the corn stalks were cut down they could never grow again. Some of her brothers became angry and threw the young woman down through a hole in the sky. In her hands were the corn stalks she had cut down, as well as beans, squash and tobacco.

As the young woman fell through the sky, some of the water birds looked up. They were ducks, herons and loons. They decided to help the falling woman. They flew up and surrounded her and were able to cushion her fall. However, their wings were getting tired of holding her. Great Turtle arrived and told them to put her on his back. He said he would hold her. Toad arrived and said he would dive down into the water and get some earth from the bottom. When he came back up, he had a mouthful of dirt and he spat it out on the turtle's back. He told the young woman to sprinkle the dirt everywhere she walked.

As the young woman walked round the turtle's back, she planted the corn, beans and squash everywhere she went. However, the woman was lonely. One day she discovered twin boys. These boys grew very quickly. One of the brothers created all of the living things on earth, including humans. The other brother tried to do the same thing and made monkeys instead. Each brother made different things. The first brother made everything that human beings could use. The other brother made things that would harm the things created by the first brother.
The Wendat refer to the woman who fell from the sky as Aataentsic, meaning "ancient one."

Clothing
Wendat men wore loincloths made from deer or beaver skin. In the winter they would wear shirts with sleeves, and leggings, also made from animal skins. They wore fur cloaks for warmth. On their feet they wore moccasins. The women dressed much the same as the men, with skirts instead of loincloths.
They often painted their bodies with paint, especially red, and decorated their clothes with beadwork, porcupine quills and feathers. They sometimes wore jewelry made from glass beads or shells and hair combs carved out of bone.

Shelter
The Wendat lived in longhouses. Longhouses were made of cedar slabs tied together on an arching wooden frame. A longhouse could be over 100 feet long. It could hold as many as ten families or more. A fire would be placed between two families living on opposite sides of the longhouse. There was a raised platform, which the people would sleep on. Bearskins were used as blankets, especially in the cold winters. There was also a storage room at one end where preserved corn could be hung. During one period in history when they were at war, the Wendat built palisades (fences made of spikes) around their villages of longhouses to protect them.

The Wendat Today
The Wendat of Wendake are usually referred to as Huron. Much of their language and traditions have disappeared over the years. There has been a lot of intermarriage between the Huron and the French. Nonetheless, they have survived and are very involved in Aboriginal politics in the province of Quebec.

One of the great advantages they have over some other Aboriginal groups in Quebec is that they are fluent in the French language and many are bilingual, speaking both English and French.
In 1990, Conrad and George Sioui, brothers from Wendake, became involved in an important Supreme Court decision that would involve all of the Aboriginal people of Canada.

The Sioui brothers had set up camp in de la Jacques-Cartier Park, north of Quebec City. They cut down some trees, made a fire and camped. They were then arrested for camping and cutting down trees without a license in a provincial park. The Sioui brothers went all the way to the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court of Canada, to fight the charges.

They said that as Huron people they had a treaty right to practice their traditions. This included camping, building a fire and cutting firewood for their camp. This was based on a treaty between the English and Wendat in 1760. The Supreme Court of Canada said that according to the law, Aboriginal people couldn't be stopped from practicing their traditions as long as they could prove that their ancestors had done the same.