A Quick Primer on the Wendat People

The Wendat were a confederacy comprised of five indigenous nations that lived in what is now Simcoe County, Ontario, near the Georgian Bay. These nations included the Attinniaoenten (bear), Hatingeennonniahak (cord), Arendaenronnon (rock), Atahontaerat (deer) and Ataronchronon (swamp). They all share a language, common origin, traditions and spiritual beliefs. Within each nation are eight clans, which are basically family groups that trace their lineage through the female line. These are represented by eight animals (turtle, wolf, beaver, snake, porcupine, eagle and bear). The Wendat Confederacy was formed around 1420 and lasted until the dispersal of the Wendat around 1650 by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois League). 

Huron or Wendat?

Many historical sources refer to to the Wendat as the 'Huron', although this wasn't the name they called themselves. 'Wendat' translates to 'island dwellers' or 'people of the peninsula', while 'Huron' was a slightly offensive nickname given to them by the French meaning 'boar's head' or 'ruffian'. Some people even hyphenate and refer to them as the "Huron-Wendat" people. It's probably best to just stick to Wendat if you can remember to do that. 

Inside the Workings of the Wendat Confederacy 

When you think of confederacies of indigenous people, the most famous one that comes to mind are the Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) or the League of Iroquois. But it's important to consider that the way the Wendat Confederacy operated was quite different. Unlike the Haudenosaunee, it was quite common for people of different Wendat clans to live in the same villages alongside each other and even share hunting territory. The most serious issues were taken to the confederacy level of government to discuss, but there were also courts on the village and tribal level. Each tribe had two chiefs that would keep each other's power in check, the civil chief and the war chief. The whole point of the confederacy forming was to stop blood feuds and maintain peace, which is why although murder was considered a terrible crime, it wasn't allowed to be settled with revenge killings. Theft was also considered a minor crime, but treason and witchcraft could get you executed. The Wendat were superstitious and had a lot of beliefs surrounding witchcraft and the dead. 

The Longhouses 

A Wendat village would be the site where longhouses were set up. A longhouse would have no windows, only smoke holes in the roof to let out smoke from the hearths. Conditions could get really stuffy, and often the residual smoke could cause blindness in the elderly. Archaeologists have figured out that there were usually two families to a hearth, and five people to a family. So if a longhouse is found with six hearths, it would have had 60 people. This is how the population of the Wendat was estimated. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain estimated that the Wendat population was around 30,000 before the epidemics of 1634 that were brought over by the French, which reduced their population to about 9000. To sustain a population of 30,000, corn horticulture was very important. Corn reached the southern Ontario region from Mexico around 500 AD. It helped the Wendat to develop a more sedentary lifestyle, while other people such as the Algonkians in northern Ontario still lived semi-nomadic lives thanks to the fact that their land had poor soil for growing corn. 

Trade with Neighboring People

The Wendat were big on trade, so much so that the official language of trade in the region was Wendat. The Algonkians were very skilled hunters, and the Wendat often traded with them for hides. They also traded with Iroquian groups (Iroquian here refers to the language family, which includes Wendat, Petun, Neutral, Wenro and Haudenosaunee). This term is not to be confused with 'Iroquois', which refers to the Haudenosaunee alone. Wendat traders would venture out by canoe or snowshoe and had trade routes so extensive that they knew what the Dutch traders were up to in New York a lot better than the French in Quebec knew. 

Sources on the Wendat 

Most of what we know on the Wendat comes from what missionaries documented. Gabriel Sagard and Jean de Brebeuf are our two leading sources. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain also wrote about them. Jean de Brebeuf's writings are particularly fascinating, as he lived among the Wendat and observed many of their rituals such as the Feast of the Dead. Every 15 years or whenever the natural resources of an area were exhausted, a Wendat village had to move on to a new site. They'd dig up the graves of all their dead, which were usually buried underneath houses, and toss the bones into a huge ossuary pit lined with beaver robes. Before tossing in the bones, families would hold the bones of their loved ones one last time. The bones in the pit would be stirred so that they could all mingle. Wendat beliefs about the dead included that they thought people had two souls. One soul left the body when the person died, the other stayed behind forever. 

So what happened to the Wendat?

After their population was reduced by the epidemics, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois League) attacked them around 1650. The Haudenosaunee had their numbers reduced by French attacks, and they were looking to take Wendat captives to replenish their population. Many Wendat were kidnapped, tortured, killed or chased away. Today, Wendat descendants can be found on the Wendake reserve right outside Quebec city. Other branches went to Christian Island, and one to Oklahoma, where they became known as the Wyandot. 

This post was made possible by the Boyd Archaeological Field School