Storyboard Text
- What are the Wendat clans?
- The government of the Wendat is based on the clan. The clan consists of individuals descended from a common female ancestor. Various clan leaders make up the village council. Councils are restricted to the male chiefs, and women have no direct voice in them. Since people usually marry outside their clan, most of the villages are united through marriage. This results in strong social bonds. There are eight Huron Wendat Clans, which are functional organizations. They cut across Tribal Boundaries. The clan names are based on animals that are prominent in the Huron Wendat creation myth: Turtle, Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Deer, Hawk, Porcupine and Snake. Most of the eight clans are represented in each village.
- How did Wendat build their villages?
- Wendat villages were built near a good water supply and near good soil. The Wendat chose their building sites carefully. An ideal site would have been located: beside a bluff, close to a spring, overlooking a navigable waterway, near a large area suitable for farming, near a wood supply for fires and building material. Large villages were fenced with rows of upright poles. Rows of poles were reinforced by inserting saplings to form a basket weave. Narrow gates, watchtowers and galleries provided defense. Wendat families live in longhouses, which are windowless structures between 25 and 30 metres long and six to nine metres wide and high. Some villages have up to 3,500 people. Our economy is based on farming corn, beans, squash.
- What are the roles and responsibilities of the Wendat men and women?
- The Wendat men are a brave warriors, good hunters and fishermen, and clever traders. The men of each village take care of: clearing new fields, hunting, fishing and storing the fish, making stone and wooden utensils and tools, repairing the village structures, making canoes, pipes, snowshoes and sleds, peace negotiations with the outside world.The Wendat women are guardians of the family and of village traditions. They have a long list of duties, such as: cooking, sewing and tanning leather, child care, cleaning out cooking fires and hearths, gathering food, making baskets and pots, weaving mats and fishing nets, farming, caring for families and guests. Farming is the most important of their labours. They grow The Three Sisters: corn, beans and squash.
- What do Wendat wear?
- Wendat clothing is made from deer and beaver hides. Men wear loincloths and moccasins. In winter, they add leggings and sleeves and a cloak made of fur. Women dress the same way, substituting a skirt for the loincloth. The Wendat wear body paint and beads, and red is a favourite colour. We also use porcupine quills and feathers for decoration. Women wear ornamental bone combs in their hair. Wampum made of shells, bones and glass beads is another popular decoration.
- How do Wendat travel?
- On water, Wendat use canoes to travel. Most of our canoes are made from birch bark and elm bark. On land, Wendat travel on foot, we use tumpline. A tumpline is a strap attached at both ends to a sack and is used to carry the objects by placing the strap over the top of the head. During the winter, the Wendat use snowshoes, toboggans and sleighs.
- Are Wendat involved in the fur trade?
- The Huron-Wendat are one of the most important suppliers of furs to the French. About 500 men from various villages operate the Huron-Wendat fur trade network, meeting fur suppliers along the canoe route to the French posts on the St. Lawrence, and later exchanging the fur for French goods.
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