The Huron Wendat

The Huron Wendat
Trade Relations
The Huron tribe had relations with several
other first nations people such as the
Innu, Mowhawk Petén, Neutral, Odawa,
Nipissing and the Algonquin, nations of
Georgian bay and the Ottawa Valley.
These peoples traded surplus corn, beans
and tobacco in exchange for Indian
copper, seashells and wampum.
Alliances
The Huron wendat was a confederacy made up of many
different tribes. This was formed due to a mutual benefit in
trading and military security from tribes from across lake
Ontario which the Huron regularly fought with. In 1609
they joined the military/trading alliance that the Innu (then
known as the Montagnais) and Algonquin had forged with
the French by participating in a raid against the Mohawk, a
member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Food
First nation people did some farming as they farmed for
potatoes, tobacco, pumpkins, maize, beans, and squash.
The Huron also gathered berries and hunted for bison, fish,
caribou, and deer. The Huron were one of the very few
natives peoples to begin growing their own food and move
away from the hunter/gatherer traditions.
Food was preserved through the use of salt and freezing
processes depending on the season.
Currency
Wampum was used as currency for the first nations people.
Wampum was kept on strings like Chinese currency and
was also used by Europeans but due to the more proficient
way in making wampum because of this Europeans caused
inflation of the currency and caused it to become obsolete.
Politics
The Huron were a confederacy of several different tribes with very similar
backgrounds and cultures. Each of these tribes had its own leader who
would commune with each other to make decisions for the clan.
For individual clans a council of respected elders and leaders in the
community would commune and make the decisions for the tribe. Women
had no say in any of the matters put forth.
A chief of a clan segment initiated tribal councils. Before travelling to the
meeting, each clan would choose their position on the matter to be
discussed. All clan segment chiefs would attend an annual confederacy
council. They would discuss common war and defense plans, and renew
and strengthen ties between nations.
General info
The Huron held a feast on thanks giving to celebrate good
fortune.
Women in the tribe were expected to look after children
and attend to all house and domestic work.
Men worked in the field or hunted and fished.
The bear tribe of the Huron was the largest accounting for
almost half of the tribes number 6500 people.
New born babies were only named after having their ears
pierced.
The Huron had 4 types of shaman those able to heal the
sick, those able to control wind and fire, those able to find
lost things, and those able to predict the future.
Dogs were kept as pets in Huron Wendat society.
Beavers in the area of the Huron Wendat were almost
driven to extinction because of over hunting.
Social Life
Tradition roles for Huron men included
Cleaning new fields
Hunting
Fishing and storing the fish
Making stone and wooden tools and utensils
Repairing village structures
Making canoes, pipes, snowshoes and sleds
Peace negotiations with the outside world
Social Life
Tradition roles for Huron woman included
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 family and guests
Children roles
There was little formal training for children, but they learned skills from
their games. Girls helped their mothers with their work. Boys were
expected to be hardy, brave and self-reliant. From an early age, boys
would cut and burn themselves, to prepare for future tests of their
courage and manhood.
Spiritual beliefs
Spiritual Beliefs and Marriage
Huron Wendat clan members believed that they
were descended from a common mythical
ancestor.
Bear, Deer, Turtle, Beaver, Wolf, Loon/Sturgeon,
Hawk or Fox were not permitted to marry within
their clan.
Clan membership was matrilineal; a child could
not marry a member of their mother’s clan, but
could marry a member of the clan of their father.
The strength of the clan system was that
members of a clan, no matter in what village or
nation they lived, were obliged to help each other
in time of need or war.
Spiritual beliefs
Village affairs were run by two councils,
one in charge of civil affairs, and the other
of war. All men over 30 were members. In
theory, matters were decided by
consensus, but in reality the old men and
elected chiefs of large families tended to
dominate because of their community
standing and powers of oratory. Unlike the
older female members of the
Haudenosaunee tribe, Wendat women had
little or no say in councils.
Feasts were part of Wendat spirituality,
with Singing Feasts the largest and most
popular. A man would hold a Singing Feast
if he wished to gain status. Thanksgiving
Feasts were held to celebrate good
fortune.
Societies who dealt with both physical and
mental disorders carried out curing feasts.
Each society had a unique mask or
symbol. A dying person gave farewell
feasts when death was imminent.
Medicine
Illnesses and medicinal technologies
The Huron knew of three different types of illnesses
Natural causes which were healed by herbs, drugs,
poultices or sweating
Un-natural social behaviour thought to be witchcraft,
healed by Shamans
Psycho-illness that manifested itself in dreams. The Huron
Wendat considered dreams to be the language of the soul.
If dreamed desires remained unfulfilled, harm or even
death could befall a person. Dreams and desires had to be
interpreted by a Shaman
Housing
When the Huron Wendat found a place to live, they would build
longhouse.
Long houses were meant to be permanent and as such they were
built out of strong materials such as maple, elm, birch and cedar.
Long houses had no windows and very low doors.
The Huron Wendat chose were to build villages wisely, they were
commonly near the following four places, near a source of water,
near a huge space of land for farming, near a source of wood or
near a hill for defence.
Transportation
Transportation was very important to the Huron tribe. It
was so important in this clan because they had to chase
animals to get food and they also had to travel to go to
Quebec when the Iroquois tribe flushed them out of their
homes.
One of the most important forms of transportation for the
Huron was canoes. The Huron had four types of Canoes.
The Einer-flachwasser, the Tandem-flachwasser, the
Wildwasser-einer and the Wilchwasser-zweir.
The Huron also used sleds (pulled by dogs commonly) and
snowshoes for transportation.
Two enemies
The Huron Wendat Tribe and the Iroquois
Tribe were one tribe altogether. One Day
the tribe got into a fight so the people
split up and became two tribes. The two
tribes remained enemies and hated each
other a lot. One tribe was called Huron
Wendat Tribe while another tribe was
called Iroquois Tribe.