The Wendat People

The Wendat People

location: North and West of Lake Simcoe,

South and East of Georgian Bay

Meeting Psychological Needs

Community

Meeting Physical Needs

Religion

The Wendat people lived in a very close community inside and outside their clan. The men of the community farmed and hunted together as a group. The women were more distant than the men and did the work and cooking in the long houses before they went into the village. The Wendat community was willing to supply for a friend's need and knew how to work together when they needed it.

To the Wendat dreams were very important. They believed that dreams told the future. If you had a bad dream the Wendat would go to special healers called Shamans. The Shamans would cure your bad dream using visions from the spirit. It was a tradition in the Wendat religion to have mid-winter dream interpretations. This gathering was told to keep you healthy in the mind body and spirit.

Shelter

Food

The Wendat people got their food from all different types of resources. They hunted, fished and gathered all different kinds of berries, pumpkins, onions and nuts. The Wendat liked to mix all kinds of food together to make granola bars, soup and something as simple as bread. To keep their food from spoiling the Wendat kept them in pottery containers called "tartes". Without these containers all the food the Wendat collected would go to waste.

The wendat people lived in groups of up to 10 families per long house. A fire place seperated each of the 10 families and the family was not allowed pasted their fireplace. Each family got four beds covered in animal hide. The long houses were made of cedar slabs tied together and some measured longer than 100 feet. Outside of their long house was the village that was protected by a spike fence also made from cedar slabs.

Family

Clothing

The Wendat families were based on a clan system where the women did all the chores and the men did the hunting and farming. A clan system is like an extended family, everyone in your family belonged to the same clan. The clan was passed through the mothers line, which meant when the mother got married her new family moved into the mother's home (clan). There are eight different clans and each represent an important animal in the Wendat culture; Turtle, Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Deer, Eagle, Porcupine, and Snake.

The Environment

The Wendat made their own clothes from natural resources. All of the Wendat's clothes were made of beaver, fox, deer and bear skins. They put fur on the inside for warmth and the outside was decorated with bead work. The Wendat didn't wear many accessories but necklaces, bracelets and hair bands were made of leather straps and beads. The Wendat still had to brush their teeth and hair like we do today. All of their brushes (tooth and hair) were made of bone for the handle and dried deer guts for the bristles.

Meeting Group Needs

Climate

The Wendat people had four distinct seasons. In the summer it was very hot through the months of June to August. These months were perfect for farming and cooking. In the winter it was cold and snowy which wasn't great for farming but was prime time for hunting and gathering. The spring season was devoted to preparing for crops in the summer with a lot of rain for the seeds to grow.

Surroundings

The Wendat were surrounded by a lot of mixed forests. These forests contained maple, beech, oak, spruce and pine trees. These were a very important part in their village because it provided for most of their essential needs like tools. The Wendat also lived near many lakes, small rivers and streams. This is where they got their water for cooking, bathing and drinking. Overall the Wendat lived in a very relaxed and forested area.

The Wendat people had four different groups aside the families (groups) they lived in. These groups were bear, deer, rock and cord. The group leader called all the meetings and did all the talking. The group leader was basically the voice of the group. Each group had a set of laws that each member had to follow. Some rules were as simple as follow your leader and others were complex and could only be given out by the leader. The groups had competitions that challenged skill, smarts and team work. These challenges included racing, archery, double ball and lacrosse. These groups were like a second family to the Wendat people.