Day 26 Wendake (reservation)

Another good night’s sleep, but an early morning at 6 am with Lachie. We ate breakfast and Tim had a chat with his parents online. Lachie was a bit cranky by then, wanting to go outside, so his greetings to his grandparents were short. Father’s Day in Australia (if it was Sunday and not Monday)

Sarah packed some snacks for Lachie and we drove to Wendake, which is a reservation for the Nation of Huonne Wendat. (natives)  Eventually we found the “fort”, paid the entrance fee for the tour and went to the shop, while we were waiting for the guide. Lots to see and buy in there. You could even buy furs. Beaver fur was so thick and a lovely colour, any wonder it was so prized in the early days of the fur traders. Rock and wood carvings, dream catchers and all other kinds of artisan works.

Our tour began at 11:30 with Pierre. The tour began with a traditional welcoming dance and then he led us into the long house.  The long house was quite surprising. Long, high, spacious. Lined with shelving, small gaps in the top to allow the smoke to dissipate. Three families of about 30 people would have lived in a house as big as this one. This tribe did not use wigwams because they were a settled agricultural group raising corn, beans and squash. It was a matriarchal society and while the women controlled everything that happened inside the fort, the men went out hunting/ fishing and chose the chief to lead them. Food was preserved under the snow or smoked then dried. Like most indigenous groups they were self- sufficient and moved when the soil was depleted.

This group of natives of about 30,000 occupied a vast area of Canada and America when the first white people arrived in 1634, but by 1650 had been decimated to just 300 by disease and the Iroquois tribes as they were pushed out of traditional lands. Some settled in the Quebec area and eventually on this Reservation in 1697.

Reservations are independent. They have their own flag, Police force, elected leaders, primary education, and they don’t pay taxes unless they work off the reservation. I was pleasantly surprised to see their homes were just like most parts of Quebec. There was no big fence around their land and the only distinguishing feature was basically the street signs in both languages- French and native. 

We came home for a 1 o’clock lunch and the plan for Lachie to have a sleep did not eventuate. Sarah had a cat nap, Tim eventually went shopping and I read/ typed. Sarah and Lachie made some granola.

Late afternoon they took Lachie to the park with his bike. I stayed at home and continued to read my E-book, which finished soon after they got home at 7:30. It had been a great read. The King’s Curse by Philippa Gregory.

Lachie was soon in bed after his bath, and once he was asleep we organised a simple dinner instead of the one we had planned. The original Willie Wonka was on TV.