The Wendat

In the early 1600s, the shores of Penetanguishene were the land of the Huron-Wendat Confederacy. The Huron-Wendat were a nation of farmers, hunters and traders who lived in large communal groups of up to two thousand people in several long houses. They were a matrilineal society who traced their descent and inheritance through the female line. The women were responsible for the majority of the farming which sustained the people as they grew three-quarters of their food. By 1615, the Huron-Wendat had forged a formal trade alliance with the French and befriended Champlain. The Huron-Wendat society would undergo profound change as a result of this relationship. Today the Huron Wendat live in Wendake near Quebec City.