Lake Saint-Charles lies to the north of Québec City. Nearby is the Huron-Wendat community of Jeune-Lorette, now known as Wendake. Artist George St. Vincent Whitmore produced this painting around 1836. It shows an Indigenous man smoking a pipe on the lakeshore.

1807 - 1840

Indigenous Peoples in Québec City at the turn of the 19th century

As since time immemorial, Indigenous nations lived in and around Québec City at the turn of the 19th century. Among them were the Huron-Wendats, who lived just outside Québec City in a village called Jeune-Lorette. It is better known today as Wendake. Indigenous people gathered in nearby wooded areas to hunt or fish, or came into town to sell various products. Other nations, such as the Maliseet and Abenaki, also frequented the peripheral region south of the St. Lawrence River. No wonder that the artists of the time illustrated many Indigenous people in their works!

Indigenous man smoking a pipe on the shores of Lake Saint-Charles, Lower Canada

George St. Vincent Whitmore Lake Saint-Charles lies to the north of Québec City. Nearby is the Huron-Wendat community of Jeune-Lorette, now known as Wendake. Artist George St. Vincent Whitmore produced this painting around 1836. It shows an Indigenous man smoking a pipe on the lakeshore.

Chronoscope What details do you see in the image? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1836

Source: Library and Archives Canada Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Acc. No. 1970-188-1048 - W.H. Coverdale Collection of Canadiana - Date: 1836

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