The Huron-Wendat Nation was a matrilineal society, meaning children became members of the mother’s clan not the father’s. Women played a central role in the clan’s families, since the matriarch of the extended family ran day-to-day affairs. It is no coincidence, then, that this Indigenous woman is featured in this piece.

1840 - 1878

Indigenous presence in the second half of the 19th century

In the late 19th century, Indigenous people continued to influence daily life in and around Québec City. The Huron-Wendats lived mainly just north of Québec City in Wendake, known at the time as the “Huron Village.” They fished and hunted in the surrounding lakes and rivers. Members of the Maliseet and Abenaki nations came seasonally to Lévy Point, south of Québec City. The Indigenous presence in the region is reflected in many paintings of this era, including some by the renowned Huron-Wendat artist Zacharie Vincent.

Zity, a member of the Huron Nation

John Richard Coke Smyth The Huron-Wendat Nation was a matrilineal society, meaning children became members of the mother’s clan not the father’s. Women played a central role in the clan’s families, since the matriarch of the extended family ran day-to-day affairs. It is no coincidence, then, that this Indigenous woman is featured in this piece.

Chronoscope What comments or thoughts does this lithograph evoke for you? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1840

Source: Library and Archives Canada Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Acc. No. R13133-289 - Date: 1840

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