9 Ways to Experience Indigenous Culture in Québec City

Storytelling has been used for thousands of years by Indigenous Peoples as a way to connect to culture, entertain, share knowledge and impart important life lessons.

Québec City is built on the ancestral territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Innu and the Abenaki Peoples. The community of Wendake is the heart of Huron-Wendat culture, and it is located just 15-minutes north of Old Québec, so you don’t have to go far to immerse yourself in Indigenous culture!

Here are 9 great ways to explore Indigenous culture when you are visiting Québec City (some of these suggestions are just a short ride away from the train station!).

1. KWE! Meet the Indigenous Peoples Event

KWE! Meet the Indigenous Peoples is an annual event that takes place in June at Place Jean-Béliveau in Québec City, just a 10-minute drive from the Québec City train station. It celebrates First Nations and Inuit cultures – including all of the 11 nations in Québec. Culture is shared through song and dance performances, Indigenous foods, demonstrations, and other public events.

2. Attend the Wendake Pow Wow

Powwows are Indigenous cultural celebrations that showcase drumming, dancing, regalia, food and traditional crafts. The annual Wendake International Powwow takes place at the end of June. It features more than 100 powwow dancers from many different nations participating in traditional powwow dance competitions in an open-air dance circle next to Akiawenhrahk’ River. Powwows are public events that are a powerful affirmation of cultural identity and are deeply rooted in First Nations cultures. In addition to enjoying dancing and drumming, visitors can purchase traditional crafts, food and drinks at vendor booths.

3. Enjoy Authentic Indigenous Cuisine

Traditional Indigenous cuisine focuses on natural flavours and ingredients. Game meats and fish are staples as well as foraged plants like wild berries, mint, black spruce and balsam fir.

In Huron-Wendat culture and some other First Nations cultures, corn, squash and beans are called “the three sisters” and there was a time when these three cultivated foods made up most of the Huron-Wendat diet. Bannock is a food that came about after European contact. It’s a type of bread made with flour, yeast, salt and water that was rolled on a stick and roasted over a fire.

There are many places where you can sample Indigenous cuisine in and around Québec City. Sagamité, has two locations – one in Old Québec and a second in nearby Wendake. The restaurant is named after a traditional stew of the same name that is made with the "three sisters," bison, elk and deer meat.

La Traite is the place to go for fine dining. The Indigenous-inspired menu at this Wendake restaurant is made with local ingredients by executive chef Marc de Passorio, a two-starred Michelin chef. 

4. Stay at an Indigenous-Owned and Operated Hotel

L’Hôtel-musée Premières Nations is a world apart. This boutique hotel features rooms with views of the Akiawenhrahk’ River and Indigenous touches like a beaver pelt of the foot of each bed. The lobby has a fireplace and gathering area inspired by the fire rings in a traditional longhouse. There’s also an onsite museum, a recreated longhouse and an award-winning restaurant called La Traite.

5. Experience a Traditional Longhouse

The longhouse was the traditional dwelling of Iroquoian Peoples, which includes the Huron-Wendat Peoples of Québec. These structures were built of wood and bark and heated with three fires.

In Wendake, the Ekionkiestha’ National Longhouse is a recreated traditional longhouse. Visitors can get a glimpse of precolonial times by exploring the longhouse on a guided tour or during a traditional storytelling experience around a fire ring. For something truly unique, an overnight stay can be arranged in this traditional dwelling.

6. Learn About Huron-Wendat Culture at the Huron Traditional Site

Explore a reconstructed Huron-Wendat village with a guide dressed in traditional clothing at the Huron Traditional Site - Onhoüa Chetek8e. You’ll see a sweat lodge and learn how it is used in purification ceremonies, see a smokehouse and learn how meats were dried, see how snowshoes and canoes were made and learn other facets of traditional Huron-Wendat life and culture. There’s also an onsite gift shop and a restaurant.

7. Visit the Huron-Wendat Museum

Located at Hôtel Musée Premières Nations, the Huron-Wendat Museum, about 15 km from the Ste-Foy train station, shares the fascinating history of the Huron-Wendat People. The permanent exhibit includes a variety of historical artefacts designed to preserve and share culture. Besides touring the museum, visitors can participate in craft workshops such as making a talking stick, an object used in tribal councils to ensure respectful dialogue.

8. Go on an Illuminated Night Walk

Just a stone's throw from the huron-Wendat Museum is Onhwa’ Lumina an illuminated night walk and storytelling experience just outside Québec City in Wendake. This immersive multimedia experience features traditional Wendat songs and stories shared through light, sound and video projections on a 1.2 km self-guided night walk.

As I wandered through Onhwa’ Lumina outside Québec City on a warm summer night, I experienced storytelling in an entirely new way. Created by Moment Factory in collaboration with the Huron-Wendat Nation (french only), this illuminated night walk uses colourful lights and projected images combined with traditional singing and drumming to share the Nation’s stories. “Onhwa” is the Huron-Wendat word for “now” and it is an immersive multimedia experience that shares ancient stories in an exciting new way.

9. Purchase Indigenous Art and Handicrafts

Indigenous artists and artisans share culture through their work. Purchasing art and traditional artisan items is a way to support them and to have a meaningful memento from a visit to Québec City. Lovers of Inuit art should head to Galerie Art Inuit Brousseau on Rue Saint‑Louis, right next to the Château Frontenac, less than 2 km from the train station. It has been in business since 1974 and represents some of the best Inuit artists in Canada.

If you’re looking for authentic moccasins, Bastien Industries, has been in business in Wendake since 1972. Onquata is a newer business started by a Huron-Wendat mother-daughter duo. The company’s hand-painted wooden canoe paddles were selected as the image of Québec National Day in 2019 – representing the entire province and the First Nations communities that reside in it. You’ll also find traditional arts and crafts at Hôtel Musée Premières Nations, the gift shop at the Huron Traditional Site and at several other shops in Wendake.

Experience Québec City's aboriginal culture right off the train

There are so many opportunities to discover and celebrate Aboriginal culture, whether in Wendake or downtown Québec City. And there are plenty of transportation options to get you there from the train station (by bus, on foot, by bike or by car.) So don't hesitate to come and immerse yourself in First Nations customs and traditions during your next getaway in the Capitale-Nationale!

Debbie Olsen is an award-winning Métis writer and a national bestselling author. Follow her adventures at wanderwoman.ca.