| I write to you on the bark of this tree. To teach you about the name of my People. |
| We are the four Wendat "Nations" (Bands). When put into the Latin alphabet, "Wendat" is the most authentic sound for "those who dwell upon an island". It is pronounced approximately as "one dot". One in Oklahoma - The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma One in Kansas - The Wyandot Nation of Kansas One in Michigan - Wyandot Nation of Anderdon One in Ontario, Canada - Wendat Nation of Wendake (also known as Huron-Wendat Nation) Within the Wendake Reserve is another group that refer to themselves as "traditionalist". They have an association known as Agondachia Association. The word "agondachia" is a Wendat word that means "The Elders's House". There is historical information about this. Most of the brothers and sisters at Wendake speak French. These four Bands are the official historical groups that are recorded since their dispersal in the 1700's. The dispersal took place because of wars with fellow Native peoples AND the arrival of the European. Separate historical events took place from within the geographical regions that each group settled in during the dispersals. Originally the Wendat people were located on a peninsula in Ontario, Canada, and considered "Island Dwellers". The use of the word "island" is two-fold in implication because only a small "neck" of land connected the peninsula to the mainland and because of how that peninsula is shaped. Looking at a map, you are able to see the formation between Lake Simcoe and the Georgian Bay. The second, less literal, and perhaps more important meaning of "Island Dwellers" is that we are the descendants of the Woman who Fell from the Sky. Wyandot and Wyandotte are the two alternate spellings of how the British descendants in the United States heard our name and wrote it down. Huron is the name given to us by the French. During the time when the French first arrived on the lands of our Wendat ancestor, they were accustomed to calling ruffians "Huron". Some have also said that the French ,may have given us the name Huron because of the way the our warriors worn their hair. Others say it is even less fattering - as they did not like the smell of the bear-oil we used on our skin to protect us from the elements - either way, it derives from the French "hure" which means "wild boar." There are many of our Nation who are striving to re-gain family ties, to learn and understand lost traditions, to identify the truth about our Nations and how they became separated and to give honor to our ancestors by continuing in the Circle Of Life. Although our people were scattered to the winds, we have survived. And that speaks to the strength and integrity of our spirits. By using "Wendat" and returning to the closest approximation of what we once used to name ourselves, we are linked to the ancestors and to the future generations. |
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| This is a story of how the names became so many for a people who are believed to be "a ghost people". It is believed that we are wiped-out, dead, extinct............. |
| Written by Oniena Onda and Rebekah |