A Journey into Quebec’s Indigenous Traditions

In this article, we invite you to delve into the cultural and natural wealth of First Nations people through a story told as if you were there. From Manawan to Wendake, via Lac Taureau, we’ll take you on a journey of discovery through preserved ancestral worlds and unique experiences. Here’s a glimpse of what indigenous tourism in Quebec has to offer.

Manawan, or the call of the North

We head north, 250 km from Montreal, to the village of Manawan—Atikamekw territory in Lanaudière where the language and the culture live on. Are we still in Quebec? All is quiet, although we do see some stray dogs… It feels like we’ve crossed over into another country. We’re greeted by our guide Régis, a giant teddy bear of a man, who leads us to the snowmobiles we’ll use to explore the backcountry. We set off, wearing the suits we’ve rented for the occasion.

Everywhere we look, it’s just evergreens and lakes. This is a land cut from a different cloth, where offroading is the road. Forty-five minutes later we arrive at a simple little house, heated by a wood stove, where some women are busy preparing moose stew for our lunch.

With nothing to do but head outside to explore, we take our time, listening to the sounds that nature makes. Later that night, the artist Sakay Ottawa plays us some tunes on his guitar. A perfect way to round off this memorable day at the heart of indigenous tourism in Quebec.

Around nine p.m. we get back on the snowmobiles and head out onto Kempt Lake, an expanse of water 47 km long. A reddish moon peeks out from the clouds. We turn off the engines, look at the stars, feel the wind blowing. “Often, when I come out here by myself, I stop to listen to the silence,” Régis tells us.

Wendake, land of the Huron

Just 15 km from Quebec City, Wendake is an autonomous Huron-Wendat territory. We make our way to the traditional Huron Onhouä Chetek8e site – “From Yesterday to Today” – which includes a longhouse -the traditional Huron dwelling – a meat and fish smokehouse and a sweat lodge for purifying body and spirit.

After feasting on fresh game at Restaurant Sagamité, we head to the luxurious Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations, a complex offering an experience combining luxury and tradition, including an overnight stay in an adjacent longhouse.

A fire smolders as Yolande, a storyteller, recounts Huron myths and legends and we snack on the traditional unleavened bread known as bannock. We cook the bannock ourselves, on a branch over the fire, and wash it down with Labrador tea. Later, we lie down on our beds of lynx, bear and wolf fur, snuggled into enormous sleeping bags, and drift off to sleep under the watchful eye of the “fire guardian”.

The indigenous tourism in Quebec has definitely changed us. As we pull onto the highway that will take us back to the city, we begin to wonder if it wasn’t all a dream. It would be impossible not to come back!

In fact, during the summer, the forest is at its sweetest, offering a myriad of activities: a night in a tepee, a medicinal plant workshop, a language workshop, an interpretive hiking trails, canoeing and sea-kayaking on the Saint Charles River, swimming… It’s even possible to learn traditional embroidery using porcupine quills and moose hair.

Lac Taureau, reservoir of dreams

Majestic Lac Taureau is situated between the two nations. Lined with miles of white-sand beaches, it is set in a national park where visitors can partake in every conceivable outdoor activity, from bear observation to hiking, mini-cruises and kayaking, spa treatments, yoga, massages inside a tepee set by the water, and pike and bass fishing.

As it is winter when we visit, we opt for dog sledding, unable to repress our giggles at the impatient barking of the gorgeous dogs, so eager to launch themselves into the forest. A true “bucket list” indigenous tourism experience in Quebec! In this magical setting, we feel like we’re in the real Canada, the one that lives in our imagination.

Cover photo credit: Gaelle Le Royer/Tourisme Québec