It is becoming clear with the discovery of rare objects in traditional Wendake, both south and north, that long established trading routes from the St Lawrence Estuary to the lower Great Lakes are a reflection of a close and long-standing relationship between the Huron-Wendat and Saint Lawrence Iroquoian populations. Not only was this trade indicative of a long-distance trade in “exotic” objects prior to the time of confederacy formation but it solidified exchange systems and likely played a role in shaping the shifting identities of populations in the St. Lawrence Valley and Wendake. This should not seem surprising since Wendat oral history places one of their homelands in the midst of that trade.
