Arts & Crafts of the First Nations 

Over the centuries, the Aboriginal people have adapted to new ways of life while safeguarding the rich foundations of their heritage, especially the lifeline that attaches them so closely to Nature. Their culture contrasts with the culture of other people in Québec and with western civilizations. These differences are remarkable when it comes to notions of time, space, profit, justice property rights and language... For Aboriginal people, tradition is not safeguarded in monuments or ancient documents in a spiritual heritage built on a profound respect for ancestral customs.

Their monuments are their elders who are truly the carriers of a living heritage along with the places, the land and sacred or everyday activities that help each individual to grow and develop their culture.

In Québec, the artistic expression of the Aboriginal people has undergone a veritable explosion of activity in music, performances, sculpture, theater and painting. Creative Aboriginal artists are active in many areas.

All have a highly personal language of expression that is deeply anchored in their heritage but which also transcends ethnicity. Many, through their work, have illustrated over the years the hard struggle to preserve their identity, their land and their ancestral rights. Examining the work of the most committed Aboriginal artists, the infamous summer crisis of 1990 could be discerned and perhaps even appears inevitable. A true source of inspiration, it also has had the effect of stimulating the art world in allowing many artists to venture even further in the search for freedom of expression. "I am now expressing what I dared not express earlier," say many artists. In the 1990s Aboriginal people clearly lived through a cultural revolution that in its vitality and originality continues to amaze us.

There is a blossoming of creativity among the Aboriginal people, and Aboriginal artists, now known throughout the world, are writing a new page in the universal history of art. They are modern, avant-garde and innovative, taking their inspiration from their rich heritage and inventing a new language of expression. By creating a link between the spirit world and the human world many have taken over the role of shaman in their tradition. They sing their dreams and their movements; their gestures, shapes and colors remain sacred.

Click to learn how to make you own Dream Catcher!
Select pour aprendre comment fair une Capteurs de Rêve!

Living off the land

Aboriginal people make a sharp distinction between food taken directly from Nature, the base of their traditional diet, and the supermarket produce of modern society. This view of food is so important that some go as far as to say that the day all Aboriginal people buy their food at the grocery store there will be no more Aboriginal culture! The traditional diet consists mainly of fresh products taken directly from the land. Depending on the season and the territory it can include salmon, seal, caribou, moose, porcupine, bear, raspberries, blueberries, and cranberries...

These dishes are all served simply; roasted, boiled or baked they are accompanied by bannock, traditional bread with a cake like texture.

Food has always had a spiritual connotation for Aboriginal people. As a gift offered by the spirit of the animal it had a sacred quality. Meals were accompanied by rituals, singing and drumming and concluded with a dance of thanksgiving, the makoucham. These traditions live on and makouchams still celebrate important events. Over the centuries Native cuisine has inevitably changed.

Cooks have adapted to modern tastes and trends, some studying at the Institut de Tourisme et d'Hôtellerie du Québec and opening restaurants. It is still possible though to enjoy the fruit of the land seated on a bed of pine branches in a tent. Furthermore, many restaurants offer Aboriginal cuisine and recipe books of traditional dishes are now available.