Quebec covers nearly 2,000 kilometres
from north to south. A land of lakes, rivers and forests, a paradise for nature
lovers, from sea kayakers to hikers, hunters and anglers.
Nomadic and sedentary
Today, 8,000 Inuit and nearly 70,000 Indians
live in Quebec. Various museums help to preserve and explain the traditions, spirituality
and identity of the different nomadic and sedentary communities.
Millennia of history
When the Europeans first came to this borderless
continent, there were already millions of people living in the New World. The
explorers mistakenly thought that they had reached India, and so called the inhabitants
"Indians."
Archaeological research has shown that Native North
Americans, the first inhabitants of this land, arrived here nearly 10,000 years
ago.
Trading and bartering
Contacts, alliances and exchanges of know-how:
the European settlers learned how to make canoes and snowshoes, produce maple
syrup, grow corn and survive in the forest and during the harsh winters.
In
their first contacts with Native communities, from the 17th to the early 19th
centuries, Europeans were mainly interested in trading furs and converting them
to Christianity. This led to trade and alliances, but rivalries and conflicts
too.
Lend an ear!
The names of many Quebec towns and
cities have Inuit and Indian roots and influences, including:
