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Just to the northwest of Quebec City lies WENDAKE , the only Huron reserve in Canada. Its name derives from the Hurons' own name for their people - Wendat , meaning "people of the island". In 1650, French Jesuit missionaries led three hundred Huron from Ontario's Georgian Bay to the shores of the St Lawrence around today's Vieux-Quebec, thereby saving the smallpox-weakened population from extermination at the hands of the Iroquois. As more French settlers arrived, so the Hurons were successively relocated, ending up here beside the St-Charles River in 1697. Today, with a population of 1600, the central village core of the reserve retains typical Quebecois wooden houses with sloping and gabled roofs, but is rather dilapidated - the main activities for visitors are at Onhoua Chetek8e , though there is a pretty waterfall. In nice weather, the best way to get here is by bike - a 25km round trip along the bike path (La Route Vert 6) from the Vieux-Port. The STCUQ #801 bus runs from Place D'Youville to its terminus at Charlesbourg, from where the #72 goes to Wendake; get a transfer ( une correspondance) and the 45-minute or so journey will set you back $2.25. The bus arrives at the church of Notre Dame-de-Lorette on boul Bastien, which contains a small museum displaying old manuscripts and religious objects. To visit the church, you must first visit the Maison Arouanne opposite (late June to late Aug daily 9am-4pm; free), an early wooden house displaying a collection of Huron cultural objects, including ceremonial attire beaded with pearls and porcupine quills, drums of moose hide and feathered headdresses used for festive occasions. The waters of the Chute Kabir-Kouba tumble into a 42m-deep canyon visible from the bridge just west of the church. For a closer look, take the path, which starts at the end of the car park directly opposite the church and leads to the slippery rocks below. At Maison Arouanne ask for a map to the Onhoua Chetek8e site, 575 rue Stanislas Kosca (daily9: April-Oct 8.30am-6pm; Nov-March 9am-5pm; $8; www.huron-wendat.qc.ca ), a thirty-minute walk north. This replica of a seventeenth-century Huron village constructed for the benefit of tourists consists of wooden long houses, Hurons in traditional garb and delicious native foods such as bison, caribou, trout and sunflower soup at the Nek8arre restaurant (May-Oct noon-3.30pm). You're greeted by a traditional welcome dance; participatory activities such as shooting arrows cost extra. The few products in the shops not made by Huron artisans come from other First Nations reserves.
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