For centuries, women artists of the Wendat First Nation of Wendake in Quebec have created artworks of intricate design and complex meaning in moosehair and quill embroidery. Their work records and transmits ancestral knowledge across generations of artists and remains a vibrant and important practice today.

Breaking new ground in Indigenous art histories, Wendat Women's Arts is the first book to bring together a full history of the Wendat embroidery art form. Annette de Stecher challenges the historical anonymity of Indigenous women artists by arguing for their central role in community history and ceremony. Through their art, these women played an important part in the diplomatic strategies that advanced the sovereignty of their nation, work that was an extension of their position of authority in their families and clans. Chiefs and community members wore finely embroidered attire as a brilliant focus of ceremonial events, a tradition that continues today. Women artists also supported their community economically as their embroidery was a souvenir of choice for European collectors. In vibrant illustrations, this book reconstructs the rich repertoire of Wendat embroidery now dispersed in collections throughout the world.

Wendat Women's Arts combines a depth of historical understanding with a keen knowledge of contemporary Wendat artists, demonstrating that the story of Wendat women is one of cultural strength, innovation, resilience, and success.

A richly illustrated history of Wendat women's embroidery traditions, from the eighteenth century to the present, interwoven with the stories of the artists.

About the Author
Annette W. de Stecher is assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Reviews

"A groundbreaking book. Everyone who studies Indigenous North American artistic traditions will want to own it." Janet Catherine Berlo, University of Rochester and co-author of Native North American Art

Awards
Melva J. Dwyer Award, Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) 2024.



Book Information
ISBN 9780228010678
Author Annette W. de Stecher
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint McGill-Queen's University Press
Publisher McGill-Queen's University Press