Discover Weckat - A Signature Work of Natura & Historia
June is recognized across Canada as National Indigenous History Month, an opportunity to celebrate the rich cultures, heritage, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. Museums play an important role in fostering a deeper understanding of the enduring relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the lands of North America. This is notably what Natura & Historia, which opened on June 13 at the Plains of Abraham Museum, invites visitors to explore.
From the moment they enter the exhibition, visitors are welcomed by Weckat, a fresco by Atikamekw artist Eruoma Awashish that occupies a central place in the first section of the exhibition. Through a vibrant depiction of wildlife that reflects the rhythm of the seasons, the artwork transports visitors to the period before the first encounters between First Nations and Europeans.
Beyond its artistic dimension, Weckat speaks to the profound relationship that each Nation maintains with its territory. This connection is expressed through the names that different Nations have given to the lands they have inhabited or travelled across, particularly in the Québec City region.
Behind every name lies a unique way of understanding, inhabiting, and passing on the territory, as illustrated here by the Wendat Nation, one of the five First Nations consulted in the development of the exhibition.
WENDAT NATION
Ever since Creation was completed on Great Turtle’s back, it has nourished us and kept us alive. We were created to take care of it. At the core of our memory, this land gives meaning to our existence and defines us as a people. Together with the land, we are one spirit.
Onhwa’ tsonywa’ndiyonhrat.
Continue your journey by visiting Natura & Historia at the Plains of Abraham Museum. Through an immersive experience where art, history, and nature come together, the exhibition invites you to discover the Plains from a new perspective: that of a landscape in constant transformation, shaped by the intertwined relationship between nature and human presence over the centuries.
