Tribal, Huron

HURON TRIBE - Most people usually do not realize that Huron and Wyandot (Wyandotte) are the same people.  Originally, more than a dozen of the Iroquoian-speaking tribes in southern Ontario referred to themselves collectively as Wendat meaning "villagers."   Rendered variously as: Guyandot, Guyandotte, Ouendat, Wyandot, and Wyandotte.  The French, however, called the members of a four-tribe confederacy the Huron, a derogatory name derived from their word "hure" meaning rough or ruffian.  This has persisted as their usual name in Canada.  When they were living in Ohio after 1701, French and Canadians continued to use Huron, but the English and Americans referred to them as Wyandot.   Currently, most groups prefer Wyandot rather than Huron.  

The Wyandot people or Wendat, also called the Huron Nation and Huron people, in most historic references are believed to have been the most populous confederacy of Iroquoian cultured indigenous peoples of North America. T hey traditionally spoke the Wyandot language, a Northern Iroquoian language and were believed to number over 30,000 at the time the first European trader-explorers made contact with them in the 2nd decade of the 17th century.

Today the Wyandot have a First Nations reserve in Quebec, Canada.  They also have three major settlements in the United States, two of which have independently governed, federally recognized tribes.   Due to differing development of the groups, they speak distinct forms of Wendat and Wyandot languages.

In the United States, there is one federally recognized tribe:

• The Wyandotte Nation is headquartered in Wyandotte, Oklahoma, with 4,957 enrolled members.

In Canada, there is one Wyandot First Nation:

• Huron-Wendat Nation, at Wendake, now within the Quebec City limits, with approximately 3,000 members. They are primarily Catholic and speak French as a first language. They have begun to promote the study and use of the Wyandot language among their children. For many decades, a leading source of income for the Wyandot of Quebec has been selling pottery, traditional-pattern snowshoes, summer and winter moccasins and other locally produced 

Unrecognized groups:  Aside from the above, there are two unrecognized tribes calling themselves Wyandot in the United States:

• Wyandot Nation of Anderdon, with headquarters in Trenton, Michigan, has 1,200 members
• Wyandot Nation of Kansas, headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas, has an estimated 400 members