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 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 “As an anthropologist and a Wendat woman of the Bear Clan, I felt honoured to read this book and am recommending it highly.” Linda Sioui, Huron-Wendat Nation A richly illustrated history of Wendat women’s embroidery traditions, from the eighteenth century to the present, interwoven with the stories of the artists. Series Editor: Martha Langford Recognizing the need for a better understanding of Canada's artistic culture both at home and abroad, the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, through its generous support, makes possible the publication of innovative books that advance our understanding of Canadian art and Canada's visual and material culture. This series supports and stimulates such scholarship through the publication of original and rigorous peer-reviewed books that make significant contributions to the subject. We welcome submissions from Canadian and international scholars for book-length projects on historical and contemporary Canadian art and visual and material culture, including Native and Inuit art, architecture, photography, craft, design, and museum studies. Studies by Canadian scholars on non-Canadian themes will also be considered. Annette W. de Stecher is assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.