The First Nations of Canada

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This room, entirely devoted to the aboriginal people of Canada, highlights the richness and complexity of their history and celebrates the ongoing vitality of Native cultures. The thematic exhibitions were produced in collaboration with aboriginal communities.

The objects showcased in this room - multicoloured embroidered baskets, ingeniously designed clothing and detailed miniatures - all serve to underline the richness of the Native cultures of Canada and the symbolic power of their creations.

Manituminaki: The Power of Glass Beads

From Venice to New France, Italian glass beads travelled a long way before the skilled hands of aboriginal women fashioned them into this variety of objects as beautiful as they are full of significance.

A Village Called Hochelaga

Not far from the McCord, an archaeological dig, the Dawson site, yielded a variety of Iroquoian relics associated with an Iroquois village which had existed there prior to the founding of the City of Montreal.

Names and Lives in Nunavik

In the land of the Inuit of Québec, every place name tells a story, every object is witness to a daily occurrence rooted in nature. Thus, Amaujak, a lake that seems to carry another on its back, is named for amauti, a woman’s parka cut in such a way that a baby can rest against the bare back of its mother. A captivating voyage through the meaning of words punctuated by objects, even the lightest of which carries the weight of time.