What Are Some of the Beliefs of the Huron Religion?

The Huron Indians, who prefer to go by the name Wyandot, were spiritual people who believed in a supreme deity. According to Wyandot mythology, this supreme being was known as Iosheka, who created the first man and woman and taught them various skills, how to conduct religious ceremonies and rituals, how to fight evil spirits and how to heal. The Wyandot were also animists who believed spirits were present in both animate and inanimate objects.

The Wyandot had various rituals that were central to tribal life. One included the torture of captives in worship of a sun deity. One unique ritual was a ceremony that required two young girls of the tribe to wed the tribe’s fishing nets. The Wyandot believed this would motivate the nets to be more successful at catching fish.

Another religious ceremony unique to the Wyandot was the Feast of the Dead, which involved the disinterment of deceased relatives from their initial graves. The Wyandot then reburied their ancestors’ remains in a communal grave, which would be their final resting place.

The Wyandot’s original settlements were located between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. Between 20,000 and 40,000 Indians populated approximately 25 villages.

Foreign settlers caused their displacement from the northeastern part of North America to present-day Oklahoma and Kansas. As of 2015, the Wyandot live in scattered groups in both the United States and Canada.