Lawinonkie Marguerite Vincent

Lawinonkie3 Marguerite Vincent was born in 1783 on the Bay of Quinte on the north shore of Lake Ontario. “Lawinonkie”, her Wendat name, means “(beautiful) young woman.” She was the daughter of Marie des Anges Chalifour and Sawatanan Louis Vincent, and half-sister of Grand Chief Tsawenhohi Nicolas Vincent. Lawinonkie is famed among the Wendat Nation for her mastery of traditional crafts and transmission of ancestral knowledge. In the early 19th century, Lawinonkie Marguerite Vincent settled with her family in Wendake, formerly known as the village of Jeune Lorette. She attended the village school, which was run by her father, Sawatanan Louis Vincent.

When Lawinonkie was young, farming was not widely practiced because the land around Jeune-Lorette was not fertile enough. A strong colonial presence left the Wendat people limited land for hunting, gathering, fishing, and trapping. While the Wendat sought to pursue their traditional way of life, they were also forced to turn to alternate economic activities such as crafts and trading. To help her family earn a living, Lawinonkie made moccasins and other handicrafts. Production was strong and demand was high.

Around 1830, Lawinonkie set up a workshop to continue supplying the tourist trade and military clientele. The initiative created work for many Wendat villagers, making mittens, shoes, toboggans and snowshoes. In addition to the villagers, Lawinonkie worked with her husband, Hondawanhont Paul Picard, who she had married in 1807, and their son, Tahourenche François-Xavier Picard. Lawinonkie’s workshop quickly became profitable, and soon outgrew its roots as a family concern to become a success story that speaks of the pride, resilience, and innovation of the entire community, particularly the village’s women.

Lawinonkie was responsible for teaching traditional skills and handing down techniques. She ably delegated daily tasks based on the skills of each woman in the workshop in a manner that valued each woman’s work. Despite prohibitions imposed by the colonial government and certain private groups, she proved highly creative and adapted the work to available resources. She died in 1865, and was buried in the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette church in Wendake. Tributes appeared in several major newspapers. Between 1870 and 1883, her son, Tahourenche François-Xavier Picard, was Grand Chief of the Wendat Nation.

Lawinonkie Marguerite Vincent was a pioneer in her field who made an outstanding contribution to the development of Wendat crafts. The workshop she founded contributed to the livelihood of families in her community.