In the first half of the XVIIth century, the Huron Wendat, who occupied the territory at the south of Georgian Bay, in the present province of Ontario, became important partners of the French pertaining to the fur trade. They then inhabited about thirty villages, which numbered 40,000 residents.

Sorely tried by famine, conflicts and contagious diseases transmitted by the Europeans, they had to quit their ancestral lands, Huronia, around 1660. Several among them were adopted by neighbouring peoples and some went towards Québec. In 1697, after numerous displacements, approximately 150 persons settled for good on the banks of the Akiawenrahk (Saint-Charles River), on the actual site of Wendake. Later on, others joined them.

The actual Wendake is located at the heart of the City of Québec. The Huron population originating from Wendake is approximately 3,000 individuals, of which 1,300 reside on the territory which covers approximately one hundred hectares.