July 22, 2025

The Musee del la Civilization

By student Michael Kenney

Quebec’s original people were First Nations tribes that lived off the land. The picture below shows a member of an Indian tribe. When the British and French settlers arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries, they created problems for the Indian tribes. They took some of their land, and they exposed the Indians to diseases, which made them sick.

artwork showing an indigenous male — A First Nations member (photo courtesy of Michael Kenney)

I thought this was interesting. The man in the picture invented a baby bottle that prevented the baby from swallowing air. The bottle had a plastic liner in it.

artwork with writing in French and English — A description of an invention to help soothe babies (Photo courtesy of Michael Kenney)

I think this picture represents Quebec culture. It is a car designed to be a snowmobile. Quebec gets a lot of snow, and people need to be able to get around in the snow. I know that Quebec has a big winter carnival each year, so the snow and cold weather play a big part in Quebec culture.

a picture of an old snowmobile — An old-fashoned snowmobile (Photo courtesy of Michael Kenney)

This is a picture of art from Native Canadians. This is a statue of a man made out of sticks. The man’s face is made from a mask. This looks kind of primitive.

a sculpture of sticks and other materials in the shape of a man — An example of First Nations art (Photo courtesy of Michael Kenney)

A picture of students and a professor at a museum — The class enjoyed Musee de la Civilization (Photo courtesy of Jeanette Landin)