Pemmican
Loan, Collège de Sainte-Anne, Musée québécois de l’agriculture et de l’alimentation collection. Photo : Sébastien Hudon.
“Pemikan,” industrial storage jar containing “Pemikan” wrapped in pink ribbons and sealed with red wax (top) and orange wax (bottom), around 1945.
Glass, metal, wax, ribbons, dye, mummified food, paper, ink. Handwritten note in sepia ink attached: [Translation]“Donated by Rev. P. Jos. [Du]beau O.M.I.” He was born in 1891 and died in 1952. On the stamp: “Corporation du Collège Sainte-Anne.”
Pemmican, a word of Cree origin, refers to a traditional recipe made by Indigenous peoples of North America from animal fat, dried meat, and wild berries.
Pemmican is made of animal fat, animal marrow, dried and powdered meat, and berries. Mixing these ingredients together produces a type of bread or pâté that not only does not go mouldy but also has the reputation of being able to be preserved for decades or even longer.