The perils of thinking your way is best! A bit of Indian history

July 2nd

Today we visited Sainte Marie amongst the Hurons in Midland, Ontario. This is a fascinating recreation of the mission founded in 1639 by French Jesuits in the land of the Wendat later known as Hurons.

The Jesuits created the mission as a retreat for missionaries and a refuge for Christian Hurons in this isolated area of New France. 

The recreation of the Jesuit village at Sainte Marie

A typical Wendat "teepee"

The original mission buildings have been rebuilt and show all too clearly the basic conditions that both the Jesuits and the Wendats lived in. Some materials such as metal that could be fashioned into tools were brought over from France but most food and supplies had to be foraged from the local area. Luckily there was plenty of timber for houses and animals such as beavers and rabbits for furs. A staple food was corn which was ground into a crude flour and made into a bread (but not as we know it). Winters are pretty cold in this area with lots of snow so fires were all important for warmth, cooking and light. The fires have been recreated in the display homes and illustrate how smoky the atmosphere must have been! About 40 people shared this space!

A Wendat house for 40 people. Very smoky!

Exterior of a Wendat house

The Wendats  were a peaceful tribe with an interesting culture who believed that everyone and everything had a soul. Fighting was part of life as they were often challenged by other Huron tribes but unlike many other tribes and indeed the French, they didn't believe in capital punishment, preferring to make amends by giving gifts. The Wendats shared their local knowledge with the Jesuits which undoubtedly helped them to survive. The Jesuits in turn brought knowledge of new techniques such as those used by the Blacksmith to make nails and tools. Whilst the Wendats thought that this was black magic, they recognised its usefulness and assumed that the King of France must be a Blacksmith!
 

Mike and Peter try out the Jesuit hand drills

A boat made of timber

Sadly though the Jesuits didn't add any lasting value to the Wendats way of life and the mission only lasted 10 years before some leaders were killed in attacks by other tribes. The Jesuits burnt the community to the ground before escaping to a nearby island. That proved to be too desolate and in 1650 the Jesuits and a few hundred Christian Wendats returned to Quebec.

Sainte Marie among the Hurons is well worth a visit. They've got the mix of education (through displays and videos) about right and the buildings are very interesting. A lesson for us all though. It's dangerous to assume that your beliefs and way of life is better and should be imposed on the established one.