SAINTE-MARIE AMONG THE HURONS

When I was twelve years old, our family took a trip to northern Ontario. While there, we visited an ancient 17th Century village. Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was steeped in history.

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons is located in Midland Ontario, along the shores of Georgian Bay. It was the ancestral home of the Wendat nation, a branch of Natives of the Iroquois. Like the Iroquois, the Wendat were a matriarchal society. They were good traders and excellent farmers. They called their land Wendake, meaning “land apart.”

In the 17th Century, French Jesuit priests came to Wendake. Their goal was to convert the natives to Catholicism. Explorer Samuel De Champlain, who felt that conversion was imperative to the colonization of the North American natives, encouraged the Jesuits. The Jesuits settled in Wendake and traveled from one village to another. They attempted to learn the Wendat language, customs and traditions so they would be able to better communicate with the aboriginal people.

Father Jerome Lalemant was the Superior of the Jesuits. His dream was to “build a house apart, remote from the vicinity of the villages, that would serve, among other things, for the retreat and meditation of our evangelist laborers.”

In 1639, Father Lalemant’s dream was realized. A mission rose in the wilderness along the Isaraqui (Wye) River. Laymen from France came to Canada to help erect the mission. It was given the name, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, which was the name the French gave to the Wendat people.

The Jesuits were dedicated. Their endless work soon made Sainte-Marie self-sufficient. This was nothing short of a miracle, considering that the community was 1200 kilometres from Quebec.

During the 17th Century, Canada was known as New France. The population was in the low hundreds. Most of the inhabitants lived along the St. Lawrence River. From here, the French and Ottawa Rivers provided a turbulent and dangerous inland waterway that carried furs, livestock, mail, building supplies, books and priests to Sainte-Marie.

The Iroquois constantly attacked Sainte-Marie and in the spring of 1649, the inhabitants, who consisted of the Jesuits, their helpers and their Wendat followers, retreated from the mission after burning it to the ground. After enduring a harsh Canadian winter, which included constant attacks by the Iroquois and starvation, the French and surviving Wendat Christians returned to Quebec.

The Huron settled on I’ile d’ Orleans, where a vicious Iroquois attack destroyed their community. In 1697, the Wendat gathered at Jeune Lorette and rebuilt the Huron culture and their nation.