The People are only the caretakers
INDIAN HISTORY 1610 - 1624
INDIAN HISTORY Return to INDIAN 1600 - 1699 INDEX
1600
Historically in eastern Canada the Ojibwa, Ottawa and Potawatomi formed an alliance known as the Three Fires. The Iroquois of the United States had a Confederacy of five tribes, the Mohawks, the Onondagas, the Senecas, Oneidas and Cayugas. Thomas R. Henery wrote: When the European People came a great culture was flourishing in the wilderness of what is now New York State. The Confederacy was called one of the few pure republics the world had known. Anthropologists say it was an amazing development in political theory and practice. Among the Iroquois it can be traced back to the middle of the fifteenth century. It is noteworthy that the principles of the Great American Republic can be traced to the Peoples of North America, so they likely predate the fifteen century.
The Wendat later called the Huron People claim to have traded with the French from this date.
The Montagnais People occupied Tadoussac when Pontgrave the European arrived. Tadoussac is an ancient meeting place at the mouth of the Saguenay River. The Montagnais merchants had become middlemen for the Cree and Europeans in the fur trade. The Cree routinely traveled between the Hudson Bay and Tadoussac respecting the Montagnais rights. These trips are for historic trade items such as flint as well as to exchange skins of beaver and marten for the new European trade goods. Tadoussac means the place where the water that emerges. There are a number of huts and storehouses on the site when Pontgrave left sixteen men to winter. These Salt Sea people did not know how to care for themselves and some died over the winter. The Montagnais adopted the remaining Europeans teaching them the ways of nature.
It is believed that smallpox had already become wide spread throughout America by this time being introduced by the Spanish.
The Assiniboine who call themselves Nako'ta and are Siouan speaking numbered about 12,000 people.
This is the first recorded conversion of Frenchman into the Great Spirits Peoples way of life. The mixed blood or Metis culture had begun. Some aboriginal people claim the Metis culture began nine months after the arrival of the first European and that would be the Westman or Viking. Others contend that mixed blood people before this time are assimilated into the Peoples culture and therefore are Metis by birth but not Metis as an enduring culture.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century the Algonquian numbered a very conservative quarter million people. More progressive estimates place them in the tens of millions. They engaged in farming, fishing, manufacturing, and mining and occupied the whole tract of land from the St. Lawrence River,. They cooperatively organized into confederations of equal nation status each having its local name, dialect and traditions. A system of trade, a common set of beliefs and values and a common family of language provide the binding force of this Continental Nation. They respected the uniqueness and value of the individual, the democratic process, the elevated status of women, respect of land and nature, a one true God and that the People are the caretakers of the environment for future generations. Above all they practiced tolerance and tenacity in their own quiet way. The Peoples value system appears to be an adaptation of a Proto-Confucius philosophy. Both stressed practical human inclinations to morality and humanitarianism. They believe all People are intrinsically inclined to do good, to do what is right and proper by continuously striving for wisdom through honesty and trustworthiness.
Many Algonquian met during the trading season on the Ottawa River where they held Solemn Council with the Confederation of Eastern Nations. Many other traditional trading places of the Algonquian are spread across the North West. Sault Ste. Marie at the East End of Lake Superior is a historic trading location and a permanent village site. La Pointe at the western end of Lake Superior is another permanent historic trading Center.
Iroquois are not of the Algonquian Nation and adopted the practice of interning their dead with European trade items and with their heads towards the west. The Iroquois are considered by the European to be more aggressive by nature but lacking the canoe and snowshoe and their northern expansion is limited. The Iroquois do not share the Algonquian love of passive peace that implies a cultural weakness. The Iroquois wanted strong central power whereas the Algonquian desired a more loosely controlled Confederation. These fundamental differences result in an uneasy peace between the two Peoples. This stereotyping of the Iroquois likely originates after contact with the aggressive Dutch and English. At best one could say that the Iroquois like their American descendents appear to be more predisposed than their neighbors the Algonquian and their Canadian descendents toward violence.
The Montagnais People because of their merchant position began to expand and occupy Southern Labrador and Newfoundland. The Naskapi People also occupied Labrador except for the coastal lands. Newfoundland is believed to contain about five hundred Beothuk likely having been decimated by disease over the last one hundred years. The Beothuk is an early inhabitant of Newfoundland. Many suggest they are much like the Westmen (Pic and Celt) of Britain in appearance and may be of mixed origin.
L'nu'k ( Micmac) People occupy Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Northern New Brunswick, most of which they called Acadia. L'nu'k ( Micmac) are considered clan peoples much as the Scottish peoples. One of their clan symbols is the cross that the first Europeans held in amazement. The L'nu'k ( Micmac) are the first of many Native People to pose the question 'Surely,' they puzzled, 'the God of which you Europeans tell us and our Great Spirit must be One and the Same? How is it then you wish us to give up our beliefs?' The Malecite People lived in New Brunswick west of the St. John River. Down the Eastern Sea board of America lived the Algonquian nations called Massachuset, Narraganset, Wampanoag, Pennacook, Pequot, Mahican, Wappinger, Montauk and Delaware. They basically occupied Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Eastern New York and Pennsylvania. To keep things in perspective, the clan of Algonquian speaking peoples is found as far away as California. Environment changes and conflict in part drive Mass migration but surely in America with its massive resources the drive must be purely for the enjoyment and delight of experiencing the diverse wonder of this Paradise. Early European reports from America and the continuous Coureurs de Bois phenomena support the Paradise theory.
The Ojibwa (aka Chippewas, Sauteurs, Ojibway, and Ontehibouse) who occupy the crossroads of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron at this time preferred villages of between one to two hundred people. They used totems or animal names when referring to specific groups. Larger villages are only common for special events or trading sessions and usually lasted only a few weeks. The Ojibwa erected spirit houses over their buried dead. An opening was made at one end for food offerings to the spirit of the dead. Personal possessions were included for the after life.
The Potawatomi another Algonquian Nation member occupied southern Michigan. Algonquian Sauk (Sac or Sakis) and Fox (Reynard, Outagamies, Mesquaki and Outagami) occupy Northeast and Southern Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma with the Siouan Winnebago living along the west coast of Lake Michigan. Some historians contend the Ojibwa occupy the Lake of the Woods, Red River and Southern Manitoba at this time. It is noteworthy that the Proto Ojibwa originated in this area before migrating to the St. Lawrence River valley. Contrary to popular opinion most of the Great Plains' people are villagers, farmers or semi-nomads changing locations due to seasons or harvests. Some believe the Algonquian Blackfoot of the north and the Uto-Aztecan Comanche in the south do not engage in agriculture. This is highly unlikely as most early Americans practiced non-sedimentary agriculture. Sedimentary agriculture is only required to support a belief system of personal ownership or a hierarchy God/King religion that must be maintained by violence or threat of violence. A belief system of shared ownership carries no fear of other strangers sharing in the fruits of ones efforts. A passing strangers is entitled to a share of ones crops provided they respect Mother Earth. A belief system that is truly democratic allows authority to flow from the power of persuasion, actions and deeds not by appointment. The creation of God-kings or God-papal appointments fundamentally conflicts with The Peoples understanding of The Great Spirit.
The Arapaho are living along the Red River region and began their migration about this time onto the Great Plains to eventually settle in Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas region. The Cree and Ojibwa back filled their departure or may have peacefully coexisted among them like the Siouan Winnebago and Algonquian Sauk and Fox to the southeast. The Assiniboine a branch of the Dakota immigrated to the Lake of the Woods then on to Lake Winnipeg and the adjoining river systems also replacing the Arapaho. The Dakota like their Iroquois relatives do not possess canoe technology. Peace between the Dakota and Algonquian Nation considered fragile but no oral history supports this contention. The French nurtured this belief because they believed the Iroquois and Dakota are natural allies with their historic enemies the English.
The Tairona civilization in Columbia, coerced by the Spaniards to convert to Christianity, fled from their coastal settlements and moved to the mountains. These people were skilled masons, farmers, weavers and goldsmiths. They established the city called Ciudad Perdida which was not discovered until the 1970's.
Arequipa, Peru is destroyed by an earthquake.
The glacier of Chamonix, France, advanced, because of the Little Ice Age (1550-1850), causing massive floods, destroying 3 villages and severely damaged a fourth. One of these villages had stood since 1200. This is more evidence to support the Little Ice Age was global in nature.
The Mackenzie Delta was home to about 2,000 Eskimo who called themselves Kittegaryumiut and gathered for several weeks each summer at Kittigazuit. The Mackenzie delta offered a natural whale trap for belugas which is a small whit whale..
1601
About this time some say the Mandan of the Dakota’s gathered into larger fortified cities likely because of attacks by other people. This is likely an exaggerated claim to support French ambitions.
Juan de Onate (1552-1626) records meeting the Kansa People, a southwestern Siouan speaking tribe in Kansas. They were largely hunters of buffalo. They because farmers because they had to eat, not because they wanted to farm. This is interesting as it likely reflects a change in the migration path of the Bison.
We seldom think in terms of sports when we think of pre-European contact among the First Peoples but they introduced Canada to the toboggan, snowshoe, lacrosse stick and canoe. They held wrestling, jousting, archery, spear throwing, foot and canoe racing. Dancing and baggattaway had religious significance but was also great entertainment. The also had a variety of games just for their enjoyment, awl, ring, pole, snow snake, cat's cradle, dice and birch bark cards to name a few. The People enjoyed above all else any reason for a social gathering, trading, marriage or one of the mentioned sporting events.
June 23: Juan de Onate (1552-1626) with 70 soldiers and a 8 cart baggage train set out to find the legendary Quivira. He followed the Canadian River across the Texas panhandle to the Oklahoma border, then northwest to cross the Cimarron River into south central Kansas and reached the Arkansas River near Quiveria. Quiveria is a large village of round lodges thatched with grass and surrounded by fertile agricultural fields. Juan de Onate (1552-1626) returned to San Gabriel his new capital village to find most settlers had fled to Mexico. His settlers had become mutinous when they discovered New Mexico was an arid land of food shortages and bitter winters. The Franciscans were upset with Juan de Onate (1552-1626) because his callous treatment of the People, including his brutal suppression of a rebellion at Acoma and later Toas, blocked any hope to convert the Pueblo People.
1602
George Weymouth with a East Indian Company ship sailed into the Hudson Bay.
Bartholomew Gosnald of England visits Massachusetts Bay, Cape Cod, visits the Wampanoags and trades for sassafras bark (1602-1606).
Sebastian Vizcaino (1548-1628) of Spain visits the California coast (1602-1603) on orders to thoroughly chart the coast and he discovered Monterey Bay, California. Francisco de Bolanos (2nd) was pilot on this trip, see 1595. Vizcaino ordered a ship to sail north to explore the coast of Oregon and they discovered the Columbia River.
The Montagnais learn that the French King gave Chauvin approval to form an alliance with the Peoples along the St. Lawrence River. The Montagnais still control the trading between Tadoussac and the Hudson Bay. They see good relations with the French as essential to their business interests. The Montagnais present an adopted Iroquois woman to merchant Francois Grave du Point as a country wife and send three young relatives of the Montagnais to France to cement this alliance. This is standard practice between allies throughout America.
November 10: Sebastian Vizcaino (1548-1628) anchored at San Diego Bay.
November 24: Sebastian Vizcaino (1548-1628) landed Santa Catalina Island and stayed until December 1.
December 1: Sebastian Vizcaino (1548-1628) landed San Pedro Bay (near Los Angeles).
December 13: Sebastian Vizcaino (1548-1628) landed Monterey Bay and reported it as a good port for Manila gallons. The met with the Costanoan People of this area.
December 29: Sebastian Vizcaino (1548-1628) sent one of his ships back to Mexico with the results of the expedition.
1603
Two Montagnais diplomats returned from France with Francois Grave, Sieur du Pont. Grand Sagamo Anadabijou had commissioned the diplomats to witness first hand the French Kingdom. They reported that the French King wished to settle some of his people in Quebec and bring their enemies to terms or if necessary to conquer them. The diplomats explained the French life style to the Grand Sagamo Anadabijou. The Grand spokes person said the Montagnais People regard the French as their friend. The People would be glad if the French settled in the land. The Montagnais had no problem if the French make war on their enemies (the Iroquois). Anadabijou ended the formal discussion by explaining the tribute the French King must pay for the Montagnais friendship.
When the People speak of war it does not carry the same meaning as European definition of war. The Europeans alleged that the Iroquois warfare is ferocious but before European contact it was more of a game. War was a display of courage, warfare was a ceremony not a deadly business. It was not an activity to acquire control over land or people. Pitched battles between massed tribesmen were very rare and causalities relatively few. The Jesuits described it best when they said, the Iroquois came like foxes, attack like lions, flee like birds. The objective was to strike a blow (not kill) and to make a clean get away. The French, English and Dutch would introduce European warfare.
Anadabijou the Grand spokes person of the Montagnais at Tutushits (Tadoussac) explained to Champlain that they believed in one God and that he can do both good and evil just as the world is full of good and evil. The People also believe in an immortal soul and heaven. Anadabijou explained that God has spoken to the People a number of times. Champlain said this did not agree with European Christian teaching and the savages are being deceived by the Devil. A debate followed and neither side convinced the other. Champlain concluded they are brutish people, know nothing of God and behave like animals. This religious encounter probably influenced him to label all Natives as savages. Reluctantly he had to admit the savages are all strong, well knit and has few if any deformities. The French at this time are a sorry lot being pot-marked with disease and deformities are common. The natives quietly complained that you could smell a Frenchman before you could see them because of their habit of only bathing once a year. The People frequently bathed considering this essential to good health. This aversion to bathing by Europeans can be traced back to the Roman Catholic Church that preached it was a sin to expose your body, even to oneself. This perverted belief would last into the twentieth century.
What really annoyed Champlain the most is the freedom and democratic political organization of The People. The Natives political system allowed individual human rights, a practice unheard of in Europe. This philosophy that made even a poor savage the equal of a spokes person, that demanded that each be accorded the same dignity and respect did not sit well with the authoritarian Champlain. Many European living at this time would consider these ideas as heathen and against the natural order of things. The European tendency of calling the Native People heathen and savage appears to have originated with the Christian Spanish. Some contend the label is used to justify their horrific action against the aboriginal people of the Americas.
Eighty to one hundred of the Montagnais People held tabagie. The women danced naked and the men ran naked races for prizes, much like the tradition of the early Greeks and Romans. Tutushits the place of tabagie means a woman's breasts. These special rituals only held negative sexual connotations in the puritanical French mind. The People explained that this celebration is for the recent victory over the Iroquois who are continuously encroaching on their territory. They explained that the Iroquois do not hold the same values and beliefs as the Algonquian Nation. They reported that one hundred Iroquois had recently been killed in battle. The Montagnais, Algonkin and Etchemin (Malecite) had made up a war party of a thousand men and had surprised the Iroquois who greatly outnumber their party at the mouth of the Iroquois (Richelieu) River.
Chaplain, the Frenchman expressed much interest in the interior.
The Algonkin in response drew an accurate map identifying the Ottawa River,
Niagara Falls, Lakes St. Louis, St. Francis, Ontario, Erie and Huron.
They identified the Great Salt Sea to the north that Chaplain correctly
concluded is an inland sea (Hudson Bay). The Algonkin reported that
they trade with the Iroquois to the south who grow corn and other things.
The Algonkin do not grow corn at this time but the Algonkin country is
green and pleasant. They also reported a tribe of friendly Iroquois
works a rich copper mine farther to the north and also trade with the Algonkin.
This account contradicts sharply with the Montagnais story that is likely
concocted to ensure the French didn't establish direct trading alliances
with the Iroquois.
This is an Iroquois communal harvest of corn, squash etc. that was gathered and stored in common. Surplus corn was traded to the Algonquian for canoe and snow shoes.
The Iroquois names Lake Ontario as Oniatario meaning sparkling or beautiful
water. At this time three major Nations live around the Great Lakes
region. The Algonquian dominate the territory but the Iroquois are
encroaching from the south and the Dakota peoples are encroaching from
the southwest. The Algonquian Ojibwa are located between the Dakota
and the Iroquois. Some historians claim the Ojibwa are responsible
for driving the Assiniboine, Hidatsa, Mandan, Crow, Cheyenne, Arapaho and
later the Dakota from the source of the Mississippi. Little evidence
supports this contention and much evidence suggests free migration is the
norm in America. A more probable reason for their departure is their
pursuit of the shaggy mane bison or buffalo. This strategic doorway
to the Grande Prairie and elusive Western Sea would continually change
hands over the next few centuries.
The ancestors of Garneau, the Ojibwa had what Europeans consider an Eastern Woodland culture and supported themselves with fishing, farming, manufacturing, medicine and hunting. Their usual dwelling is the lodge (Americans called it wigwam or wickiup). They had writing connected with their religious rites of their medical society. The tribes had a secret society with initiations for each of its several medical degrees and have a panoply of many rituals and songs associated with medicine. The Ojibwa considered themselves as a People with a great respect for Mother Earth, Gods creatures and the Great Spirit who lives in the sky. They lived in a maternal society respecting women who gave mankind life, just like Mother Earth gave life to the People. It is consider a very great evil to harm Woman or Mother Earth. Divorce is very uncommon and her own family holds a run away wife in disgrace. Childhood is short and pleasant but they are expected to become adults early. They usually begin entering the adult world by age 8 to 10.
The Prairie Assiniboine, who called themselves Nakota, speak a Siouan language and were once part of the Yanktonai, a branch of the Dakota (Sioux). Formally the Assiniboine is agriculturists living about the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Minnesota. Shortly after the arrival of the Europeans they moved northward to become Plains People. The Rocky Mountain Assiniboine is more commonly called the Stony People. Stony is the original name for the Rocky Mountains. The Europeans contend they are often in cultural conflict with their more aggressive Dakota relatives and are inclined to align with the Cree culture. Some members of the Algonquian culture are believed to be in conflict with the Blackfoot, Mandan and other Missouri River tribes even with the Kutenai (Kootenay) and Salish people who are now on the far side of the Rocky Mountains but originally lived on the Great Prairies. The name Kootenay means river people. The Assiniboine at this time numbered about twelve thousand people. The Prairie Peoples created a hunter autobiography of ones' accomplishments during his lifetime. This by tradition is delayed as long as possible but before he died for once created he is not allowed to do so again.
THE SIOUAN SPEAKING GROUP INCLUDED:
Crow, a wandering tribe between the Missouri River
and the Rocky Mountains.
Hidatsa (Willows) located at the junction Knife and
Missouri Rivers.
Winnebago (fish eaters) from Green Bay, and the Fox
and Wisconsin Rivers.
Mandan (those who live along the bank of the
river) in North Dakota
Iowa, Oto (lechers) of the Missouri, later being
forced to Kansas then Oklahoma
Omaha (those who live upstream beyond others), from
the Ohio
Osage, of Kansas, Missouri and Illinois
Ponca,
Quapaw, those who go downstream, the Mississippi
and Arkansas Rivers
Kansa of Kansas
Sioux (Dakota) (Nakota & Lakota) meaning
allies, adders and enemies
Columbus, the Italian had called the aboriginal people of America, Indians meaning people of the Indies. He believed he had discovered a route to the Indies. Most Natives just called themselves 'The People' and their neighbors by their location names or some unique feature or trade item name. An example would be the People of The River or River People. Champlain used the derogatory Spanish term savage meaning wild as being without civilization. He concluded that for a man to explore the country by European boat is impossible. He marveled that in a savage canoe you could travel quickly and easily anywhere in the country, no matter whether the rivers are large or small. By traveling with these savages in their canoes, a man can see everything there is to see, the good with the bad, in the space of a year or two.
Martin Pring of England visits Maine and the Massachusetts coast.
January 4: Sebastian Vizcaino (1548-1628) reached Point Reyes but a storm seperated his two ships blowing Vizcaino north of California-Oregon border to Cabo Blanco 43 degrees north. He returned to Acapulco being short of food and water.
1604
The Micmac, who also considered themselves as L'nu'k or 'The People', noted that the Europeans brought many evil habits and spirits to the Blue World. The L'nu'k ( Micmac) watched as Champlain, the Frenchman with one hundred and twenty men established the first New France colony on Island Saint Croix, Bay of Fundy. Reports circulated that on their trip over the Salt Sea a Catholic Priest and Calvinist Minister are so bitterly antagonistic to each other that on occasion they came to blows. This disrespectful activity by the European Shaman horrified the People. Being ignorant of Mother Earth, thirty-five Frenchmen would die this winter, mostly from scurvy.
Champlain visited the Abnaki People (Wabanakiyak meaning the people of the dawn or men of the east.) and are of the Algonquian nation near the mouth of the Penobscot River (near Bangor, Maine).
Onate visited the Baguiburisac on the Colorado River in Arizona. They were living in low houses with wood roof that was covered with dirt.
Agawa Bay, 90 km northwest of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Superior. This area was sacred to the Ojibwa and the name means "sacred place". The rocks are 1 to 2.5 billion years old. Pictographs adorn the sheer rock face.
Juan de Onate (1552-1626) traveled through central Arizona to the Bill William River, to the Colorado River and by January 1605 reached the river's mouth, declaring it an excellent harbor.
1605
A tall bearded L'nu'k ( Micmac) named Membertou reported that the French moved their St. Croix colony to Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal. Membertou is most likely a European mixed blood native (Metis) given that he is bearded and promised unswerving loyalty to the French. Captain George Weymouth wrote an Abnaki vocabulary and imprisoned a number of the People near St George Island off Penobscot Bay to take them to England as curiosities. The remnants of the Abnaki (Wabanakiyak), the people of the Sunrise would eventually flee to Quebec to avoid extermination as a Nation.
George Waymouth of England traded the coast of Maine for furs.
The first English contact with the People was friendly. The Church this year became active and with theological zeal, tried to exterminate the accursed seed of Canaan.
Inscription Rock at El Morro, New Mexico reads "Passed by here, the Adelantado Don Juan de Onate, from the discovery of the Sea of the South, the sixteenth day of April 1605."
1606
Membertou the mixed blood Metis of the L'nu'k ( Micmac) Nation instructed Poutrincourt and Membertou People in the art of hunting and fishing.
George Popham of England visited the Massachusetts coast.
1607
The L'nu'k ( Micmac) at Port Royal had named the place Acadia meaning place of plenty or village. The L'nu'k ( Micmac) of Port Royal, Acadia, formally lodged a complained about the disgraceful conduct of the French who are in the habit of looting L'nu'k ( Micmac) graves. They could not understand why men would steal beaver pelts left as burial gifts. Grave robbing in America is unknown before contact. The L'nu'k ( Micmac) also complained about the introduction of dirty brown rats to Acadia that got into and spoiled the food stores. The L'nu'k ( Micmac) are amazed at the swarthy pot marked complexion of the French that is in great contrast to the smooth flawless complexion of the American People. They also noted that many Whitman smell bad because they don't bathe.
The first English settlers to America arrived at a small peninsula along the James River that they called Jamestown. Within weeks the settlement is attacked by the Powhaten Nation of 30 tribes representing some 13,000 People. The conflict would continue until 1614 when the English captured Pocahontas, daughter of the Powhatans'. The English and Spanish slave traders had previously visited the Powhaten Nation The English of Virginia would proved to carry animosity toward the People for the next 400 years. Others suggest John Smith of England in Virginia fought against the Powhatan Confederacy and was captured and saved by Pocahontas, daughter of Powhaten. Some suggest John Smith was 14 years senior to Pocahontas and a romantic connection is most unlikely. Pocahontas eventually married John Rolfe a tobacco farmer.
The Powhaten Nation although against the English colony, because of past atrocities, never the less provided the colony food from their capital city Werowocomoco so as to stave off famine in the colony in exchange for metal goods and farming implements. The Powhaten Nation was enormously powerful and had a complex political economy. They could have easily exterminated the English intrusion but chose to retain them as trading partners. Some say for their copper workings. The Powhaten also worked raw copper but not as good as the English. It is believed that 40 to 50 English colonists married local Indian women. Most of the descendents of Jamestown are Metis. Some suggest the Indians at this time were the civilized and the English were the barbarians. It is noteworthy that archaeologial evidence suggests the natives were inside the fort learning metallurgical and tool making skills.
Few people realize that Virginia was densely settled by prosperous farmers at this time. The English found houses and gardens dotting the floodplain and some of the native forest cleared for agriculture to support the large settlements. Powhaten ruled 30 tribes and several hundred towns. It is interesting to speculate, had the Indians attempted to establish a colony in England, would the English be as accommodating as the American Indians.
1608
(I)-Etienne Brule (1591-1633) went to live among the Algonquian Nation who provided guides into the interior of America. Some of the major Algonquian speaking nations are; Abenaki, Blackfoot, Malecite, MicMac, Mississauga, Montangnais and Ojibwe to name a few. This covers the territory from Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. The Algonquian speaking culture is truly the first major Canadian culture.
It is recorded that Beothuk or Innu warriors clashed with French and Englishmen in Newfoundland.
Namontack killed 1610 by his own people and he was
a Powhatan exchange student sent to England by Captain Newport in exchange for
an English lad called Thomas Savage.
Nanticote is an Algonquian tribe living on the Nanticoke River in
Maryland.
Nawacaten is a Powhatan village along the banks of the Rappahannock River in Richmond County, Virginia. Secobec is a village of Powhaten located on the south banks of the Rappahannock River in Caroline County, Virginia.
The Paspahegh People who lived along the James River in Virginia were the first to contact the Jamestown settlers.
Susquehanna an Iroquois town was located at the lower reaches of the Susquehanna River. John Smith would record the spelling as Sasquesahannocks.
The Algonquian watched as the French settled in Quebec with twenty-eight men. It is reported they lost fourteen the first winter to scurvy and malnutrition.
The Ouendat (Wendat Wyandotta) later called Huron are a five nation confederacy and occupied northern Simcoe County, Ontario. Wendat is thought to mean People of the Island. The Jesuits used the name Huron meaning ruffian or boar's head referring to their hairstyle. The five nations are Attignawanan (Bear People), Attigneenongnahac (Cord Makers), Arendaronon (Rock People), Tahontaenrat (Deer People), and Ataronchronon (Swamp People). They numbered about 20-25,000 and by 1640 were reduced to about 9,000. They lived in farming communities some numbering 3,500 farmers. They focused on corn, beans, squash and fishing. Hunting was of minor importance but they were expert traders. They formed matrilineal extended families composed of a number of females with common female ancestors who were in charge of day to day affairs. They lived in longhouses 7 meters x 90 meters in length (23' x 295').
The son of Iroquet a visionary and an important Algonquian negotiator visited
Champlain to form an alliance with the French. The objective is to
ensure the encroaching Iroquois does not erode their trading position.
This common strategy effectively established a Canadian culture aligned
with the Algonquian tradition and maintained the differentiation of Canadian
from American cultures. It ensured that the Ottawa (Odahwaug), Wendat
(Huron) and Ojibwa (Sauteurs) could maintain their historic trade patterns.
This historic treaty added the French goods to their product lines of canoe,
snowshoe, tobacco, wild rice and hemp. Tobacco is being supplied by the Tobacco
(Petun) Peoples who live below the Niagara Escarpment along the southwest
Georgian Bay. They are culturally associated with the Wendat but are
Iroquoian speaking. To solidify the alliance Samuel
Bruce and other young French boys are allowed to live among the Wendat
and Algonkin from 1608 to 1615. Bruce fought with the Wendat against
the Iroquois at Lake Oneida and visited the Neutral and Susquehannock.
This exchange of children to learn the language and culture is a long-standing
American tradition. Wild Rice and corn are in common use along the
St. Lawrence River system and throughout the Great Lakes. The Iroquois
and Wendat place great emphasis on this trade item.
Wild rice is found throughout the Saint Lawrence Valley, throughout the Great
Lakes but in great abundance west of Lake Superior into Manitoba. The
Ojibwa from ancient times traveled to these regions and camped close to the rice
lakes to harvest the crop. The rice was winnowed and dried for winter use
and used as a trade item. The Ojibwa also fished, hunted, farmed and made
maple sugar. Some question if maple sugar was fully processed before
European trade items were acquired (ie. the pot). It is known that the
Ojibwa used Mocuck (ma'ka'k) a birchbarl container to store the maple
sugar. These containers would hold about forty pounds of sugar. It is suggested the
north western migration of the Ojibwa was driven by the quest for more wild rice
before the fur trade penetrated into this region. The Dakota didn't have
the canoe so harvesting of rice did not infringe on any territorial
rights. The Ojibwa likely traded wild rice with the Dakota as there are
many cases of intermarriage between the two peoples. Because of their
diverse economy the Ojibwa had significant free time to engage in gaming,
sports, arts and crafts engaged equally by the women and men. Religious
ceremonies and trade fairs were conducted during the summer. Special
barrel-shaped long houses were especially constructed for the occasion.
Some say they were preoccupied with health and healing and other Peoples made
reference to their Ojibwa medical society (their shaman).
The Wendat, called the Huron by the French, occupied all the land between Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario. The Algonkin, Ottawa (Odahwaug), Nipissing and Ojibwa are content to leave the Wendat in this critical zone as they are friendly and their primary focus is the growing of corn. Council with all the People is regularly held before important decisions are made affecting the region. The Wendat had originally been as aggressive as their close relatives the Iroquois but recently are becoming more aligned with Algonquian culture causing a rift with their brothers to the southeast.
Mataughquamend is a village located on the north bank of the Potomac River, Charles County, Maryland.
Secacawoni is a village of the Powhatan who lived along the banks of the Potomac in Northumberland County, Virginia.
1609
The Tohontaenrat People joined the Wendat (Huron) Nation which includes the Attighawantan, Attigneenongnahac, and Arendahronon Peoples.
Under intense questioning by the Wendat, Champlain, the Frenchman lied and denied the Algonquian allegations that the French are only interested in trade and not friendship. Champlain said his sole aim is to help his Algonquian allies in war. The Algonquian knew they are being deceived and Iroquet is disturbed with the shallow thinking of the French. The Algonquian Council Vision is to forge a New Nation of alliances based on the Wendat and other successful alliances. Realizing that the French are fickle the Algonquian took Champlain to Lake George on the Island of St. Ignace. The Algonquian historically held their annual trade fairs at this location before the founding of Montreal.
The Algonquian intent is to confront the Iroquois and thereby ensure the alliance of the French with the Algonquian Nation. The Iroquois assumed the fight is a traditional formal affair, not knowing the devious French are present. Unlike their Aztecs and Maya ancestors even the Iroquois seldom entered into all out war and most encounters entailed much posturing. The Iroquois suggested the fighting should start in the morning, as it is too dark to tell who is the enemy. In the morning, Champlain and his French party ambushed the Iroquois killing two men. He then began the slaughter and sacrificing of the prisoners. Many are allowed to escape, by the Algonquian, to spread the word of the French alliance with the Algonquian Confederation. The Algonquian Council strategy is highly successful and the French are irreversibly aligned against the encroaching Iroquois. The Iroquois would consider the French as snakes, a treacherous people not to be trusted. The French are totally unaware of the American rules of warfare. Free traders at this time began calling the Wendat people the Huron.
Marc Lescarbot at this time described the Algonquian as more civilized than European in many ways but pitifully ignorant of the pleasures of wine and love. He also noted that the natives of Gaspe, Quebec spoke a trade language that was half Basque.
Henry Hudson d-1611 an Englishman claimed Hudson Bay for the Netherlands. He sailed Hudson River, Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait and encountered the Manhattans, Wappingers and Mahicans. King James I later called on Henry Hudson, of English descent, who was sailing for the Netherlands to sail the northwest passage. Abocat Cricket maintained a log of this venture. In June they entered the North West Passage. As time passed a stormed drove the ice and locked off the passage. Hudson chose to go south into Hudson Bay against the wishes of his crew to look for another way out. They became trapped and were forced to winter. They were visited by the Manhattan, Wappinger and Mahican People who came to trade before departing in 1610. This encounter suggests these people were accustomed to trading with Europeans either in the Northern Bay or on the east coast.
Juan de Onate (1552-1626) colony at San Gabriel further deteriorated and he was forced to resign and return to Mexico.
De La Ware arrived Virginia with supplies for the English colony.
Francisco Fernandez de Ecija of Spain visits the Santees and Sewees of South Carolina.
September, Henry Hudson d-1611 is given credit of discovering Hudson River
but Estevan Gomez in 1525 entered New York Harbour and Florentine Giovanni de
Verrazano claimed to be first in March 1524.
May 23: King James I of England makes a ridicules claim in Virginia known as
the Jamestown Charter claiming lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.
INDIAN HISTORY Return to INDIAN 1600 - 1699 INDEX