The St. Lawrence Iroquoians were an
Iroquoian
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian la ...
Indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
who existed from the 14th century to about 1580. They concentrated along the shores of the
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
in present-day
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada, and in the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
states of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and northernmost
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. They spoke
Laurentian language
Laurentian, or St. Lawrence Iroquoian, was an Iroquoian language spoken until the late 16th century along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada. It is believed to have disappeared with the extinction ...
s, a branch of the
Iroquoian
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian la ...
family.
The
Pointe-à-Callière Museum estimated their numbers as 120,000 people in 25 nations occupying an area of .
["St. Lawrence Iroquoians: Corn People"](_blank)
2006-2007 Exhibit, Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal, accessed 14 March 2012 However, many scholars believe that estimate of the number of St. Lawrence Iroquoians and the area they controlled is too expansive. The current archaeological evidence indicates that the largest known village had a population of about 1,000 and their total population was 8,000–10,000. The traditional view is that they disappeared because of late 16th-century warfare by the
Mohawk nation of the ''
Haudenosaunee
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
'' or Iroquois League, which wanted to control trade with Europeans in the valley.
[Bruce G. Trigger, "The Disappearance of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians"](_blank)
in ''The Children of Aataenstic: A History of the Huron People to 1660'', vol. 2, Montreal and London: Mcgill-Queen's University Press, 1976, pp. 214-218, 220-224, accessed 2 Feb 2010
Knowledge about the St. Lawrence Iroquoians has been constructed from the studies of surviving
oral accounts of the historical past from the current Native people, writings of the French explorer
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of th ...
, earlier histories, and
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
s' and other scholars' work with
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
and
linguistic studies since the 1950s.
Archaeological evidence has established that the St. Lawrence Iroquoians were a people distinct from the other regional Iroquoian peoples, the Five Nations of the ''
Haudenosaunee
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
'' and the
Wendat (Huron). However, recent archaeological finds suggest distinctly separate groups may have existed among the St. Lawrence Iroquoians as well. The name "St Lawrence Iroquoians" refers to a geographic area in which the inhabitants shared some cultural traits, including a common language, but were not politically united.
The name of the country of Canada is probably derived from the Iroquoian word ''kanata,'' which means village or settlement.
Historical issues
![Iroquoiens St Laurent](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Iroquoiens_St_Laurent.png)
For years historians, archeologists and related scholars debated the identity of the Iroquoian cultural group in the St. Lawrence valley which
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of th ...
and his crew recorded encountering in 1535–36 at the villages of ''
Stadacona'' and ''
Hochelaga''. An increasing amount of
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
evidence collected since the 1950s has settled some of the debate. Since the 1950s, anthropologists and some historians have used definitive linguistic and archaeological studies to reach consensus that the St. Lawrence Iroquoians were peoples distinct from nations of the
Iroquois Confederacy
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
or the
Huron
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
.
[Pendergast (1998), "Confusing Identities", pp. 156-157] Since the 1990s, they have concluded that there may have been as many as 25 tribes among the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, who numbered anywhere from 8000 to 10,000 people.
They lived in the river lowlands and east of the Great Lakes, including in present-day northern New York and Vermont.
[Claude Chapdelaine, "The St. Lawrence Iroquoians, 1500CE"](_blank)
''Wrapped in the Colours of the Earth. Cultural Heritage of the First Nations'' Exhibition Catalogue, Montreal: McCord Museum, 1992
Before this, some scholars argued that the people were the ancestors or direct relations of historic Iroquoian groups in the greater region, such as the
Huron
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
or
Mohawk,
Onondaga Onondaga may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League
* Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capita ...
or
Oneida
Oneida may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Oneida language
* Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York
* Oneida Na ...
of the Five Nations of the ''
Haudenosaunee
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
'' encountered by later
explorer Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...
. Since the 18th century, several theories have been proposed for the identity of the St. Lawrence River peoples. The issue is important not only for historical understanding but because of Iroquois and other indigenous land claims.
In 1998 James F. Pendergast, a Canadian archeologist, summarized the four major theories with an overview of evidence:
*Huron-Mohawk Option:
*: Several historians combined data from early French reports, vocabulary lists, and oral histories of accounts by Native tribes to theorize the early inhabitants were Iroquoian-speaking Huron or Mohawk, two tribes well known in later colonial history. There has not been sufficient documentation to support this conclusion according to 20th-century standards. In addition, archaeological finds and linguistic studies since the 1950s have discredited this theory.
*Mohawk Identity Option:
*: Based in part on material from the 18th century,
Mark Cleland Baker and
Lars Sweenburg
Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries.
Origin
''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel".
A homonymous Etruscan name was borne ...
developed a theory that the
Mohawk (in some cases, they also postulated Onondaga and Oneida) had migrated and settled in the St. Lawrence River valley before relocating to their historic territory of present-day New York. Pendergast says that attribution of Stadacona or Hochelaga as Mohawk, Onondaga or Oneida has not been supported by the archaeological data.
*: "Since the 1950s a vast accumulation of archaeological material from Ontario, Quebec,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
consistently has provided compelling evidence to demonstrate that neither the Mohawk, the Onondaga, nor the Oneida homelands originated in the St Lawrence Valley."
*Laurentian Iroquoian and Laurentian Iroquois Identity: based on language studies, with material added since 1940;
and
*St. Lawrence Iroquoian and St. Lawrence Iroquois Identity:
Since the 1950s, anthropologists, archaeologists, linguists and
ethnohistorian
Ethnohistory is the study of cultures and indigenous peoples customs by examining historical records as well as other sources of information on their lives and history. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may n ...
s have combined
multidisciplinary research
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...
to conclude that "a wholly indigenous and discrete Iroquoian people were present in the St Lawrence Valley when Cartier arrived. The current
anthropological
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
convention is to designate these people St Lawrence Iroquoians, all the while being aware that on-going archaeological research indicates that several discrete Iroquoian political entities were present in a number of widely dispersed geographical regions on the St Lawrence River axis."
As noted, anthropologists and some historians have used definitive linguistic and archaeological studies to reach consensus that the St. Lawrence Iroquoians were a people distinct from nations of the
Iroquois Confederacy
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
or the
Huron
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
, and likely consisted of numerous groups. Pendergast notes that while Iroquoians and topical academics have mostly reached consensus on this theory, some historians have continued to publish other theories and ignore the archaeological evidence. The St. Lawrence Iroquoians did share many cultural, historical, and linguistic aspects with other Iroquoian groups; for example, their
Laurentian languages were part of the Iroquoian family and aspects of culture and societal structure were similar.
The St. Lawrence Iroquoians appear to have disappeared from the St. Lawrence valley some time prior to 1580. Champlain reported no evidence of Native habitation in the valley. By then the ''Haudenosaunee'' used it as a hunting ground and avenue for war parties.
As the historian Pendergast argues, the determination of identity for the St. Lawrence Iroquoians is important because, "our understanding of relations between Europeans and Iroquoians during the contact era throughout Iroquoia hinges largely upon the tribe or confederacy to which Stadacona and Hochelaga are attributed."
Culture and subsistence
![Iroquoian Village, Ontario, Canada52](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Iroquoian_Village%2C_Ontario%2C_Canada52.JPG)
Prehistoric Iroquoian culture and
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
agriculture in Canada is first detected by archaeologists in 500 CE at the
Princess Point
Princess Point is located in the south east corner of Cootes Paradise marsh in Hamilton, Ontario, and is the principal access point to the surrounding natural areas. The property is part of the Cootes Paradise Nature Sanctuary owned and managed by ...
site in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
. Iroquoian culture is detected in the
Saguenay River region of Quebec in about 1000 CE. By 1250 or 1300 maize was being grown in what would become the Quebec City area. By about 1300, four distinct subculture areas of St. Lawrence Iroquoian culture existed: (1)
Jefferson County, New York with a population of about 2,500;
Grenville County, Ontario with a population of 2,500; the
Lake St. Francis basin west of Montreal with a population of 1,000; and the Montreal and Quebec city areas with a population of 2,000 to 3,000. There were also settlements in northernmost Vermont and neighboring Ontario near
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
.
Most of the St. Lawrence Iroquoian villages were located in inland locations a few kilometers from the river itself. By the end of the 15th century they were encircled by earthworks and palisades, indicating a need for defense. The villages usually were to in area. Inside the palisades the St. Lawrence people lived in
longhouses
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often rep ...
, typical of other neighboring Iroquoian peoples. The longhouses were to in length and each housed several families. Archaeologists have estimated that villages had an average population of 150-250 people although a few larger villages housed considerably more.
The Iroquoians occupied their villages for ten or more years until their longhouses deteriorated and the fertility of the soil for their crops declined. Then, they built a new village and cleared land for crops, usually only a few miles from their previous home. The frequent changes of location has given problems to archaeologists in estimating the numbers on the St. Lawrence Iroquoian people. Dating techniques may not be precise enough to determine whether villages were occupied simultaneously or sequentially.
In addition to the characteristic villages, the St. Lawrence Iroquoian peoples had "a mixed economy, in which they drew their subsistence from growing
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
squash, and
beans,
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, and
gathering
Gather, gatherer, or gathering may refer to:
Anthropology and sociology
*Hunter-gatherer, a person or a society whose subsistence depends on hunting and gathering of wild foods
*Intensive gathering, the practice of cultivating wild plants as a st ...
. These nations also had in common a matrilineal, clan-based social organization, and a political system sufficiently structured to permit confederation at times. Most of them engaged in guerrilla warfare, grew and used tobacco, and produced pottery vessels." Sunflowers were also grown for their oily seeds. Investigations at several former settlements have indicated that their most important foods were maize and fish. They hunted
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
and other game.
In 1535, French explorer Jacques Cartier commented on cultural differences between the people of Hochelaga (Montreal area) and Stadacona (Quebec area). Cartier described the large and productive maize fields surrounding Hochelaga, and said its inhabitants were sedentary, as compared to the people of Stadacona who were migratory. The Stadaconans were closer to the salt-water resources (
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
,
seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
, and
whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s) of the lower St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St Lawrence and ranged widely in their
birch bark
Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''.
The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, crafti ...
canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
s in search of marine animals. Moreover, the Quebec area was the most northerly location in northeastern North America in which agriculture was practiced, especially during the cooler temperatures of the
Little Ice Age
The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. It was not a true ice age of global extent. The term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939. Ma ...
in the 16th century. For Stadaconans, depending on agriculture was a riskier subsistence strategy than for the people of Hochelaga and they probably relied less on agriculture and more on exploitation of sea mammals, fishing, and hunting.
The St. Lawrence Iroquoians were not united politically and villages and cultural groups may have been unfriendly and competitive with each other, as well as being hostile to the neighboring
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...
and other Iroquoian groups.
European contacts
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
,
Basque, and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
fishermen may have come into contact with the St. Lawrence Iroquoians early in the 16th century. French navigator Thomas Aubert visited the area in 1508 and sailed 80 leagues, perhaps , through the Gulf of St Lawrence and into the St. Lawrence River. He took back to France seven natives, possibly Iroquoians, who he captured during his voyage.
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of th ...
was the first European definitively known to have come in contact with the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. In July 1534, during his first voyage to the Americas, Cartier met a group of more that 200 Iroquoians, men, women, and children, camped on the north shore of
Gaspe Bay in the
Gulf of St Lawrence
, image = Baie de la Tour.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from Anticosti National Park, Quebec
, image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg
, alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry ...
. They had traveled in 40 canoes to Gaspé to fish for
Atlantic mackerel which abounded in the area. They were more than from their home of
Stadacona, on the site of present day
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
. The Stadaconians met the French "very familiarly" probably indicating previous trading contacts with Europeans.
In his follow-up expedition of 1535 and 1536, Cartier visited several Iroquoian villages north of ''
Île d'Orléans'' (near present-day Quebec), including the villages of ''Stadacona'' and ''
Hochelaga'' in the vicinity of modern-day
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. Archaeologists in the 20th century have unearthed similar villages further southwest, near the eastern end of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
and are finding evidence of additional discrete groups of St. Lawrence Iroquoians.
[James F. Pendergast. (1998). "The Confusing Identities Attributed to Stadacona and Hochelaga"](_blank)
''Journal of Canadian Studies'', Volume 32
At just about the period Jacques Cartier contacted them,
Basque whalers started to frequent the area in yearly campaigns (peaking at around 1570–80), holding friendly commercial relations with Saint Lawrence Iroquoians and other natives. The
Basques
The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...
referred to them as ''Canaleses,'' probably derived from the Iroquoian word "kanata" which means settlement or village.
Basques and American natives of the Labrador-Saint Lawrence area
developed a simplified language for the mutual understanding, but it shows a strong
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...
imprint.
Demise
The archaeologist Anthony Wonderley found 500-year-old ceramic pipes in present-day
Jefferson County, New York that were associated with the St. Lawrence Iroquoians and the tribes of the Haudenosaunee. Their use appear to have been related to diplomatic visits among the peoples, and he suggests they indicate a territory of interaction that may have preceded the Iroquois confederacy. Related design elements and long recounting in Iroquois oral histories have been significant.
By the time the explorer
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...
arrived and founded Quebec in 1608, he found no trace of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians and settlements visited by Cartier some 75 years earlier. Historians and other scholars have developed several theories about their disappearance: devastating wars with the
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
tribes to the south or with the
Huron
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
s to the west, the impact of epidemics of
Old World diseases
The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in ...
, or their migration westward toward the shores of the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
.
Innis guessed that the northern hunting Indians around
Tadoussac traded furs for European weapons and used these to push the farming Indians south.
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
evidence and the historical context of the time point most strongly to wars with the neighbouring Iroquois tribes, particularly the
Mohawk. Located in eastern and central New York, they had the most to gain in war against the St. Lawrence Iroquians, as they had the least advantageous territorial position in the area in relation to hunting and the
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
along the St. Lawrence River. French trading was then based at ''
Tadoussac'', downstream at the mouth of the
Saguenay River, within the territory of the ''
Innu
The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
''. The Mohawk wanted to get more control of the St. Lawrence trade routes connecting to the Europeans. During this period, Champlain reported that the
Algonquian peoples were fearful of the powerful Iroquois. The anthropologist
Bruce G. Trigger
Bruce Graham Trigger (June 18, 1937 – December 1, 2006) was a Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist, and ethnohistorian. He was appointed the James McGill Professor at McGill University in 2001.
Life
Born in Preston, Ontario (now part of ...
believes the political dynamics were such that the Huron were unlikely to enter Iroquois territory to carry out an attack against the St. Lawrence people to the north. In the mid- to late-16th century, the St. Lawrence Valley was likely an area of open conflict among tribes closer to the river. Because nothing remained of their settlements, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians appeared to have been overwhelmed by other groups. Some St. Lawrence Iroquoian survivors may have joined the neighbouring
Mohawk and
Algonquin tribes, by force or by mutual agreement.
By the time Champlain arrived, the Algonquins and Mohawks were both using the Saint-Lawrence Valley for
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
grounds, as well as a route for war parties and raiding. Neither nation had any permanent settlements upriver above Tadoussac, the trading post in the lower St. Lawrence Valley which had been important for years in the fur trade.
Historical debates
Although historians and other scholars have been studying the St. Lawrence Iroquoians for some time, such knowledge has been slower to be part of common historical understanding. The hypothesis about the St. Lawrence Iroquoians helps explain apparent contradictions in the historical record about French encounters with natives in this area.
The origins of the word ''
canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
'', from which the nation derived its name, offers an example of the changes in historical understanding required by new evidence. By ''canada'', the St. Lawrence Iroquoians of ''Stadacona'' meant "village" in their language. Cartier wrote, ''"
z (sic) appellent une ville Canada'' (they call a village 'Canada')". Cartier applied the word to both the region near ''Stadacona'' and the St. Lawrence River that flows nearby.
Both the ''
Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available for ...
'' (1985) and various publications of the Government of Canada, such as "The Origin of the Name Canada" published by the
Department of Canadian Heritage, suggest instead the former theory that the word "Canada" stems from a Huron-Iroquois word, ''kanata'', that also meant "village" or settlement.
Historians now know that Cartier could not have encountered either the Iroquois or Huron, as neither group lived in the St. Lawrence valley in the 16th century. The account of Canada's name origin reflects theories first advanced in the 18th and 19th centuries. General texts have not kept up with the discrediting of such earlier theories by the linguistic comparative studies of the later 20th century. For instance, the "Huron-Iroquois theory" of word origin appeared in the article on "Canada" in the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' of 1996.
The earlier mystery of ''
annedda'' also shows how historical understanding has been changed by recent research. When Cartier's crew suffered
scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
during their first winter in Canada, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians provided them with a remedy, an herbal
infusion made of the ''annedda''. The French recorded this as the St. Lawrence Iroquoian name of the
white cedar White cedar may refer to several different trees:
* Bignoniaceae
** ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' - native to Caribbean islands and also cultivated as an ornamental tree
* Cupressaceae:
** ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' – Atlantic white cypress
** ''Cup ...
of the region. Cartier noted the word in his journal. On a later expedition when Champlain asked for the same remedy, the natives he met did not know the word ''annedda''. This fact confused many historians. Given new evidence, it appears that Champlain met
Five Nations Iroquois who, although related, did not speak the same language dialects as the St. Lawrence Iroquoians—thus, they did not know the word ''annedda'' and its reference.
Archaeologists have not determined the exact location of ''Hochelaga''. In the early 20th century historians debated this vigorously and the reasons for its disappearance, but changing interests in the field led in other directions. In the late 20th century, First Nations
activism
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...
, as well as increased interest in history of indigenous peoples renewed attention to the early St. Lawrence Iroquoian villages.
Language
Linguistic studies indicate that the St. Lawrence Iroquoians probably spoke several distinct dialects of their language, often referred to as
Laurentian. It is one of several languages of the
Iroquoian language family, which includes
Mohawk,
Huron-Wyandot and
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
. Jacques Cartier made sparse records during his voyage in 1535-1536. He compiled two vocabulary lists totaling about 200 words. The St. Lawrence Iroquoians may have spoken two or more distinct languages in a territory stretching over 600 km, from Lake Ontario to east of
Île d'Orléans.
Legacy and honours
Extensive archaeological work in Montreal has revealed the 1,000-year history of human habitation on the site. In 1992 a new museum,
Pointe-à-Callière (Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History), opened here to preserve the archaeology and mark new understandings of the city and the St. Lawrence Iroquoians.
"About Pointe-à-Callière"
Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History website, accessed 14 March 2012
Major exhibits have displayed the increasing knowledge about the St. Lawrence Iroquoians:
*1992, ''Wrapped in the Colours of the Earth: Cultural Heritage of the First Nations'', McCord Museum, Montreal, Quebec
*2006-2007, ''The Saint Lawrence Iroquoians: Corn People'', Pointe à Callière, Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, Montreal, Quebec. (The exhibition catalogue was published as a book under the same name.)
See also
* Iroquois settlement of the north shore of Lake Ontario Between 1665 and 1670, seven Iroquois settlements on the north shore of Lake Ontario in present-day Ontario, collectively known as the "Iroquois du Nord" villages, were established by Senecas, Cayugas, and Oneidas. The villages consisted of Gannei ...
Notes
References
*Jacques Cartier. (1545).
Relation originale de Jacques Cartier
'. Paris: Tross (1863 edition). (Vocabulary list on pages 46 to 48)
*Pendergast, James F, and Bruce G. Trigger. ''Cartier's Hochelaga and the Dawson Site.'' Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1972.
*James F. Pendergast. (1998). "The Confusing Identities Attributed to Stadacona and Hochelaga", ''Journal of Canadian Studies,'' Volume 32, pp. 149–167.
*Roland Tremblay. (1999). "Regards sur le passé: réflexions sur l'identité des habitants de la vallée du Saint-Laurent au XVIe siècle", ''Recherches amérindiennes au Québec,'' Volume 29, No.1, pp. 41–52.
*Roland Tremblay. (2006). ''The Saint Lawrence Iroquoians: Corn People,'' Montréal, Qc, Les Éditions de l'Homme (Published in association with exhibit by same name, 2006-2007)
"Book Review: Roland Tremblay. (2006) ''The Saint Lawrence Iroquoians: Corn People''"
''Canadian Journal of Archaeology / Journal Canadien d’Archéologie,'' 2007.
*Bruce G. Trigger and James F. Pendergast. (1978). "Saint Lawrence Iroquoians", in ''Handbook of North American Indians'', Volume 15, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, pp. 357–361.
*Bruce G. Trigger. (1976) "The Disappearance of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians", in ''The Children of Aataentsic: a History of the Huron People to 1660''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's Press, pp. 214–228.
*Juan Francisco Maura. “Nuevas aportaciones al estudio de la toponimia ibérica en la América Septentrional en el siglo XVI”. ''Bulletin of Spanish Studies'' 86. 5 (2009): 577-603.
*Juan Francisco Maura. “Sobre el origen hispánico del nombre ‘Canadá’”. ''Lemir (Revista de literatura medieval y del Renacimiento)'' 20 (2016): 17-52. http://parnaseo.uv.es/Lemir/Revista/Revista20/02_Maura_Juan.pdf
External links
* Virtual Museum of Canada
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity.
Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...
,
The St. Lawrence Iroquoians
' — a virtual exhibit on the people's culture
Further reading
*
* Jamieson, J.B. "The Archaeology of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians." ''The Archaeology of Southern Ontario to A.D. 1650'', Occasional Publication of the London Chapter, OAS, No.5:385-404, 1990.
* Junker-Andersen, Christen. ''Faunal Resource Exploitation Among the St. Lawrence Iroquoians: the Zooarchaeology of the Steward (BfFt-2) Site, Morrisburg, Ontario''. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1984.
* Pendergast, James F., "The Significance of a Huron Archaeological Presence in Jefferson County, New York," a paper read at McMaster University, 20 February 1982, vide Trigger (1985) 351.
* Pendergast, James F. "The St.Lawrence Iroquoians: Their Past, Present and Immediate Future," ''The Bulletin'' (Journal of the New York State Archaeological Association), 102:47-74, 1991.
* Pendergast, James F., Claude Chapdelaine, and J. V. Wright. "Essays in St. Lawrence Iroquoian Archaeology", ''Occasional Papers in Northeastern Archaeology,'' no. 8. Dundas, Ontario: Copetown Press, 1993.
* Trigger, Bruce G., ''Native and Newcomers: Canada's 'Heroic Age' Reconsidered,'' (Kingston and Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1985) 144-8, 351
{{authority control
Extinct Native American tribes
Iroquois
Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands
Native American history of New York (state)
First Nations history in Quebec
First Nations history in Ontario
Native American tribes in New York (state)
Iroquoians