Jacques Bruyas (13 July 1635 – 15 June 1712) was born in Lyon, France and entered the

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as a novice in 1651. Bruyas came to the Canadian mission in 1666, arriving at

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 ...

from where he was soon reassigned by Bishop Laval to the newly re-opened

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 ...

missions. He proceeded to the Oneidas in present-day upstate New York. For the most of the time, he had serious problems with the Iroquois and his own health and safety. In 1670, Bruyas moved to the Mohawks and also became the superior of the Iroquois missions. He ministered there with many of the same problems until 1679 when he was transferred to Caughnawaga near Montreal. By 1691, his understanding of the Mohawks had been recognized by Governor Frontenac and from 1693 to 1698, he held the position of the superior of the Canadian mission. From his years of experience with the Iroquois, he became a skilled negotiator and also contributed extensively to the written Mohawk language producing a grammar, a catechism and a prayer-book in Mohawk. He remained at the Caughnawaga mission until his death.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* 1635 births 1712 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Jesuit missionaries in New France Missionary linguists {{Canada-clergy-stub