The document discusses the Jesuit Relations, which were annual reports by French missionaries on their efforts to convert Native Americans to Catholicism. The Relations provided detailed descriptions of indigenous cultures and customs. The Jesuits faced challenges in their missionary work, such as epidemics that some Native groups blamed on the Jesuits. They also had to navigate the conflicts between Native groups like the Hurons and Iroquois, which impacted the Jesuits' missions. Disease, warfare, and trade introduced by Europeans had significant effects on indigenous societies in the 17th century.
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1. How do these primary sources demonstrate the strangeness of cultural encounters on the eve of European exploration of America? What SPECIFIC passages best demonstrate the strangeness and uneasiness that American Indians had towards European explorers?
The first strangeness and uncomfortable that was evident during the first meeting between the American Indians and the Europeans is that there was a deep cultural misunderstanding between them.{why not go to the document: John Heckewelder on the Indians meet the Dutch or go to the document of Peter the Martyr meeting the Tainos Indians? The Montagnais Indians meeting the French? The floating island story? Why not work with those documents? How strange did each culture see each other? Give specific examples from these documents.]{I am unsure who Gray is? What is this source you reference?].Guided by the success of France and Spain in America, the English started their exploration of the new world in 1585, with the journey of Sir Walter Raleigh to the outer banks of the Carolinas. Later English entrepreneurs of the London Company of Virginia met the Powhatan Indians. When the English tried to assert power over the natives, the Powhatan on the other, hand were planning to use the English to strengthen their confederacy in regional intertribal competition. [elaborate: give specific examples from the document you are interpreting} The struggle between the two groups led to the introduction of skills and goods of the other culture into theirs.
5.How did John Smith describe Powhatan Indian religion? In what ways did he demonstrate European bias?
The Powhatan people like other American Indian tribes were very spiritual people whose religion was founded on animism. The Powhatans, much like the northeastern woodland Indians believed in the interaction between the physical and the spiritual world. They believed in an all including spirit—the power of everything, the Great Spirit (Brébeuf, 2008). The English Captain John Smith observed the religious practices of the Powhatans. Through his observations we see both the strangeness of Indian religion to European eyes and the bias lenses of Smith. {now give me SPECIFIC observations of smith to demonstrate his non-understanding of their religion and how he demonstrated his belief that the Powhatans were pagan] Also, Powhatan believed in demon spirit and in medicine men who acted as spiritual intermediates. The sequence of gods that the natives worshiped was offered gifts to gain favor for the hunt. . {Give me a specific example from the document] The European bias was evident in Smith letter where it is clear that converting from unbelief to belief or heathen to Christian depended on the New World project plantation that used substation. {Give me a specific example from the document] (John Smith describes Powhatans 97-98)
8.How do these ...
2. Intro. The Jesuit Relations the most important set of documentary materials on the seventeenth century encounter of Europeans and native North Americans. The Relations in essence are annual reports of French missionaries of the Society of Jesus on their efforts to convert the “Pagan Savages” to Catholic Christianity. The key to the popularity of the Relations then and no, is the detailed description of the custom, habits, and cultures of various native nations. The Jesuits were members of a religious order, the Society of Jesus and like monks, nuns, and friars of the other orders, they took special vows of poverty and obedience that distinguish then from regular parish priest. The late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries saw religious revival sometimes known as the Counter Reformation or the Catholic Reformation.
3. Intro. During the first few decades, missionary efforts had a dual focus: While some Jesuits tried to convert the Montagnais and Algonquin, others traveled far into the interior to proselytize the Hurons. Trouble arose when it became clear that Christianity was an exclusive and intolerant religion. When epidemics struck, the Hurons tended to blame the Jesuits. In the middle decades of the century, recurrent war with the Iroquois was crucial to the fate of the Jesuits and their missions. Finally, peace was secured in the 1660s, when one by one, the Five Nations came to terms with the French and their native allies.
4. Chapter 1 The Algonquin-Montaganais spiritual belief & practices were a great interest to the Jesuits. The Indian saw animals, as well as natural phenomena like thunder & water falls as possessing their sole, or personalities. The Anthropologists called their religion Animism. The Indians had certain kinds of sprits of light & air called Khichikouai. The Khichikouai are said to be connected with future events, and saw very far into it. The Jesuits didn’t get to see how they were summoned. There were large ceremonies like in a church way. These were lead by Shamans. The French didn’t think too much about the predictions. This was because they tried to change their voice, and they would never really commit their self, to the predictions. When it came to disputes and Discipline Paul Le Jeune got an early lesson. He found out how the Alogonquin’s handled assaults and injuries. In 1633 he saw the Alogonquin & Nipissings in court. The Montagnais and Algonquins were technically sophisticated and excelled in transportation. They are content and thus never get angry.
5. Chapter1 One law they have is the “Two Progenitors of the Seasons”. One is Nipinoukue he brings the spring and summer. The other is Popounoukhe the bringer of winter. Paul Le Jeune has learned a few things about Indian law, that also takes knowing animal behavior. The Indians had no administrative offices, no civil regulations, nor dignities, nor positions of command. They had no devil and no need to acquire wealth.. They have them self to the chief as leader. Paul was told many times that the Indians never get angry. He did hear on e Indian say one time the word Ninchcatihin that means I am angry. Men leave the household arrangements to the women. They also divide the food and decide how much you get to eat. Cooperate very well Education and instructions are lacking
6. Chapter 2 Jean De Bredbuf searched the Huron’s religion for comparison with Christians myth about the flood. He found that they were aware of the true god, but the memory had dimmed, he hoped to revive it. They had a female god named Aataentsic and she bought forth two sons that had a quarrel and one killed the other. They Hurons’s believed that the animals did not roam free at the beginning of the world. They were to be jailed in a great cave. This is where the spirit Iouskeha guarded them. The connection is how this is connected to Adam and how God brought animal to him. The greater part of their languages is composes of vowels. They are unwilling to acknowledge god. They take pride in deriving their origin from heaven.
7. Chapter 2 They believe that Iouskeha is the sun and Aataentsic is the moon. The address themselves to the earth, the rivers, the lakes and the sky in the belief that these things are animate and some sprit resides there. They believe that fish, deer, and mosses are possessed of reason and do not throw their bones to the dogs. They have a faith in dreams. The dream is the oracle that these people consult and listen to.
8. Chapter 3- Disease & Medicine They believed illness were causes by demons. Shamans would prescribe dances, sports, and gambling has cures. The patient would always profess to be cures afterward, even if they were not. In 1637 the Hurons were struck by influenza. The Jesuits were inconveniences, but the natives were devastated Some Hurons approached the Jesuits for help from God. Some blamed the Jesuits for the illness and planned to kill them. The priority of the Jesuits was saving souls, and when epidemics struck, they put most of their efforts toward baptizing the dying rather than saving the living. The medical specialist which were Shamans of the native had no aim other than to help the sick recover.
9. Chapter 3 Two years later smallpox hit and killed more natives. They blamed the Jesuits once again. The Jesuits were no longer allowed to approach the sick and were dreaded as sorcerers. The Huron Shamans and the Jesuits both called on their duties to cure the sick. The Jesuits considered the real battle to be over how the disease was understood not the disease itself. They administered medicine derived from roots, bark or leaves of particular plants and trees. The natives did not see disease as a purely physical problem. Rather it is a metal issue.
10. Chapter 4 The impact of the Jesuits missionaries was dependent upon the wars that broke out between the Hurons and Iriquois. The missionaries directly effected the diplomacy of the tribes. Native Wars go to be vicious due to the trade of Europen goods to them. Disease, trade and contact gave them only sharper knifes for killing. The Indians had a method of communication, it was the Wampum or belt. The French called it a , collier. It was a basic mnemonic device that fills the function of the alphabet. All messages were mimed before an audience and made real thru the use of Wampum. Peace depended on the Five Nations to do one thing, make no war on the Hurons any longer.
11. Chapter 4 Armed conflict pitted Christian forces against Iriquois, allowing the Jesuits to adopt the rhetoric of crusader narratives. Native wars became more intense and deadly in the 17th century due to the adoption of erupted weaponry and the pressure caused by epidemics and trade.
