SAINTE-MARIE AMONG THE HURONS

In Southern Ontario, in the town of Midland- Simcoe County is this replica of the original mission of Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons. It was the first French mission west of the Ottawa River established in 1639 for the Jesuits. Huronia is the name given today for the area around the southern shores of Georgian Bay. The mission thrived until 1649 when the Jesuits burned and abandoned it after the devastation of the Huron nation by the Iroquois. Author Kenneth E. Kidd wrote a book in 1949 - " The Excavaton of Sainte-Marie I" published by the University of Toronto Press and Elisabeth Tooker wrote " An Ethnography of the Huron Indians- 1615-1649" in 1967. Both give more indepth accounts of the historical significances of the site. There is also a reconstructed Huron village near the mission in Midland that provides an experiential view of life. They are an easy day's jaunt from the GTA through picturesque countryside. Can you tell it is a place I could visit often? I studied the history of Native Canadians several times in my university days. Reading documents like the volumes of The Jesuits Relations and Allied Documents and the travels of Samuel de Champlain gave a deeper appreciation of our history as well as the interplay between our aboriginal people and the newcomers- the white man. However, without reading any history books, both sites can be appreciated and understood. Where I live in Richmond Hill- York Region there were Huron settlements for hundreds of years. The corn that was so prolific here before the advancement of more subdivisions was indicative of the Huron, Neutral and Petun( Tobacco) tribes that depended on it as a staple. I always like to tell new people to my area about the historic base of the corn fields. In case you did not know, the Hurons invented the game of Lacrosse. Are there historic places near you that you visit? Are there periods in Canadian history that attract your interest? Or do you prefer world history? Sainte-Marie among the Hurons and surroundings are worth a trip if you are in Southern Ontario.