The Jesuit Relations document describes the interactions between Jesuit missionaries and Indigenous peoples in New France (now North America) in the 17th century. It details the missionaries' observations of Indigenous cultures, languages, religious practices, and their attempts to convert them to Catholicism. It also recounts hardships like an epidemic that turned villages into hospitals. The document provides insights into how Indigenous groups tried to understand natural phenomena and viewed disease as divine punishment for sins or conflicts with other tribes.
2. Introduction This book was written by many different missionaries that traveled to what was known as New France, now North America. It tells their stories of what they went through in the newly discovered land before the settlers and missionaries influenced the land. Reports were sent back annually Missionaries trying to convert natives to cathalocism
3. Chapter 1 This chapter describes the people’s fishing and hunting excursions along with their religious practices. Many people did not know where they came from or their own history so the Indians told fables-stories made up Natives and foreigners punishments greatly differed. They had their own kind of racism back then.
4. Chapter 1 cont. The first publisher in the Jesuit relations was Father Paul Le Jeune He showed how the natives were barely being affected by all the new comers into their country He observed the Montagnais and Algonquins Father Paul Le Jeune gave an insight to their migration patterns, social interactions, and transportation
5. Chapter 3 Jean de Brebeuf observed the Huron culture but ended up being tortured and killed One main observation he made was a comparison in languages He thought the ways of the Huron were foolish but kept it friendly when actually carrying on conversations Aataentsic: their female leader Large community lived in villages
6. Disease Jesuit turned villages into hospitals but they had limited knowledge of medicine Sometimes natural remidies were used but other time the so called doctors would baptise or gamble on the patients to try and heal them They believed their sickness came from the sins Also believed bleed was good for the body- a way too let out excess fluid from the body Chapter 3 cont.
7. Chapter 5 Many natives thought God punished them in different ways like sickness or natural occurrences For example, when an incredibly large earthquake hit, the natives though God was punishing them for the war against Iroquois At the time they were also trying to figure out what we now know as eclipses They thought of nature as evil and ugly They thought nature was God’s way of punishing them
8. Chapter 5 cont. The theme of this chapter is the natives trying to explain common occurrences in nature It also tells about people being punished for their actions, kind of like Karma For example, a man tried to capture a turtle by what he thought was killing it. The turtle woke up and clenched onto the mans skin with his teeth and did not let go
9. Chapter 7 Father Isaac Jogues had a bit of a touch and go relationship with the tribe was attempting to observe, the Mohawks He was captured by them but then escaped just to go back and agree on a peace treaty with them This treaty was created because of the Father’s knowledge of the local language On his second attempt to observe the Mohawks, Father Isaac Jogues was accused of using magic and was killed by the tribe.
10. The killing Because of Father Isaac Joguessupposedly participating in magic, he was brutally killed They tore out his fingernails, was stabbed, beaten with whatever the natives could find, and cut off his nose. Chapter 8 cont.
