History Alive

It doesn't take much for us to get excited about history.

Through in the chance to walk among a recreated village, smell, touch, see, hear the stories of the past and we are pumped! A friend organized a recent trip to Sainte Marie Among the Hurons, a recreated 17th century unique Jesuit Missionary village, where the french created a community living among the Huron Wendat Nation.

Our guided program focused on Two Cultures : One Land, giving us some insight into who the Jesuits were, why the came to this land, how they lived, how the Wendat and Jesuits impacted one another. We were invited to listen to the stories while were immersed in recreations. The tour guides, dressed in period costumes were informative and entertaining. It always refreshing when we are welcomed to touch the artifacts, ask questions and explore the village.

We were all blown away to learn that when the Jesuits came to this village, they would need to portage for 30 days, carrying three times their body weight (and sometimes piglets or calves), getting out about 50 times to portage (carrying the canoe) over untrimmed trails.

We were also struck by the differences of the two churches with in the community. The one used by the Jesuits on a daily basis, complete with separate room for the priest to prepare for the mass (sacristy), wood floors, no seats. The church the Wendat people went to had dirt floors (to cover the dirt, takes you farther away from the Earth and Great Spirit), birch bark crosses, seats, colour in the embroidered cloths.

We have had many interesting discussions about nations meeting each other, and how they choose to interact after the initial meeting. There are a lot of whys on a moral level and wondering how things would be today if history had been different.

While the trip was very informative and interesting, the kids and I were over the moon to visit with friends. Despite rain the kids gobbled down lunch quickly to run around with each other, constantly clinging to one another. I was happy to have a chance for a catch up and time together. The kids asked to see the photos, and wondered why I didn't get any of the play time- I was too busy enjoying myself!