I think some of the seminars that stuck with me, was when we talked about the First Nations people, and their origins. We also had a “substitute professor” come in and teach us about all the different First Nations people of Canada before they were divided.
The original 7 people of Canada:
- Salishan (Secwepemc)
- Tsimshian
- Hadaii Gwaii
- Tlingit
- Wakashan
- Kutenaii
- Dene (Chilcotin/Carrier)
This was very educational because I had no idea we were apart of the Salishan people. I always wondered, why I never saw Secwepemc people on the old maps. Knowing this information now changes who I will be researching to get more knowledge about where half of me comes from.
https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1307460872523#chp1
In this seminar we also learned about some of the gritty origins of smallpox, the epidemic it is known to be. My ancestors were decimated to the point of almost no return, but as strong people they were we survived. We survived in small numbers, because we were meant to be the original people of this nation.
https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100028789/1100100028791
To learn about Canada’s First people was just so uplifting, because it meant that we were often reflected upon. It was refreshing to say the least, because it meant my ancestor’s made quite an impact on history.
Another topic that interested me in this course was the Fille du Roi’s Passage.
In the, “A Fille du Roi’s Passage,” by Adrienne Leduc, she talks to her ancestor to try and understand what she could’ve possible be thinking at this time in her life. She goes onto to mention how she can see her praying and how the passage to the “New World” is perilous and dangerous. In the letter there was also talk about receiving a reward for becoming a wife and good behaviour.
Becoming domesticated in this time was very important, because the King wanted to establish a colony in the “New France.” Enough so that he sent 770 young women, who had been abandoned, were poor and even some who were prostitutes. This seems rather like a desperate plea on his part to make sure that this new colony did not fail on his end. The rewards or “dowry’s” that these women were receiving for becoming a wife and other eccentric gifts, were also redundant.
As for in the, “Nagging Wife Revisited; Women and the Fur Trade in New France,” by Jan Noel. It seems that the women are quite comfortable in taking the lead in the fur trades and negotiations with the First Nations people. A few had ten to fifteen children and when their husband died they would remarry. These women in the second article appear to be quite crafty in their ways, by breaking laws and going against what is asked of them to begin with.
These women are just trying to survive in this “New World” by starting off slow and then picking up the pace as they go along. The longer they are in the country, they seem to have established themselves quite quickly enough to survive in this dangerous “New France.”
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tru.ca/eds/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=26105478-fbdc-4d9a-8e61-68dc79981bf7@sessionmgr4009&hid=4208&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#AN=4158120&db=a9h
