Jesuit Relations from New France
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Writing Amerindian Culture: Ethnography in the Seventeenth Century Jesuit Relations from New France by Micah R. True Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Michèle Longino, Supervisor ___________________________ Roberto Dainotto ___________________________ Laurent Dubois ___________________________ Alice Kaplan ___________________________ Walter Mignolo ___________________________ Orin Starn Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2009 ABSTRACT Writing Amerindian Culture: Ethnography in the Seventeenth Century Jesuit Relations from New France by Micah R. True Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Michèle Longino, Supervisor ___________________________ Roberto Dainotto ___________________________ Laurent Dubois ___________________________ Alice Kaplan ___________________________ Walter Mignolo ___________________________ Orin Starn An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2009 Copyright by Micah R. True 2009 Abstract This dissertation examines ethnographic writing in the Jesuit Relations, a set of annual reports from missionaries in New France to Society of Jesus authorities in France that were published and widely read from 1632 to 1673. Drawing on currents in cultural anthropological thought about the complex relationship between anthropologists, their subjects, and the texts they produce, I analyze how the Relations allowed Jesuit missionaries to define for French readers Amerindian cultures, European‐Amerindian interactions, and the health and success of the colony and the mission for forty years, almost without competition, giving them extraordinary influence over perceptions of the Amerindian Other at the very moment that France’s interest therein was being piqued by an increasing awareness of the world outside of Europe. The texts now are lauded as the première source of information on the Algonquian and Iroquoian groups with which the Jesuits were in contact in seventeenth century New France. In this dissertation, I examine the ways Jesuits conveyed information about Amerindian groups, focusing on the rhetorical aspects of their accounts that have been largely ignored by social scientists who have mined the texts for data. Instead of considering the Relations as a collection of facts recorded by diligent field workers, I seek to understand them as texts that reflect multiple points of view and the political, religious, and intellectual pressures acting on their French Catholic authors. Were Amerindians human? If so, were they created in iv Eden along with the ancestors of Europeans? How could one explain their presence in America, with little apparent knowledge of their origins? And if they were human and of the same stock as European Christians, how could one explain the fact that their beliefs and behavior were so different from those of their French Christian interlocutors? These questions, I argue, left an enduring mark on the Jesuits’ descriptions of Amerindian cultures, making their texts less the work of proto‐anthropologists than a form of intellectual colonization. v For Tom, Shelley and Nick True and For Kim Dao vi Contents Abstract .........................................................................................................................................iv List of Figures ...............................................................................................................................ix Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................x 1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1 1.1 The Society of Jesus in New France .............................................................................14 1.2 The Jesuits’ Missionary Objects....................................................................................24 1.3 The Jesuit Relations ........................................................................................................37 1.4 Theoretical Orientation..................................................................................................47 2. “Leur Cognoissance n’est que Ténèbres”: Amerindian Creation Myths in the Jesuit Relations ........................................................................................................................................66 2.1 The Huron Creation Myth.............................................................................................80 2.2 The Montagnais Myth....................................................................................................99 2.3 The Algonquin Myth....................................................................................................116 2.4 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................126 3. “Des Agneaux Entre Des Loups”: Amerindian Cruelty, Mission Politics, and Conversion in the Jesuit Relations............................................................................................130 3.1 Torture and Conversion: the case of Joseph the Iroquois Captive ........................148 3.2 The Blood‐thirsty Iroquois: Torture, Cannibalism and Politics.............................175 3.3 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................204 4. “La Foy Entre Par l’Oreille:” Amerindian Languages and Missionary Authority......211 4.1 Jesuit vs. Recollet ..........................................................................................................220 vii 4.2 Des Langues Fortes Pauvres et Fortes Riches: Amerindian Languages in the Jesuit Relations ..............................................................................................................................235 4.3 “Maistre et Escolier”: The Jesuits as Language Learners........................................255 4.4 “Je Forge des Mots Approchans de Leurs Langues:” The Jesuits as Inventors of Amerindian Languages .....................................................................................................269 4.5 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................279 5. Conclusion: Jesuits in Space ................................................................................................283 Appendix: Comments on Critical Editions of the Jesuit Relations, with Concordance....298 Works Cited ...............................................................................................................................330 Biography...................................................................................................................................344 viii List of Figures Figure 1: Map of New France’s 17th century Amerindian population ...............................30 Figure 2: Frontispiece of the 1636 Relation ………………………………………………….42 ix Acknowledgements A number of individuals and institutions have contributed significantly to this dissertation. In particular, I am deeply grateful to Professor Michèle Longino of Duke University, whose unflagging support, clear‐eyed advice, and generous sharing of her time, experience and insight have made this dissertation immeasurably better. I could not have asked for a better mentor, both during and before my close work with her on the current project. I also wish to thank Duke professors Roberto Dainotto, Laurent Dubois, Alice Kaplan, Walter Mignolo and Orin Starn, who gave input at crucial moments in the project’s development and gave freely of their time and expertise. Professors John Steckley of Humber College, Luca Codignola of the University of Genoa, and Vincent Grégoire of Berry College also graciously provided guidance, and I thank them for their interest in my work. The Graduate School of Duke University, the Department of Romance Studies, the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, and the Center for Canadian Studies provided financial support throughout my graduate student career, including summer funding and relief from teaching duties that allowed me to give my undivided attention to this project, which is, I am sure, much better for their generous support. I also wish to thank professors Françoise Kuester and Benjamin Semple of Gonzaga University, who first piqued my interest in French literature. Without their timely influence, I doubt that I would have found myself on the x challenging and rewarding path that led to this dissertation. Looking even further back in my life, I must acknowledge my debt to Tom Morphet and Bonnie Hedrick at the Chilkat Valley News in Haines, Alaska, who taught me to write quickly and succinctly, and instilled in me an enduring love of language. I wish to thank my family—Tom, Shelley and Nick True—for their consistent support and interest in my work. Last but not least, I am grateful to Dr. Kim Dao for her support, and the patience and tolerance that it must have taken to maintain a relationship with a Ph.D. candidate