Opinion: the debate on the Champlain monument

By Ben Cousineau

Recently, debate has gripped the area formerly known as, “Wendake”. A certain monument has been removed from a local park for restoration purposes, and it is scheduled to return in May 2018. This monument and its return to its home for the past 93 years is a source of contention for many people.

The monument is known as the Champlain Monument. It is located in Orillia, Ontario.

Debate will rage on for eternity. There will always be those who feel the monument is racist in its depiction of Champlain standing high above the First Nations men, who themselves are seen hunched beneath a priest wielding a cross. On the contrary, there will always be those who feel the monument isn’t racist, but rather, tells a story of the French-Canadian advent into the “New World”; a rugged tale of wilderness and conquering of the unknown. It’s likely we’ll never reach a peaceful medium between the two.

Art is open to interpretation. What you see is not what I will see, and vice versa. Each viewer of art carries with them their own biases, preconceptions, and personality. We question minute details (i.e., ‘is she smiling?’). Thus, interpretation is a wildly varied thing. The story that we interpret from this work of art is what fuels these heated debates. Lost in the monument, which in and of itself is a magnificent work of art, is a story.

Of course, stories and history are interpretations as well. The history of Champlain in Wendake is a story that was recorded by his French compatriots. Amidst the tales of deft political strategies and ingenious navigational decisions (sarcasm), is the one where Champlain was saved by the Wendat.

In a 1615 battle against the Haudenosaunee at a fort at Onondaga, things went terribly wrong for the Wendat and Champlain. Champlain wrote that arrows “fell upon us like hail”. Two Wendat Chiefs were wounded and Champlain himself took several arrows to his leg. He fell, wounded, and unable to walk.

Champlain’s First Nations allies – the Wendat and the Algonquin – ceased fighting. They recognized the Onondaga fort was too strong, and despite Champlain’s orders, his allies refused to advance again, recognizing death would be certain. Champlain, the Wendat, and the Algonquin decided to wait a few days in hopes of the Susquehannock arriving to provide support. By October 16, 1615, the Susquehannock still hadn’t arrived. The Wendat and Algonquin decided to go home.

Champlain was angry at this decision, as he felt the battle could still be won. Champlain wrote, “they must be excused, for they are not trained soldiers, and moreover they do not submit to discipline or correction, and do only what they think right”.

The Wendat and Algonquin began to organize their escape from the area. Complicating matters was the issue of the wounded, immobilized Frenchman: Champlain. The wounded and elderly were placed in the middle of the group, for safety, and strong warriors were placed at the front and the rear. The fleeing group was chased by the Onondaga for some time, but they managed to escape.

The Wendat and Algonquin used large baskets to carry the wounded, Champlain included. The baskets were strapped to the backs of the strongest warriors, who would carry the wounded (who were also bound like babies) to safety. Champlain was carried on the back of unnamed warriors for 75 miles to Lake Ontario.

Of his being carried to safety, Champlain said, “it caused the wounded great and extreme pain. I can say this indeed with truth from my own case, having being carried for several days because I was unable to stand, chiefly because of the arrow in my knee. Never did I find myself in such a hell as during this time, for the pain I suffered from the wound in my knee was nothing in comparison with what I endured tied and bound on the back of one of our Indians. This made me lose patience, and as soon as I was able to stand, I got out of this prison or more accurately this hell that I was in.”

Upon reaching Lake Ontario, Champlain insisted he be chauffeured back to Quebec. The Chiefs said no. There were no extra canoes, and with snow already falling, winter was coming. The Wendat and Algonquin couldn’t risk the journey up the St. Lawrence. Champlain was very unhappy. Although he was almost certainly just spared from notorious Iroquoian torture and death, he demonstrated no appreciation.

“Not being able to do anything, I had to resign myself to be patient”, wrote Champlain.

Champlain spent four months with the Wendat in Wendake (Simcoe/Grey/Bruce regions). During this time, he studied the Wendat and their culture. Champlain was given the cabin belonging to Chief Atironta (aka Darontal) as his residence. He was allowed to hunt, to feast, and to take part in ceremony. For the winter of 1615-1616, Champlain was welcomed into a Wendat village (Cahiague, the largest city in North America north of Mexico). Champlain spent the winter travelling throughout Wendake, or as he called it, “Huronia”.

During one hunt, Champlain got lost chasing a partridge. A cartographer by trade, Champlain found himself lost with no map nor a compass. He spent 3 days in the bush, managing to kill and eat a few birds. Finally, he found his way back to camp. The Wendat were angry at Champlain for having gotten lost, and assigned him a compass as well as a guide to always accompany him on his explorations.

Champlain grew to appreciate the Wendat. He admired their agricultural, hunting, and fishing skills and knowledge. He recognized their intellectual abilities, their physical strength, and their incredible craftsmanship. Champlain also wrote praises of the Wendat temperament, which was generally cheerful and positive.

Regardless, Champlain hated the ill-conceived fact that the First Nations had “no faith, no law, and no king”. Despite his stay in Wendake, Champlain simply didn’t understand the culture. Ethnocentric to a fault, Champlain never grasped the socio-cultural structures of the Wendat, and chastised them for what he perceived to be savage and primitive customs. A lack of early understanding by men such as Champlain, led to devastating future consequences for First Nations people.

Champlain left Wendake following the winter. The writings he left behind have fueled anthropological study for decades. His writings told his tale in the area, and presumably led to the decision to create and install the monument celebrating his presence.

Over 400 years later, the Champlain Monument now tells several stories, depending on who you ask. The story that we must all be reminded of is the one above. Left at the hands of the Haudenosaunee, Champlain faced certain death, and worse, torture. Instead, he was carried from danger and then paddled and portaged into Wendake. Champlain was welcomed into a Wendat village, and taken care of through his recovery as well as the rest of the winter.

Perhaps there is something to learn from the story of Champlain being saved by the Wendat.