Maple History: A Canadian History Podcast

The Jesuit priest Father Jean de Brebeuf spend over 20 years in Wendake and New France with a deep desire to suffer for the glory of God. Saving souls and martyrdom were never far from his mind. When the Haudenosaunee made there large scale attack in 1649 martyrdom also came knocking for Jean de Brebeuf. Or was it martyrdom at all?****Very graphic descriptions of torture in this one - I didn't leave anything outSources:Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark BourrieThe Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerThe Jesuit Relations: A Biography by Micah TrueCarson, James Taylor. “Brébeuf Was Never Martyred: Reimagining the Life and Death of Canada's First Saint.” Canadian Historical Review 97, no. 2 (June 2016): 222-243. utppublishing.com 

March 16, 1649 was a fateful day for the Wendat Confederacy. An attack by the Haudenosaunee led to difficult decisions needing to be made for the survival of the Wendat people. SourcesThe Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerNatives and Newcomers: Canada's Heroic Age Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerDispersed But Not Destroyed by Kathryn Magee LabelleBlackhawk, Ned. “The Destruction of Wendake (Huronia), 1647–1652.” In The Cambridge World History of Genocide, edited by Ned Blackhawk, Ben Kiernan, Benjamin Madley, and Rebe Taylor, 243–266. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023.Blick, Jeffrey P. “The Iroquois practice of genocidal warfare (1534–1787).” Journal of Genocide Research3, no. 3 (2001): 405–429.Otterbein, Keith F. “Huron vs. Iroquois: A Case Study in Inter-Tribal Warfare.” Ethnohistory 26, no. 2 (Spring 1979): 141–152.Magee, Kathryn. “They Are the Life of the Nation: Women and War in Traditional Nadouek Society.” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 28, no. 1 (2008): 119–138.

A fragile peace fails and the destruction of the Wendat Confederacy begins. In this episode, we cover the legendary battles, the winter assault on St. Ignace and St. Louis, and the catastrophic losses that sent thousands fleeing to Ste. Marie. Part One of a two-part series.SourcesThe Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerDispersed But Not Destroyed by Kathryn Magee LabelleNatives and Newcomers: Canada's Heroic Age Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerBlick, Jeffrey P. “The Iroquois practice of genocidal warfare (1534–1787).” Journal of Genocide Research3, no. 3 (2001): 405–429.Otterbein, Keith F. “Huron vs. Iroquois: A Case Study in Inter-Tribal Warfare.” Ethnohistory 26, no. 2 (Spring 1979): 141–152.Magee, Kathryn. “They Are the Life of the Nation: Women and War in Traditional Nadouek Society.” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 28, no. 1 (2008): 119–138.

As Christianity spread among the Wendat, faith became a fault line. This episode explores the growing conflict between converts and traditionalists, and how spiritual change reshaped community life during a moment of crisis.Sources:The Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerCrosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark BourrieDispersed But Not Destroyed by Kathryn Magee LabelleThe Huron-Wendat Feast of the Dead by Erik R. SeemanNatives and Newcomers: Canada’s Heroic Age Reconsidered by Bruce G. TriggerHuron Wendat: The Heritage of the Circle by Georges E. Sioui

A brief portrait of Hélène Boullé, whose life is often reduced to a line in Champlain’s story. This episode pauses to look at her on her own terms. Sources:Marie-Emmanuel Chabot, o.s.u., “BOULLÉ, HÉLÈNE, named de Saint-Augustin (Champlain),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed October 26, 2025, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/boulle_helene_1E.html.Raymonde Litalien, “CHAMPLAIN, SAMUEL DE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed October 26, 2025, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/champlain_samuel_de_1E.html.Landry, Marc-André. “L’histoire singulière d’Hélène Boullé : mariée à de Samuel de Champlain alors qu’elle n’avait que 12 ans.” Le Journal de Montréal, May 31, 2025. https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2025/05/31/lhistoire-singuliere-dhelene-boulle-mariee-a-de-samuel-de-champlain-alors-quelle-navait-que-12-ansFischer, David Hackett. Champlain’s Dream: The European Founding of North America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008

In the 1630s, epidemics spread through Wendake and caused profound loss. This episode looks at how those outbreaks unfolded and how Wendat communities lived through that decade.Sources:The Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerCrosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark BourrieDispersed But Not Destroyed by Kathryn Magee LabelleThe Jesuit Relations edited by Allan GreerJesuit Relations - online

The Huron Carol is the first Canadian Christmas Carol but the version we are most familiar with isn't the one that would have been sung by the early Wendat Christian. The original version written by Jean de Brébeuf has a much stronger connection to the Indigenous people he worked with, and when we listen to that version, we can hear not just a Christmas story, but an attempt to bridge two very different ways of understanding the world.1927 Version (the familiar hymn)Jean de Brebeuf's lyrics in EnglishJean de Brebeuf lyrics in Wendat/WyendotMi'kmaw VersionSources:Sanborn, Raymond Joseph. 2016. In Search of the Huron Carol (Jesous Ahatonnia): Canada’s First Christmas Carol. Doctoral thesis, Graduate Theological Foundation. epe.lac-bac.gc.cSteckley, John. 2014. “Huron Carol: a Canadian cultural chameleon.” British Journal of Canadian Studies 27, no. 1 (2014): 55–74. Jesuit Online Bibliography