Charles Pachirini & Marie Oukioutiabanoukoue

Marie Oukioutiabanoukoue Biography
This author's eighth great-grandmother Version 8 March 8, 2001
Copywright © 2001
Norm Léveillée
Dokkirann - Dokima

The Algonquin woman, her heart weighing heavily with grief, fanned the embers of her fire covered with sage, sweetgrass, tobacco and cedar, sending billows of sacred smoke towards the Great Spirit as she sang a song of mourning. For days, she had prayed the same chant to Tabaldak, her Algonkin Creator, and to Nemitokusena, her Christian God the Father. She prayed that her mourning chant would give her a vision of what had happened to three people, her husband and two children, whom she loved and who loved her so dearly. Mite8ameg8k8e received comfort as she watched the sacred smoke rise towards the sky, bringing her prayerful pleas to the Great One, on this day of Spring (April 1652).
"Respect for feelings, and for suffering. Always show compassion. Do not add to the suffering."

Several days before, a band of Iroquois warriors had attacked her village, the village to which Assababich, her husband, her two children and a very close cousin had fled when the Iroquois had pushed the Hurons, then the Algonkins from the fertile Ottawa River Valley (border between Ontario and Québec). Led by Sachem Pachirini, chief of the Weskarini Band of the Christian Algonquin people, the peaceful clan, along with the French Colonists at Trois-Rivières had fought valiantly. The women and children had fled into the forest while the remaining warriors and soldiers fought to save their peaceful village. During the flight into the woods, Assababich's two children were abducted and eventually adopted by the Iroquois, along with Kahontake (Kahenta), a cousin of Mite8ameg8k8e. Two young children of the French colonists, named Radisson and Crevier, along with a group of Algonquins and French were also abducted and brought back to Ossernenon, village of the Mohawks, to be adopted to replace lost members or taken as prisoners. Many of the French soldiers were spared, among whom was Pierre Couc dit (aka) Lafleur, a peasant farmer from Cognac, France who came to New France as a colonist, soldier and farmer.

Later that Spring, Pierre Couc and an Algonquin went fishing along the river when shooting began. They were both struck, with the Algonquin dying and Pierre being wounded lightly.

The Iroquois attacks were carried out throughout the summer. The new governor of Trois-Rivières led his garrison into a suicidal mission to attempt to stop the raids. Many soldiers were lost. Pierre Couc and Pierre Boucher were among the survivors.

Marie Oukioutiabanoukoue in her quiet mournful prayer could not help but remember better times. Assababich had taken her as his wife five winters previously (1647). As a result of the Iroquois attacks on the Hurons and Algonquins, her clan moved towards Ville Marie (Montréal). The Algonquins, a peaceful and family oriented people, readily accepted the teachings of the Catholic Jesuits. Mite8ameg8k8e was born about twenty winters before (1631-1633), in the "Nations des Ouionontateronon", the Weskarini Band of the Algonkin Tribe, in the area between the Ottawa and the St-Maurice rivers in Québec. She was baptized in Montréal two winters before (6 Nov 1650) and was given the Christian name of Marie as well as Kakesik8k8e. Her husband Assababich was born thirty-two winters before (1620) and was most likely baptized nine winters before (1643) at the same time as was Pachirini, who received the Christian name of Carolus or Charles. Sachem Pachirini's clan moved further northeast, towards the established fort of Trois-Rivières, where Carolus Pachirini was granted a fiefdom. The fort at Trois-Rivières would serve as protection against any further attacks by the Iroquois. Marie and Assababich's daughter Catherine was born five winters previously (1647) during their travel towards Trois-Rivières. A second child was born and baptized Pierre before his parents (6 May 1650). Witnesses were Assababich, Miteoumigoukoui (French spelling) and Pierre DesChamps. Catherine was baptized this very year (1 Nov 1652) in Trois-Rivières. The witnesses for Catherine's baptism were Assababich, Marie Mite8ameg8k8e and Anne Duherisson. Father Joseph Duperon, Jesuit priest performed the baptism.

Except for the constant threat of attacks by the enemy, life for the First Americans tended to be quiet and work-filled. The men hunted and fished for food and shelter. The women harvested corn, beans, squash, berries, and nuts; they prepared the meals; they made clothing from tanned hides. They cared for the shelter, making it comfortable for their family. The Indians and the French Colonists had adapted to a peaceful way of life, despite the hardships that befell them: enemy attacks, the harsh winters, disease. The Algonquin people being family oriented, adapted very easily to the way of life of the colonists. The colonists in turn accepted the way of the First Nations people. This union was realized in this valley around Trois-Rivières and later in St-François-du-Lac.
"Respect for individual space. Don't use people. Respect each being's life, limb, land, privacy and property, including your own."

Marie Oukioutiabanoukoue and the remaining members of her clan suffered another terrible year (1653). The harvest had been burned, the livestock massacred, trading had been reduced to zero, there was no food. The Iroquois had returned on a rampage again. The people were living in terror. However, it was the small trading post at Trois-Rivières that saved the situation. Pierre Boucher, an intelligent and brave commander-in-chief, trained in Indian warfare, and his forty-six men, by sheer courage, forced the Iroquois to surrender and a peace treaty was signed. Pierre Couc was one of the soldiers who fought brilliantly during this battle. As a result of the peace treaty, the Jesuits were invited to Iroquois country; the Five Nations were free to trade with Montréal. New France had a short respite.

The many attacks by the Iroquois brought the French and Indians closer together in the little fort. Every member of Sachem Pachirini's clan had been catechized and baptized by the Jesuit Father Buteux. Pierre could have returned to France after his three years of service with the Regiment. However, he was granted land and decided, instead of making his livelihood as a beaver hunter, to settle down. His peasant heritage pushed him to plant roots, to clear land, to cultivate, to found a family and to insure an honorable place for his children in this little corner of the world, called Trois-Rivères.
"Respect for the earth and for all paths, peoples,cultures, and customs growing here. All have a place in the hoop."

Mite8ameg8k8e and her clan citizens Barthelemi Anara8i, Etienne Mag8ch and Marguerite Tchi8ant8k8e continued their life in the Fiefdom Pachirini (today called Place d'Armes), in Trois-Rivières. Marie must have often reminisced about her life with Assababich and her two children. The Algonquins and the French colonists readily adapted to and assisted each other's life style. Marie caught the eye of the soldier-farmer, Pierre Couc, who had purchased land and had established a farm in Trois-Rivières. He was quiet but very brave in the face of danger. He respected all people. Pierre had learned the Algonquian language and frequently served as an interpreter between the colonists and the Native Americans. Mite8ameg8k8e had taken an interest and enjoyed his frequent visits to her village. She had frequently prepared food for his meetings with Sachem Pachirini and other elders of her tribe. Her smile had sent Pierre a message.

Simulated photographs

Pierre had waited until her mourning period had finished before he openly showed interest in Marie. He was friendly with all members of Pachirini's clan who lived in proximity of the fort at Trois-Rivières. He and Marie spent much time talking about their interests, their lives before they met. She helped him perfect his Algonquian; he taught her French. He suggested that they begin a life together; with her heart beating in joyful song, she accepted his proposal. Pierre was thirty years old; Marie was an orphan and a widow who had lost two children. The love between Pierre and Marie was to find fruition in a marriage that was to take place, five winters (16 April 1657) after her family had been taken from her by the Mohawks.

The setting was to be the little chapel of this trading post on the Saint Lawrence River. Many relatives and friends of the fort and village attended the marriage. The Jesuis priest, Father Paul Ragueneau officiated at this Christian-Algonquin marriage. Sachem Charles Pachirini and Barthelemy Anara8i, of Marie's clan, as well as Mister Péré and Sévérin Ameau, friends of Pierre, witnessed the joining of French and Algonquin cultures in the presence of two people in love. There was dancing, laughter and joyful feasting in both traditions: the French and the Algonquin.
Gift-giving is a great Algonquin tradition which puts unselfishness and gratitude to the test. Sharing and giving are the ways of the Great Spirit. When you share the love of our Creator, you help things fall together. Nothing could better express caring for one another than the sharing of food, which comes from Mother Earth and gives life to people, and that is what a Feast is all about.
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Thus began the married life of this author's eighth great-grandmother Marie Mite8ameg8k8e Couc. Their first child, Jeanne was born and baptized that year (1657). Without too much difficulty, Marie and her husband Pierre were able to establish a home. There was a small circle of faithful friends: Pachirini, Anara8i, Anne 8machtik8e8 and her husband 8echipapaiat, Ketimakisk8esen 8abanakik8e and her husband 8atakonia on Marie's side; Sévérin Ameau, notary of Trois-Rivières, Jean Péré, merchant, Jacques Ménard, wheelwright, François Fafard, Christophe Crevier and his wife Jeanne Evart and their son Jean Crevier, Nicolas Hertel and his wife Jeanne Mirot, and their son Jacques Hertel and his wife Marie Marguerie. Pierre had purchased land from the Trottier brothers, enough to build a house and a small garden. He hired himself out as a laborer for Barthélémy Bertaux, ironsmith/locksmith. Pierre and Marie had problems during those first years. Loans were reclaimed. Pierre injured himself and had enormous medical costs. He lost his employment as ironsmith/locksmith.

Two years after the marriage (15 Oct 1659), Pierre commissioned his friend Notary Sévérin Ameau to draw up a Marriage Contract to insure that his wife and children would be rightful heirs to his property.

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That same year, Marie was pregnant with their second child. Marie must have frequently thought about her first two children as she was carrying Pierre's son who was born in the fall of that year and baptized as Louis. However, despite the happiness of a new life in their home, troubles began anew. The Iroquois began their attacks once more. Pierre decided, two years later (1661) to move his family to Cap-de-la Madeleine where he had bought four arpents (acres) of land on the west bank of the river. This was an agricultural community where crops grew well and family life was better than at a trading post like Trois-Rivières. Pierre built his house near the windmill and erected a palisade around it. The house was covered with boards and cedar posts. It was built to ward off the cold: stone and layer of straw and earth protected the cellar; the walls were covered with wooden laths.

Marie Angélique, third child of Pierre and Marie was born the year after the Couc family had moved to their new community (1662). Angélique was to be this author's seventh great-grandmother. Two years later (1664), the third daughter Marguerite was born and baptized. The quiet peace was again disturbed by Iroquois raids. However, over the next five years, the new governor convinced France to send soldiers, the Carignan Regiment, to finally quell the Iroquois attacks. Finally, a peace treaty was signed in the summer (1667). For the next sixteen years, it was an era of calm and prosperity for everyone.

Élizabeth, the fifth child, was born and baptized that summer of the peace treaty, when the Iroquois finally renounced their domination of the Saint Lawrence valley. Mite8ameg8k8e continued instructing her brood in the Algonquian language and culture; Pierre taught his children French and his heritage; and the Jesuits taught their children to read and write. As the family of this author's eighth great-grandparents continued to grow in body and mind, colonization in New France flourished; exploration and conquest of the West had begun.

Over the next six years, two more children were born in the Couc family: Marie Madeleine and a son Jean. During this time, the atmosphere in Cap-de-la-Madeleine had begun to change dramatically. With the departure of the Jesuits in 1666, the Cap became contaminated by the illegal traffic of alcohol. Then on 10 Nov 1668, the sovereign Council granted permission for the legal sale of alcohol, even to the Natives. Pierre's friend Pierre Boucher moved south, closer to Montréal. The change in atmosphere undoubtedly prompted Pierre and Marie to move their family to the seigniory of Jean Crevier, in the Île-de-Fort, which would eventually be known as St-François-du-Lac. Jean Crevier had begun to distribute land grants in the fall of 1673. Marie must have been very proud of her husband, as one of the first five signers of a contract. Crevier had begun to clear the land, had built a village mill and had established justice for this seigniory. There was a poll tax system where a person paid for a right to farm and obtained three to five arpents (acres) in frontage by thirty to forty in depth. The only charge was to leave the fourteenth milling as grinding costs. There was no doubt that these favorable conditions prompted Pierre and Marie to decide to move their home to the other side of the river. Because of his revenues from land at Trois-Rivières and Cap-de-la-Madeleine, the former soldier-peasant became a well-to-do land owner in St-François-du-Lac. By the work of his hands during fifteen years, Pierre Couc had the right to show justifiable pride in his home and sacred land.
Go with the mother earth into the spirit world. Go into the woods and feel the spirit all around us. Watch the animals. Mother earth gives us strength as we sit on it or walk on it. Love the mother earth and take care of the land which holds up our feet.

Life at St-François-du-Lac was very different than that of Trois-Rivières and the Cap. The first three children had learned to read and write because the Jesuits took charge of teaching the basics. In St-François, there was total isolation. There were no priests, only traveling missionaries who came sporadically to administer the sacraments. The last four children had a happy and worry-free childhood of Indian children. They were neither more ignorant nor more uneducated because of the carefree life; they received their education from the adults. The girls learned how to help in the kitchen, in the garden and the sewing of clothing. The youngest son, Jean-Baptiste followed in the footsteps of his father and his older brother in farm work. In addition to skills, the children learned the qualities of self-control, generosity, sharing and respect for elders and for the world around them. Thus, the community of St-François-du-Lac was split between work and family care; it led a very quiet and monotonous life.

Marie Mite8ameg8k8e's quiet life was shattered in the fall of 1679 by the assault and death of her daughter Jeanne. Marie's husband had been wounded in coming to the rescue of his daughter. Jeanne's assailant Jean Rattier was sentenced as a murderer. Jean Crevier and his servant Pierre Gilbert were also involved in the assault. For the Couc family, life was not the same after the tragic loss of their daughter and the lengthy justice process. Pierre was a man of character who would not let anyone ill treat his family; he respected the law and expected others to do so also. Justice had been carried out, but not to his satisfaction. Rattier was sentenced to die but his life was spared because he accepted the job as executioner. Pierre received cash settlements but he was not permitted to implicate Crevier in this matter in the future. Crevier continued to enlarge his domain.

Marie kept these tragic memories in her heart. Frequently she prayed to her Algonquin Creator and her Christian God to give her strength to forgive the wrongdoers and to continue her life with her family. However, her young daughters, Marguerite, Élizabeth and Madeleine were shocked by the tragedy of their sister. This left a mark on them: a certain mistrust in the government who protected the lords at the expense of the humble. They soon realized that this European culture had little value for the woman. Mite8ameg8k8e continued to instruct her children in the ways of her Indian culture: with the Algonquins, young girls were respected; there was never an instance of rape in their Indian society before the arrival of the white man and his introduction of alcohol. Even though Marie tried to convince her daughters of the value of both cultures, the comparison of the two cultures did not favor the French. Élizabeth especially would not forget this.
"Respect for truth. Show directness and integrity in speech and action."

Marie and Pierre continued to see their family grow and become adults with a succession of marriages. Marie's two oldest children Louis and Angélique were entering into adult life. François Delpée dit St-Cerny (village in Périgod, France) touched the heart of her eldest daughter Angélique: he was thirty-five years old and she was twenty years old. In the summer (30 Aug) 1682, they married and established a home on twelve arpents (acres) of land in St-François-du-Lac.

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François and Angélique had five children, one of whom was Maurice, this author's sixth great-grandfather, who eventually married Thérèse Véronique Petit (1729).

Pierre and Marie's son Louis first married, according to Indian culture, a young Sokoki woman named Madeleine, which marriage was not recognized by the Catholic church (1681). His first son, François was listed as a natural child on the baptismal certificate. Louis later married Jeanne Quiquetig8kie in the winter (Jan) of 1684. Louis had adopted the surname Montour, whose children would become famous Indian interpreters and traders. His second son Jacques Montour was baptized in the spring (May) of that same year. There is no mention of what happened to his first wife.

Maurice Ménard dit Fontaine, the son of wheelwright Jacques Ménard, proposed to Marie's fifth daughter, Marie Madeleine. They were married before the end of the year 1684.

Élizabeth married Joachim Germanau/Germano in the spring of 1684, at the same time as her brother Louis. She was also known as Isabelle. She was seventeen years old and Joachim, who had arrived in 1665 with the Carignan Regiment, was in his forties. Germano had been a trader with the Indians for their pelts, loading them on canoes to transport back to the colony. After ten years of this exciting solitary life, Joachim decided to take a devoted spouse. Élizabeth/Isabelle had been given land in Trois-Rivières and settled there with a generous dowry from her father. Joachim and Isabelle travelled some more after their marriage, to Michillimackinac.

Even though Marie's children had learned to read and write, she had never learned to do so. When she served as a witness to her daughter Isabelle's wedding, Marie had to simply affix her mark - her totem of a bird: raven, hawk or eagle either perched or soaring - to the marriage contract.

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Marguerite married Jean Fafard, son of the merchant Fafard from Évreux, France, in the winter (February) of 1688 in Sorel, because there still was not a chapel at St-François-du-Lac.

The youngest child Jean-Baptiste married an Indian woman named Anne around 1705 in Lachine. She is listed on the marriage certificate as Anne Sauvagesse (female native). She was either Algonquin or Sokoki. Neither Pierre nor Marie witnessed their youngest son's marriage since both had died by that time.

During the winter of 1687, the French invaded the Seneca territory (one of the Iroquois Five Nations). A mediocre victory by the French troops only incited the summer raids of vengeance ravaging the banks of the Saint Lawrence. There was not one single fortified place to resist the enemy. Each seigniory was ordered to build a fort. Crevier received the help of the troops to build his fort. Thus, the village of Saint-François was secure the following winter; the villagers followed their normal life. In the summer of 1688, smallpox created havoc; the Mohawks forced themselves into Sorel, Saint-François and Rivière-du-Loup. There were not many massacres, but the raids were enough to put fear in the inhabitants. New contracts for trappers were written up; work in the fields and commerce in the Saint Lawrence valley were interrupted. The year 1688 and the succeeding years brought more sadness and grief to Marie Mite8ameg8k8e.
"Respect for boundaries and individual differences. Take responsibility for your own choices and distentangle yourself from the choices of others."

Mite8ameg8k8e must have felt a sharp pain of loneliness in her heart when she learned that her son Louis had hired himself out to become a beaver hunter. He joined his two brothers-in-law Germano and Fafard who were experts in this field. The three men were on their return home during the following summer of 1689 when the massacre of Lachine, near Montréal, spread its terror among the families. In November, St-François was attacked; the Iroquois did not attack the fort, but they killed two inhabitants and with flaming arrows burned the newly constructed chapel. From then on, anguish and fear filled the hearts of the villagers. The following year would see even greater calamities.

One of these calamities in 1690 was the death of Marie's life-long love, her husband. Pierre and Marie loved, lived and faced tragedies through thirty-seven years of marriage, combining two cultures into one unique way of life. Pierre Couc, one of the hard-working founders of French Canada, in the presence of his family and a large friendly crowd, was buried, at the age of sixty-three years, beneath the ruins of the chapel of Saint-François where he would stay when his family took refuge in the Trois-Rivières fort. That grave would be a reminder of the heroic simplicity of Mite8ameg8k8e's husband, Pierre Couc dit LaFleur.
"Respect for limitations as well as strengths. Honor both in yourself and others, and no one will be abused."

Little is known about the next nine years of Mite8ameg8k8e's life. Did she live with one of her children in Trois-Rivières? Did she return to her original village in Fiefdom Pachirini? Did she return to the home and land that she and Pierre had built and farmed in St-François-du-Lac to live a life of happy and sad memories? How Marie must have missed her Pierre! Their two hearts had been joined in joyful love, truly a blessing from their Creator. Most certainly, Marie Mite8ameg8k8e Couc had feelings of Pierre's intense love - aritéhañn - in her heart for the remaining years of her life on Mother Earth.
"Respect for yourself, for all aspects, high or low. We all have bodies, hearts, minds, and spirits for a good reason. Spirituality is the relationship between each of them. Conduct your life fully but with dignity. Walk your talk."

Mite8ameg8k8e lived a full life with dignity, respect and love. A courageous and loving Algonquin woman who had realized Samuel de Champlain's dream of "our sons will marry with your daughters and we will be a single people" is remembered in history by a simple Christian record, written by Elisée Crey, Recollet Priest, Pastor of Trois-Rivières, on her burial certificate as a "sauvagesse" - "a female native or savage".

"MADAME LAFLEUR, VEUVE SAUVAGESSE DE MONSIEUR LAFLEUR ..."
"Madame LaFleur, native widow of Mister LaFleur ..."
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In French, it reads:"L'an mil six cent quatre vingt dix neuf Le huitième janvier a esté inhumée dans le Cimetière de la paroisse Nostre Dame des Trois Rivieres Madame Lafleur sauvagesse veuve Monsieur Lafleur après avoir reçu tous les sacrements dans les sentiments d'un véritable Chréstien - par moy prestre, Recolet, faisant les fonctions Curialles, Père Elisée Crey, Recolet."
In English, "The year 1699, the eighth of January was buried in the cemetery of the parish of Notre-Dame of Trois-Rivières Madame Lafleur native widow of Mister Lafleur after having received all the sacrements in the manner of a true Christian - by my hand, a Recolet priest having carried out the pastoral duties, Father Elisée Crey, Recolet."

Epilogue
It is the humble statement "native widow ... in the manner of a true Christian" on her burial certificate that prompted me to write, from the heart, about the faith, courage and love that my eighth great-grandmother had for her Creator, her people, her husband and her family. It is because of her that my family and I are proud to make known to the world that we are descendants of a great Algonquin woman by the name of
Marie MITE8AMEG8K8E Couc
A simulated photograph

Her First Nation blood flows in our veins and
will flow in generations to come through our descendants.

Waji niwaskomak n'pabajigwezijikna wji nd'alnôbawôganna
ta nd'alnôbaiwinawal nd'idambena wliwini.
To the spirits of our ancestors for our Indian birth, and our Indian ways we say thank you.

Waji mziwi n'pabajegwezidnawak noda d'aiyamihawôgannawal alamizwôganek.
To all our ancestors hear our prayers of gratitude.

Amanta Gizitôgwak pagialôbena!
May the Creator of all things bless Us!

"Dokkirann" - "Dokima"
Norm Léveillée
March 8, 2001

Author's notes:
I have liberally adapted the facts from my sources to weave a romantic version of my eighth great-grandmother's life during the colonization of New France during the latter part of the seventeeth century and the integration of the First Nations people and the French into this new world culture. I have also added my interpretation of her feelings and thoughts that might have occurred during her life. This is my gift to my children and grandchildren and to all our descendants. Gift-giving is a great Algonquin tradition which puts unselfishness and gratitude to the test. "Sharing and giving are the ways of God." When you "share the love of our Creator", you help things fall together.

I ask the reader to accept this respectful tribute to my Indian ancestor. (NAL).

Relationship Chart between Mite8ameg8k8e and this author.

The graphics are simulated clipart or photographs; three from "The Black Robe".

Explanation needed: Dokkirann (Algonkin) and Dokima (Western Abenaki) mean the same as "l'éveillé" (French), to enlighten or to awaken someone. I have been a teacher all my life and will continue to do so. (NAL)

I wish to thank all those who contributed to the sources listed below which I used in preparation of this tribute; but most especially Ktsi Oleoneh to the following:.

Dolorès Robillard Benoit, Email messages, 1999-2001, my personal researcher in the archives of Montréal and Québec, Ma chère cousine.
Ktsi oleoneh, nMiradzéss8m. Merci bien. Special Thanks.

Suzanne Sommerville, Email 28 Feb 2001, Comments, and many email messages.
Ktsi oleoneh, Nidoba Merci bien. Special Thanks.

"Bonjour M. Léveillée,
Vous avez la permission de traduire et d'utiliser l'article
en mentionnant la source et la référence.
Micheline Perreault, Directrice générale"
Société Généalogique Canadienne-Française
Email 12/18/2000.
Ktsi oleoneh, Nidoba. Merci bien. Special Thanks.

The symbol "8" in words of the Algonquian language stands for the sound "ou" after a consonant and "w" before a vowel. During the 17th-18th centuries, there were no "ou" or "w" sounds in the French language. Therefore, the Jesuits used the symbol "8" to represent these sounds. The symbol "8" in a word will indicate that it is of the Algonquian language, spoken by many tribes along the east of North America, one of which was the Algonkin or Algonquin.
"1. The sound represented by /8/ is heard in Iroquoian and Algonkian languages. However, the languages of the Huron-Wendat-Outaouais and of the Haudenausonee (the peoples of the long houses), called «Iroquois» by the French, are both Iroquoian tongues. I mispoke, when I referred to Huron as an Algonkian language.
2. The sound represented by /8/ is used to transcribe the phoneme [ou] a vowel sound, and the phoneme [w], a consonant sound.
3. The vowel sound [ou] which is not a diphthong, but a simple vowel, is found in both French and English. The consonant [w] is found in English, but not in French. The difference can be seen clearly in the English and French transcriptions of the other two names of the Hurons: Wendat is clearly an English transcription; Outaouais, just as clearly French (in English, it is, of course, Ottawa).
4. It has been suggested that the /8/ should be transcribed as a consonant [w] before a vowel, and as a vowel [ou] before a consonant. For instance, the name Marie Mite8ameg8k8e, would be transcribed as Mitewamegoukwe." Fr. Owen Taggart, Message in [email protected], 9 July 2002.

The closest word to "Kakesik8k8e" in Abenaki is "Kakasikôkôi" = That which belongs to the great clear sky. Or, "Kakasokwad" = it is a clear sky. It could be referring to the Great Spirit in Father Sky, her soul now belonging to Him.
This translation is the work of Joseph "Elie" Joubert, one of the last speakers of Abenaki. Ktsi Oleoneh, Elie.

Respect for Life: The Seven Points of Respect was weaved into my story to reinforce the dignity and value that Mite8ameg8k8e, as well as all First Nations people, had for life and for Mother Earth.
Ossernenon is present-day Auriesville, NY, the village of Tsaniton-gowa, chief of the Turtle Clan of the Mohawks.

Kahontake or Kahenta, a member of Pachirini's Weskarini Band, after being abducted, was taken as a wife by Chief Tsaniton-gowa, of the Turtle Clan at Ossernenon (Auriesville, NY). She gave birth to a daughter, Tekakwitha, who was named, by the Catholic Church in 1980, as Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha .

"Weskarini. An Algonquian tribe that lived on the north side of Ottawa river below Allumettes Island, Québec, with the people of which they appear to be closely associated in the Jesuit Relations. Petite Nation des Algonquins." Handbook of Indians of Canada, Appendix to the Tenth Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, Ottawa, 1913, Page 509, Reproduced on CD15, Quintin Publications, 1998.

This map of the Location of the Algonquin groups at the beginning of the 17th century situates the Weskarini band between the St-Maurice and Ottawa Rivers in Québec.

Sachem Pachirini's clan was definitely Algonquine/Algonkin. Father Paul Ragueneau also served at Sainte-Marie-among-the-Hurons, and the Algonquines were involved in the transfer of furs back to the colony from Huronia.

If you want "compact" histories of the various tribes, visit:The Algonkin People.
An excerpt:
"Kichesipirini "people of the great river" - largest and most powerful group of Algonkin. Known variously as: Algoumequins de l'Isle, Allumette, Big River People, Gens de l'Isle, Honkeronon (Huron), Island Algonkin, Island Indians, Island Nation, Kichesippiriniwek, Nation de l'Isle, Nation of the Isle, and Savages de l'Isle. Main village was on Morrison's (Allumette) Island."
"Weskarini - (Algonkin Proper, La Petite Nation, Little Nation, Ouaouechkairini, Ouassouarini, Ouescharini, Ouionontateronon (Huron), Petite Nation - North side of the Ottawa River along the Lièvre and the Rouge Rivers in Québec."
Note the "irini" root in Pachirini and Kichesipirini and Weskarini.
There are histories for the other nations as well.
Suzanne Sommerville

Number of visitors who read this story.

Sources include the following:

(1) Cyprien Tanguay, Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Canadiennes, CD-3, Quintin Publications, Vol 1, p. 142 & 440
(2) Ibid., Vol 3, p. 160
(3) Ibid., Vol 6, p. 78
(4) René Jetté, DGFQ Dictionnaire généalogique des Familles du Québec p. 278
(5) Marriages of St-François-du-Lac, 1687-1965, J.M. Laliberté, F.C. & Antonio Mongeau, S.C., Pub: B. Pontbriand, Québec, 1966, p. 64
(6) Claude Drouin, DNCF Dictionnaire national des canadiens français p. 311 & 374
(7) P.R.D.H - Programme de recherche en démographic historique, Université de Montréal, http://www.genealogy.umontreal.ca/en/public/RechEtatCivilIndividu.asp . Certificat No. 99011, Recensement 1681.
(8) Ibid., Certificat No. 87340, Baptême.
(9) Ibid., Certificat No. 89036, Mariage.
(10) Ibid., Certificat No. 92972, Sépulture.
(11) Ibid., Certificat No. 87641, Baptême.
(12) Ibid., Certificat No. 87550, Baptême.
(13) Ibid., Certificat No. 89413, Sépulture.
(14) Ibid., Certificat No. 92461, Baptême.
(15) Ibid., Certificat No. 87418, Baptême.
(16) Ibid., Certificat No. 94699, Contrat de mariage.
(17) Ibid., Certificat No. 83991, Mariage.
(18) Ibid., Certificat No. 92440, Baptême.
(19) Ibid., Certificat No. 92877, Mariage.
(20) Don Rivara, History of the Cooper-Matheny-Hewitt Family, from "Our French-Canadian Ancestors", Vol. IX, p. 8.
(21) Biographies & Histories of TRADERS / MERCHANTS / CHIEFS / OFFICERS / VOYAGEURS - Pierre Couc
(22) Early History of Trois-Rivières - COUC Family
(23) PRDH, Certificate No. 87209, Baptême.
(24) Simone Vincens, MÉMOIRES de la Société Généalogique Canadienne-Française, No. 139: Pierre Couc, pp. 33-45, Vol. XXX - No. 1, Jan-Fév-Mars 1979. Reprinted and translated with permission. http://www.sgcf.com/index.html
(25) Suzanne Boivin Sommerville, Michigan's Habitant Heritage, The Journal of the French-Canadian Habitant Heritage Society of Michigan, Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct 1999 & Jan 2000. http://habitant.org/fchsm/index.htm
(26) Suzanne Boivin Sommerville, Email message sent to this author, 21 December 2000.
(27) PRDH - Program de recherche en démographie historique, Certificat No. 39356, .
(28) Ibid., Certificat No. 1045, Famille.
(29) Ibid., Certificat No. 38602, Couple.
(30) Ibid., Certificat No. 83989, Mariage.
(31) Ibid., Certificat No. 19527, Couple.
(32) Ibid., Certificat No. 305635, Sépulture.
(33) Ibid., Certificat No. 92972, Sépulture.
(34) Ibid., Certificat No. 5378, Couple.
(35) Early French and Indian family histories and documents at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~wioconto/Carten.htm.
(36) Don Rivara, History of the Cooper-Matheny-Hewitt Family.
(37) PRDH - Program de recherche en démographie historique, Certificat No. 89562, Sépulture.
(38) Father Cyprien Tanguay's, A travers les registres, Translated by Armand H. Demers, Jr, Searching Through The Old Records of New France, Quintin Publications, 1999.
(39) FHL microfilm #1298969.
(40) The question of how often French settlers married Indian/Native women in 17th century New France has been the subject of many writings; unfortunately, many have perpetuated myths about a presumed high degree of mixing between the Indian/native population and the French of European origin.
The authorities wished the native population would integrate to the colonists but this never happened. Only 19 marriages celebrated in the parishes of the St.Lawrence Valley before 1700 involved a Native Indian spouse.
Of course, mixed couples formed outside the established areas (in the fur trading country); but the descendants of these couples never mixed into the colony in the 17th century.
Bertrand Desjardins, PhD
Departement de Démographie
Université de Montréal
[email protected] mailing list
Thu, 12 Apr 2001

(41) Article appearing in Le Soleil, in French Le déclin de l'empire amérindien, The Decline of the Amerindian Empire. If that link is not available, click here

(42) La Grande Paix de Montréal 1701, The Peace Treaty of 1701.

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