National Indigenous Peoples Day – Sainte Marie among the Hurons

Celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day today at Sainte Marie among the Hurons.

Activities on-site throughout the day include Indigenous arts and crafts, Métis Nation of Ontario craft and demonstrations, Cornhusk doll making, Indigenous Food demos, bracelet making, teas in the hospital, Okie workshop presented by Huronia Museum, Lacrosse skills challenge and Indigenous Art.

• Musket Firing – Throughout the Day
• White Pine Drum Group – North Court: 11:30am & 1:00pm
• Aztec Drum Group – North Court: 10:30am, 12:00pm, 1:30pm, 3:00pm
• Mohawk Drum Group – North Court: 11:00am, 12:30pm, 2:00pm, 3:30pm
• Neil Monague Hand Drumming – Longhouse: 11:00am to 12:30pm, 1:30pm to 3:00pm & 4:00 to 5:00pm
• Misty Creek Drum Group – Non-Christian Longhouse: 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm
• Waterway Demos: 11:00am & 2:00pm
• Fire starting demonstrations: 11:30pm, 1:00pm, 2:30pm

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was the headquarters for the French Jesuit Mission to the Huron Wendat people. In 1639, the Jesuits, along with French lay workers, began construction of a fenced community that included barracks, a church, workshops, residences, and a sheltered area for Native visitors.

By 1648, Sainte-Marie was a wilderness home to 66 French men, representing one-fifth of the entire population of New France. Sainte-Marie’s brief history ended in 1649, when members of the mission community were forced to abandon and burn their home of nearly ten years.

source: Huronia Historical Parks