Petun
Encyclopedia
The Petún or Tionontati in their language, were an Iroquoian-speaking First Nations
people closely related to the Wendat (Huron) Confederacy. Their homeland was located along the southwest edge of Georgian Bay
, in the area immediately to the west of the Huron territory in Southern Ontario
of present-day Canada
. They had eight to ten villages, and may have numbered several thousand prior to European contact.
Following decimation by infectious disease
after 1634, when immigration of children from England, France and Holland increased, both the Wendat and Petun societies were in a weakened state. They were attacked, destroyed and dispersed by Iroquois
warfare in 1649 and encroachment in the late 17th century. The remnants joined with some refugee Huron to become the Huron-Petun Nation, later known as the Wyandot.
traders called these First Nations
people the Petún (tobacco), for their industrious cultivation of that plant. Petun as a word for tobacco became obsolete; it was derived from the early French-Brazil
ian trade, and comes from the Guarani
language. In the Mohawk
dialect
of the Iroquois
, the name for tobacco is O-ye-aug-wa.
French colonial tradesmen in the Ohio Valley called the Wyandot, Guyandotte, their spelling of how it sounded in their language. Later European-American settlers in the valley adopted this name. They named the Guyandotte River
in south-western West Virginia
for the Wendat people, who had migrated to the area during the Beaver Wars
of the late seventeenth century. Later they were forced to move to Ohio, and finally most went to Indian Territory
in present-day Kansas
and Oklahoma
. there are three federally recognized tribes in the United States: the Wyandotte Nation, the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, and the Wyandot of Anderdon, Michigan.
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people closely related to the Wendat (Huron) Confederacy. Their homeland was located along the southwest edge of Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
, in the area immediately to the west of the Huron territory in Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
of present-day Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They had eight to ten villages, and may have numbered several thousand prior to European contact.
Following decimation by infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
after 1634, when immigration of children from England, France and Holland increased, both the Wendat and Petun societies were in a weakened state. They were attacked, destroyed and dispersed by Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
warfare in 1649 and encroachment in the late 17th century. The remnants joined with some refugee Huron to become the Huron-Petun Nation, later known as the Wyandot.
Name
FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
traders called these First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people the Petún (tobacco), for their industrious cultivation of that plant. Petun as a word for tobacco became obsolete; it was derived from the early French-Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian trade, and comes from the Guarani
Guaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
language. In the Mohawk
Mohawk language
Mohawk is an Iroquoian language spoken by around 2,000 people of the Mohawk nation in the United States and Canada . Mohawk has the largest number of speakers of the Northern Iroquoian languages; today it is the only one with greater than a thousand remaining...
dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, the name for tobacco is O-ye-aug-wa.
French colonial tradesmen in the Ohio Valley called the Wyandot, Guyandotte, their spelling of how it sounded in their language. Later European-American settlers in the valley adopted this name. They named the Guyandotte River
Guyandotte River
The Guyandotte River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 166 mi long, in southwestern West Virginia in the United States. It was named after the French term for the Wendat Native Americans...
in south-western West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
for the Wendat people, who had migrated to the area during the Beaver Wars
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars, also sometimes called the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars, commonly refers to a series of conflicts fought in the mid-17th century in eastern North America...
of the late seventeenth century. Later they were forced to move to Ohio, and finally most went to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
in present-day Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. there are three federally recognized tribes in the United States: the Wyandotte Nation, the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, and the Wyandot of Anderdon, Michigan.