The Jesuit Relations, also known as The Relations des Jesuites de la Nouvelle-France, are early ethnographic documents that chronicle Jesuit missions

Mission (Christian)

Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...

 in New France

New France

New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

. Covering a period of 200 years and beginning in 1611, the works were written annually and appeared in print beginning in 1632.

Originally written in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, and Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, The Jesuit Relations were reports from Jesuit missionaries in the field that were sent to their superiors to update them as to the missionaries’ progress in the conversion of various Native American tribes. Constructed as narratives, the original reports of the Jesuit missionaries were subsequently transcribed and altered several times before their publication, first by the Jesuit overseer in New France and then by the Jesuit governing body in France. The Relations gradually became more focused on the general public as its readers, in terms of a marketing tool to procure new settlers for the colonies, while simultaneously trying to gain the capital to continue the missions in New France.

The later use of The Jesuit Relations by the Jesuit order for monetary gain highlights the possibility of textual incongruity or fictionalized accounts. Daniel K. Richter states that the fact “[t]hat printed reports were designed to raise money for the mission suggests a need for caution.” When examined with care, The Jesuit Relations still function as an important resource in the study of the relationship of cultural exchange that occurred between the settlers of New France and Native Americans.

Compilation and modern publication

Although written for two hundred years beginning in the early 17th century, no single unified edition existed until 1902. Reuban Gold Thwaites, secretary of the Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 Historical Society, led the project to translate into English, unify, and cross-reference the numerous original Relations. Compiled into 73 volumes, including two volumes of indices, the Relations effectively comprise a large body of ethnographic material. The indices are comprehensive in scope and include titles such as: Marriage and Marriage Customs, Courtship, Divorce, Social Status of Women, Songs and Singing, Dances, and Games and Recreation. Much can be learned through the examination and study of the ethnographic material compiled by the Jesuit missionaries in New France. The depth of the cross-referencing allows for several hundred years of Native American/European interaction to be easily accessed.

Historical documentation or personal narrative?

Jesuit Relations were publicized as field letters from the missionary priests, unadulterated reports of eyewitness and testimony. Allan Greer cites several disconnects with this assumption. Firstly, he notes of the geographical procession in which these letters were routed and rerouted for editing, “It began with detailed letters from priests in the field, the most important usually being the one brought down by the summer canoe brigade from the Huron Country. The superior at Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 would compile and edit these letters, paraphrasing some parts, copying others verbatim, and forwarding the whole package to France." The documents had to be approved by the Jesuit Society in France before publication, which likely may have altered some of the contents by editing. Likewise, John Pollack notes the account of Father Isaac Jogues

Isaac Jogues

Isaac Jogues was a Jesuit priest, missionary, and martyr who traveled and worked among the native populations in North America. He gave the original European name to Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement, Lake of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1646, Jogues was martyred by the Mohawks near ...

 in 1641 “is not an eyewitness testimony” but, rather, a second-hand relation by his superior, “drawn from Jogues’ letters.” Pollack notes further that the Relations “were edited by Jesuit missions in Paris before publication."

Because of the wide distribution of the letters after publication, scholars ask the question: who decided the relevance of information contained in these field letters? Although the Jesuits tried to avoid disclosing any compromise in their principles, “it is possible to detect evidence of soul searching and shifting points of view” relative to their success at the conversion of Native peoples. After extensive cultural immersion, the missionaries may have moved from tolerating native belief systems to assuming native idiosyncrasies. Jesuit officials in France would be liable to omit any threat to their philosophies in the final product. The issue is less the basic accuracy of the Jesuit Relations but the “manipulative literary devices” employed by the editors. Greer notes that European writings were popularly documented in one of two forms, as travel narratives or as encyclopedic catalogs. Greer notes that the Jesuits obscured the boundaries between these two genres in an attempt to raise funds to continue Jesuit missions in New France: “One of the peculiarities of the Jesuit Relations is that they combine both types of writing: Jacques Marquette

Jacques Marquette

Father Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...

’s personal narrative of his trip down the Mississippi, for example, shares space with Jean de Brébeuf

Jean de Brébeuf

Jean de Brébeuf was a Jesuit missionary, martyred in Canada on March 16, 1649.-Early years:Brébeuf was born in Condé-sur-Vire, Normandy, France. He was the uncle of the fur trader Georges de Brébeuf. He studied near home at Caen. He became a Jesuit in 1617, joining the Order...

’s systematic description of Huron society.”

Further reading

• Deslandres, Dominique, Croire et Faire Croire: Les Missions Francaises au XVIIe siecle (1600-1650. Paris: Fayard, 2003.
• Moore, James T., Indian and Jesuit: A Seventeenth-century Encounter. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1982.
• Morrison, Kenneth, The Solidarity of Kin: Ethnohistory, Religious Studies, and the Algonkian-French Encounter. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002.

External links

• Text of The Jesuit Relations in English, Creighton University
• A general overview of the Relations, Library and Archives Canada
  Library and Archives Canada
  Library and Archives Canada is a national memory institution dedicated to providing the best possible account of Canadian life through acquiring, preserving and making Canada's documentary heritage accessible for use in the 21st century and beyond...
  
  
• "Publishing and distribution history of the Relations", Library and Archives Canada