The Jesuit Relations

Values of the French Jesuits and the Native Communities

Based on The Jesuit Relations book edited by Allan Greer

Native North America and the French Jesuits

• According to the book, the Relations are annual reports of French missionaries of the Society of Jesus in efforts to convert the Natives to Catholic Christians. The French missionaries believed the Indians would worship the devil because of their strange ceremonies and the way they lived, in little villages. The French first began to befriend the natives for business. They would trade furs and other resources. But mainly, the French would attempt to communicate with the Natives and try to convert them into Christians.

Native North America and the French Jesuits• On page 3, it explains how the Jesuits were members

of a religious order, the Society of Jesus. They were like monks, they took special vows of poverty and obedience. They wanted to perfect Christianity in a tightly organized way associated with branches across Catholic Europe and in Rome. They wanted to travel and spread the Christian faith.

• On Page 28, Paul Le Jeune describes how the Indians did not know who created earth, and perhaps it was one of their gods Atahocam. The Indians believed in spirits, signs, and the power of the earth and the animals. “Every species have an elder brother, who is the source and origin of all individuals, and this elder brother is wonderful great and powerful”(pg.29). They also singed and danced strange music that most French thought to be satanic. To Paul le Jeune one good thing about the Indians was, “they possess physical advantages. They are tall, erect, strong, well proportioned, agile, and there is nothing effeminate in their appearance”(pg.32).