Feast School Days Educational Materials

Feast School Days

For registration information
please download either the
Feast Friday 2011 Letter and Reservation Form
or
Special Kids Day Letter and Reservation Form

The Fur Trade

In the early 1600’s men sailed from France to the valley of the St. Lawrence River (eastern Canada) to explore. The French explorers made diaries, maps, and pictures of what they saw.

The French explored further and further using the connecting lakes and rivers. The earliest accounts of Indians in the Great Lakes region was in the 1630s from the French Jesuit missionaries. They wanted the Indians to become a part of French culture and to be part of the French Empire in the New World. The Native American tribes the missionaries and other explorers encountered all wore clothes made of furs or skins. The French recognized these furs as being potentially valuable. They began trading blankets, jewelry, metal goods such as knives, kettles, and guns for the Indians furs.

The French sailed back to France and sold the skins. People wanted the skins for warmth and the beaver pelts for hats.

Many more French fur traders came to the St. Lawrence Valley founding settlements such as Quebec and Montreal. They traveled from their settlements to the Indian villages, and continued to travel further using the network of lakes and rivers in birch-bark canoes. They built log trading posts called Forts where the Indians came to bring furs and trade them for goods. Companies were formed in Canada with warehouses to hold the furs coming in and trade goods going out.

Because of the early contact and cooperation between the French and the Indians, the British relations with the Indians were rocky. Only after the British defeat of the French in the French and Indian war in 1763, were to British able to actively participate in the fur trade with the Indians in the northwest. The British continued an open fur trade and introduced whiskey as a central good in the trade. Alcohol proved to become a problem among many Indians.

In 1783, the peace treaty ending the American Revolution was signed which gave all the British territories to the new American government. This made the entire Indian population wards of the government. The Tribal governments were recognized and Indian land ownership was acknowledged throughout the Northwest Territory. Slowly the fur trade came to an end. The trade worked only when Indians had control of the land. Furs were also becoming increasingly hard to find. Because of westward expansionism and Indian relocation, there were fewer Indians available to assist in trapping and working the trade. Finally, there was a change in fashion. The silk hat became popular in Europe and the fur hat had come out of style.

The Trade

The Russian and Baltic fur sources had depleted by the sixteenth century. However, the French Canadian market held strong. In the early years of the trade there was often a profit of 1000%-2000% because of unfair negotiations with the native tribes such as war, harsh competition and losses at sea. There was a three to six year lapse between investment and return.

The European demand for furs remained strong and the demand from Native American tribes for manufactured goods such as firearms, blankets, cloth, kettles, metal tools, as well as mirrors, glass beads, scissors and sewing needles grew stronger as time went on and dependency on these items grew. These items greatly changed their way of life and daily comfort level.

Bows and arrows continued to be used to hunt game, keeping an equilibrium with the game supply. But for trapping animals for furs, after the introduction of commercial goods, things changed. For example, instead of taking one to two beavers from a lodge, they would trap the whole colony to use in the Trade.

Eventually the French Fur Trade stretches across almost half the continent from the Rockies to the mouth of the Mississippi. Forts, such as Ouiatenon were established for several reasons; to establish a fur trade, to keep the British from claiming land west of the eastern colonies, and for missionary purposes. The French and British had been fighting for the land, now New France, for a hundred years. Ouiatenon was not an exception to this fight. The Fort exchanged hands between the French and the British.

The Furs

Pelt - the skin of a fur-bearing animal

Pelts traded in the Fur Trade were: beaver, mink, marten, fisher, otter, ermine, fox, lynx, bear, wolf, deer, moose, buffalo, swan, geese.

The Beaver

Duvet - wooly undercoat

The beaver was the most important pelt in the Trade.

The beaver is a rodent. Its back feet are large and webbed, so it can swim easily. The beaver has four shard, curved front teeth which constantly grow as they wear down. They are used to chew down trees. The beaver can chew down a four-inch tree in two minutes. The beaver eats the soft bark of tress such as the willow, birch and cottonwood as well as grass roots and plants that grow in the water. It uses the logs and branches to build its home.

The beaver was sought for its unique hair. It has two kinds of fur. There is a warm wooly undercoat or duvet. This coat is minutely barbed and helps the animal trap a layer of air against its body for warmth. This is especially useful in the water. The top layer consists of long silky guard hairs.

The pelts worn by an Indian as clothing were called castor gras. These were most in demand because the guard hairs were already worn off

Commercial use of the beaver pelt

Beaver furs could easily be destroyed by maggots, moths, and mold, they had to be cleaned and dried, or cured. Pelts were washed, scraped, and then stretched. This was done by the Native Americans before they were traded.

When the furs reached Europe and were ready to be processed, first the guard hairs were removed and the woolly undercoat was scraped off the pelt. The hair was then chopped up and mixed with cheaper hair such as cat or rabbit hair. The barbed undercoat hairs served to bind the whole together for quality and strength. The fur was then molded into a top hat, tricorne, or flat shaped hat and stiffened with shellac.

Fort Ouiatenon

Fort Ouiatenon was the first fortified European settlement in what is now Indiana. It was established by the French in 1717 at a site five miles southwest of Lafayette as a military outpost to prevent British expansion into the Ohio and Wabash country.

As buffalo, beaver, and other fur-bearing animals were abundant in the area, the fort served as a trading post and stopping point for the voyageurs from Quebec. Further, the French were interested in converting the "pagan" Natives to Catholicism. Thus, Ouiatenon's establishment was based on defensive strategy, the quest for wealth, and missionary zeal.

The French selected the site in part because just across the Wabash River was a large Wea Indian village. The Weas were a part of the Miami tribes who had settled in five villages on the banks of the Wabash below the mouth of the Tippecanoe River. Their location was the gateway to the western prairies for various other tribes including the Kickapoos, Mascoutens, Sauk, and Fox. The Weas had been quick to establish trade relations with the French so the
riches of the prairies and the forests flowed easily from Ouiatenon to Quebec and to France.

Between 1720 and 1760 the settlement at Ouiatenon prospered and grew. French voyageurs annually descended the Wabash to trade their goods for furs trapped by the Native people. Some remained there to establish homes.

An early visitor describes Fort Ouiatenon as "the finest palisaded fort in the upper country, consisting of a stockade and a double row of houses." Within the stockade, in addition to the double row of ten houses, were a chapel, a blacksmith's shop, and trading areas. Around the walls of the fort were as many as 90 houses of French, Natives, and mix-bloods. At its height there may have been as many as 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants in the general area.

Among those inhabitants was Anthony Foucher, born at Ouiatenon in 1741, who became the first priest born in the present state of Indiana. At Ouiatenon in these years there was generally harmony between the French and the natives. The French regularly presented gifts to the Natives to insure their loyalty, and the Natives in turn brought their pelts only to the French.

This generally tranquil era continued until the French and Indian War (1754-63). The French lost all of their North American lands to England as a result of this war, including Ouiatenon which was taken for Britain by Lieutenant Edward Jenkins and a garrison of troops from Detroit in 1761.

Although Jenkins and his men maintained amicable relations with the Natives, the tribes in the Great Lakes region and the Wabash country resented the growing numbers of white men moving west. It rankled them that the British did not continue the French custom of presenting gifts annually and that British traders were demanding higher prices for goods.

In early 1763 the Ottawa Chief Pontiac set out to drive the Europeans back behind the Appalachian Mountains. His confederation of tribes attacked 12 frontier posts and successfully captured eight of them, including Ouiatenon, which fell without a shot on June 1, 1763, when a group of braves simply walked in and took Lieutenant Jenkins and his few men as prisoners. Thanks to the intervention of two French fur traders who lived at the post, Jenkins and his men were not killed but were later released in an exchange of prisoners at Detroit.

"Pontiac's Uprising" came to an end as a result of a meeting at Fort Ouiatenon. Colonel George Croghan, deputy supervisor of Natives affairs for the English colonies of America, was captured by Natives and brought to Ouiatenon. He met with Pontiac in the late summer of 1765 where he suggested that the Indians and whites sign a peace treaty to end the stalemated uprising.

After "Pontiac's Uprising", Ouiatenon was not regarrisoned. It remained a small French trading and trapping settlement as well as a large Natives community. In 1778 just 12 households remained at the post although the nearby Wea village was believed by the British Governor of Vincennes to have 1,000 braves capable of bearing arms.

A British agent occupied the post briefly to spy on the Americans in 1778. He abandoned the fort to George Rogers Clark's men, under the command of Captain Leonard Helm. Helm got pledges of loyalty to the American cause from the residents and then rejoined Clark at Vincennes.

The next visitor was British Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton who in 1778 was enroute from Detroit with plans to recapture Vincennes from Clark and the Americans. He described the fort as "a miserable stockade surrounding a dozen miserable cabins, called houses. The Natives hereabouts are numerous, there appear 96 of their cabins, which allowing five men to a house make the number 480." Hamilton scolded the occupants for turning to the Americans and made further preparations for his attack on Vincennes. Scarcely three months later Hamilton was captured by Clark in one of the more surprising British defeats of the Revolutionary War.

For a while after the Revolution, Fort Ouiatenon remained a settlement for a small number of French inhabitants and was a popular meeting place for local tribes. The Natives, however, realizing that the flow of white settlers from the east
would not halt, began to use Ouiatenon as a staging ground for raids on Kentucky settlers. In 1786 the Ouiatenon inhabitants were forced to evacuate the post for fear of their lives.

Finally, in 1791, President George Washington ordered the destruction of the Wabash Native villages. This command was carried out by General Charles Scott who burned all crops and houses, bringing the era of Ouiatenon to an end.

Ouiatenon lay in ruins when white settlement began to grow in its neighborhood in the 1820s. Its existence was slowly forgotten until even its exact location was no longer known.

In the late 19th century, local history buffs began to take a renewed interest in Ouiatenon. In 1930 the present blockhouse at Fort Ouitenon Historical Park was constructed by a local physician, Dr. Richard B. Wetherill.

In 1968 archaeological excavations and document research began under the auspices of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association to recapture and preserve the almost-forgotten French Heritage of Ouiatenon. The archaeological excavation uncovered the actual site of the original stockade approximately one mile downriver from the blockhouse. Excavations, under the supervision of archaeologists from Michigan State University, ended in 1979. The actual site of Fort Ouiatenon was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1970.

Both the document research, which has extended as far as Canada and France, and the archaeological research are adding to our knowledge of the Ouiatenon of more than two centuries past. An active summer program schedule at the park is sponsored by the historical association each year.

The Voyageur

Voyageur - a traveler. This is French word that has been taken into the English language to mean one of the men who paddled the canoes and carried the pack in the Fur Trade.

Voyageurs were hired to take goods to the Forts in “Indian country” in the spring and return in the fall with loads of furs. The voyageurs traveled in birch-bark canoes using the lakes and rivers to move south and west.

The voyageurs were a special class of people with their own clothes, food, customs, and way of life. Voyageurs were not very tall, maybe just five feet tall. Short men were hired because their lets would take up less space, leaving more room for valuable cargo space. They were, however, very strong. They needed to be able to carry a weight of 180 lbs. and paddle heavy canoes fast for two to three hours.

Voyageur Dress:
Long sleeved shirt and sometime a tie
Beaded pouch in which he carried his clay pipe and tobacco hung from his belt
Breechcloth and leggings when paddling the canoe
Loose pants
Sash below each knee
Long bright sash around his waist
Moccasins
Hooded coat made of a blanket in winter
Red stocking cap
Very colorful

The Canoe
Canoe Vocabulary
Bow - the front part of the canoe
Prow - another word for the front part of the canoe
Stern - the back part of the canoe
Steer - to guide

The Voyageurs learned from the Indians how to build the canoe.

It is a long narrow boat with sharp-pointed ends.
The canoe is made from materials found in the northern forest.
The outer covering is made of birch bark.
The inside frame is built out of cedar strips.
Each end the bark is cut into a high curve.
The ends are sewn with roots called watap (wah’-top), which come from the spruce tree. This is an Indian word. The roots are also used to sew the top edge of bark to the frame.
The seams are covered with gum from pine tree—heated, spread over seams, cooled and hardened becoming waterproof.
Canoes are often painted red, green and black with a star or bear on the bow.
There were three sizes of canoe used in the fur trade: Montreal (largest, up to 40 feet long and holds 5 tons, carrying 8 to 14 men). The next size was 30 feet long and five or six feet wide. The smallest was 25 feet long and paddled by 3 to 5 men.

Voyageur Positions
Bowsman - in the front. He is the guide.
Steersman - at the stern. The steersman always stood.
Middlemen - the paddlers between the bowsman and the steersman.

Paddle sizes
Middlemen used a paddle about 2 feet long and three inches wide.
The Steersman's paddle was longer and wider.
When going through rapids the bowsman used a longer blade.
They were made of cedar wood and painted red.

Supplies
The Voyageurs carried supplies besides food and cargo such as extra paddles, bark patches, watap and gum, a big sponge to bail out water, a long rope and a big oilcloth.

Trade Goods
The Voyageurs brought trade goods with them such as: glass beads, kettles, guns, trade silver, tools, fish hooks, brandy, tobacco, blankets, and cloth.

The Trip
Vocabulary
Traverse - a crossing. The Voyageurs used this work for the crossing of a wide, open stretch of water.
Portage - to carry. This is a French word that has been taken into the English language. In the fur trade it was used in two was. One meaning is the act of carrying goods and canoes over land from one stretch of water to another. It also means the trail over which the men carry their loads. A long trail was called a grand portage.
Posé - to put something down. For the Voyageur, this work meant putting down his burden when he was crossing a portage, and going back for another load.
Packs - contained furs or trade goods. They weighed about 90 lbs each. Each Voyageur was responsible for 6 packs or piéces.

In the spring the voyageurs began preparing for the trip by gathering bundles of trade goods and checking the boats. They wrapped the goods in canvas leaving two ears for handles—each bundle weighing 90 pounds. They laid poles in the bottom of the boat and then laid the packets on the poles with places left for the paddlers to sit. It took a minimum of two months to paddle from Montreal to Fort Ouiatenon.

They often worked sixteen to eighteen hour days. Often they had to be immersed in icy waters or carry heavy loads of 180 lbs.

Every two hours they took a break from paddling and smoked a pipe.

They ate two meals a day, consisting of basically the same thing—a thick soup made from dried corn or peas with a little pork.

They sang as they paddled to drive away homesickness and to help them paddle, keeping time with the music. The chanteur, or singer was one of the most important people on the canoe and got extra pay. When the wind was at their backs, they set up a pole with the oil cloth and made a sail.

At night they would carry the canoes on shore and turn them over to inspect for cracks and weak spots. They would then patch and gum the seams. Next was a supper of thick soup. If they had energy left they would dace and sing and smoke a pipe. They slept underneath the canoes.

In the morning the cook woke up first to make breakfast, which would be eaten after a few hours of paddling. He would wake everyone early and they would up the canoes and cargo in the water and get started on another day.

They usually stayed close to shore, but it was not always possible. They often had to make a traverse—meaning crossing a wide stretch of water. Here the boats were far from land and the water was deep. If the day was clear, all would be well, but if it was stormy the waves might beak the canoe sending the men and the cargo into the deep, icy water.

Rapids were also dangerous. Rapids are when the water flows fast over rocks making the water rough and foamy. This was the most exciting and strenuous part of the journey. First the bowsman would hear the roar of the water splashing over the rocks. Next he would see the spray ahead. They would stop the boat and send a guide ahead to judge if the rapids were navigable. If they were they would “shoot” the rapid, staying in the boat as it was swept along the current. The bowsman would watch for rocks to know when to turn quickly to the right or left. If a man’s paddle broke, he would have to replace it with speed so as not to miss a stroke. If the canoe smashed against a rock, the men were thrown into the cold water and the cargo would be washed down stream.

If the rapids were determined no to be navigable, a long rope was tied to the canoe. Some or the Voyageurs got out and pulled the canoe walking on shore while two others would wade in the cold water to guide it.

The portage was the hardest work the Voyageurs did. When lakes or rivers were not connected, they had to portage, or carry the canoes and cargo over a stretch of land to the next body of water. When they came to shore they jumped out into the water and unloaded the boats. Then two men lifted the canoe out of the water and took it to land where they turned it over so the bottom didn’t get scratched. The largest of the canoes (up to 40 feet long and weighing 600 lbs) were portaged by four men who carried it upside down on padded shoulders. Two men were at the bow and 2 at the stern. The packs were 90 lbs each and each Voyageur was responsible for six packs or piéces. These were carried in three loads. They were carried by putting one pack in a leather string and looping it around the forehead. A second pack was then thrown on top. The Voyageur went fast at a trot leaning forward to balance the load. After half a mile they would posé, or put down the load, and go for the next load. After all three loads were at the half mile point they would go another half mile and posé again. The Voyageur would have to walk 5 miles for every mile portaged. The average speed for a man portaging was 3 miles per hour. Including time for loading and unloading a one mile portage would take about 2 hours.

Approaching the Fort
The Voyageurs arrive in the summer. They wanted to look their best when they arrive at the Fort. They would stop a few hours before arrival and wash, shave, comb their hair, put on a clean shirt, a bright sash around the waist , their best pants, and new moccasins. As they approached the Fort they would sing and should loudly to announce their presence. There was a big welcoming. Their arrival was much anticipated at the Fort.

Coureurs de Bois

Meaning “runners of the woods.” They were the woodsman, trapper and fur trader often accompanying the Voyageurs. The trade expanded from the great lakes and Hudson Bay area and the traders began to push inland on the connecting rivers and lakes. In the early years of the Trade, the Indians were encouraged to bring furs down to the great fur fair on the Island of Montreal. But, more often the coureurs de bois would take his load of trade goods by canoe out to the Indians where he lived for the winter and returned in the spring with a cargo of furs. As beaver populations depleted and the traded pushed further inland, the coureurs de bois would travel with the voyageurs to trade.

The Wea

The Wea are commonly known as a sub-tribe of the Miami. Wea (probably a contraction of the local name Wawaagtenang, 'place of the round, or curved, channel' (Schoolcraft); possibly contracted from Wayahtónuki, 'eddy people,' from waysqtonwi, `eddy,' both renderings coming from the same root. Wawaqtenang was the common Algonquian name for Detroit. (Cf. Wawyachtonoc).

They originally lived on Greenbay Island on the west side of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, as well as in and around what is now Detroit. As the Iroquois were being pushed further west, there were land struggles between tribes, forcing the Wea to move to what is now the Chicago area and then to central west to southern west Indiana (prior to 1700) in the Wabash River Valley. They had five villages in all; Kenapacomaqua which was six miles above Logansport IN near the mouth of the Eel Rive, Ouiatenon/Wea Plains which was four miles south of Lafayette on the Wabash below the mouth of Wea creek, LeGros/Cippecoke in Vincennes, Petitsotias, and the fifth is lost. After 1719, their chief village was Ouiatenon, according to Charlevoix, they were living nearly half a century before. Because of the Wea village, Ouiatenon was one of the principal headquarters of the French traders.

The organization of the tribal villages was simple, but similar to the structure of our city’s and governments. There were several Chiefs to a village. Each had their own role and duties to follow. The village Elder Women were behind the men and checked or changed the decisions the men made. The children were everyone in the village’s responsibility to discipline, and educate.

They lived near fields where they raised corn, pumpkins, melons, beans and squash in the summer. They fished in the local streams and river and hunted in a large area that they shared with neighboring Native American Bands. In the winter, they moved to smaller settlements and lived in smaller homes or wigwams. They trapped animals for meat and in the early spring tapped maple trees for syrup.

The Wea were known for being for quiet and well spoken. They were also known for wearing very fancy, flashy clothing. A young Wea man might spend much of the day decorating his body and dressing in festive clothing to celebrate a special event and to show his wealth to his neighbors. Feathers were symbols and decorations or war, worship, social customs and social status. The most striking feathers were connected with social status. The downy feathers of a bird, especially the eagle or hawk, were considered a bridge between the sprit world and our world

The Spiritual Leader and Tribal Priest were responsible for religious ceremonies of the Tribe, consulting the Great Spirit on war, hunting, sickness, and other things. Often offerings of tobacco, food, adornment, animals, and clothing were made to the spirits in order to acquire some desired thing. They believed that everything put on this earth by the Creator had soul and was alive. Everything was sacred and needed to be respected.

Hunting was never a sport, only animals needed for food and clothing were taken. Before killing the asked the animal for its life, if the animal gave consent it was killed and after it was killed it was thanked for giving its life. Plants were gathered from a variety of places and they never took all the plant from an area, allowing some to remain and replenish the next year. The Creator was thanked for the gift of the animals and plants.

Feasts were held for a variety of purposes such as the birth of a child, the revealing of an important dream, or war and hunting victories. Warriors always fasted before a feast, not eating or drinking before they had their vision or dream. They would blacken their faces, shoulders, and breasts with coal and wait until they had received a vision to have the feast. The person holding the feast had two people who sung with them before and during the feast. After the feast, they sung by themselves and the helpers were painted red.

Warriors never went into battle without having painted their face. Some painted with black or blue, other with red or yellow, some with brown. The color, style and symbols used were personal with no two alike.

The Warriors Pouch, or Medicine Pouch, was made of animal skins, usually rare or ones of importance to the person wearing them. Owls, snakes, white swans, perroquets and magpies were considered some of the rarest. Roots, powders, or herbs were carried in them and served as medicines among other items. The Medicine Pouches and their contents were considered sacred and regarded with respected, and still are today.

Dreams carried great significance. The dreams that came from the spirits or the Creator were believed to be extremely important and must be interpreted and taken seriously. Dreams had the ability to determine a person’s tribal social status.

It was the custom for both Wea men and women to tattoo and pierce their faces.

During the early 1700 the Wea had contact with the French. In 1717 the French built a trading post, missionary, garrison, with a blacksmith

Fort Ouiatenon was across the Wabash River from the Wea village. The French carefully chose their proximity to their trading partners and allies, the Wea. The French and Native Americans became dependent upon each other over a period of time. There were also many instances of intermarriage. Many of the French who came took Wea wives.

As the fur trade around Fort Ouiatenon grew, other native groups moved to the area such as the Kickapoos, Mascoutens, Potawatomis, Piankeshaws and Wyandots. Native Americans had traded among themselves before the arrival of Europeans. Native Americans of the Great Lakes region traded furs from animals they trapped to other tribes and eventually the furs reached the Fort. Some tribes were known as trappers and some as traders. The Wea prepared furs for trading by cleaning them.

The Wea and the other tribes at Fort Ouiatenon had very friendly relations with the French. At the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, the Fort exchanged hands to the British. These relations were not as friendly and often strained.
In 1791, President George Washington ordered the destruction of the Wabash Native villages. This command was carried out by General Charles Scott who burned all crops and houses, bringing the era of Ouiatenon to an end. The Wea participated in the treaty of Greenville, Ohio, Aug. 3, 1795, their deputies signing for them and the Piankashaw.

The Wea were removed from Indiana as part of the Indian Removal Acts. Removal began in 1820 when they sold their last lands in Indiana, near the mouth of Raccoon creek in Parke county, and removed with the Piankashaw to Illinois and Missouri. Not much was done, however, until the 1830s when forced removal came in 1836-1846 when they were transported to Kansas. Of the 350 people forced to make the trip, 150 died of starvation, disease, and broken hearts. In the Treaty of 1854 they joined together with the Peoria, Kaskaskia, and Piankeshaw as the Confederated Peoria Tribes, known today as the Peoria Indian Tribe of Oklahoma. After 1854 the U.S. Government considered the Wea eradicated. In 1885 the united tribes numbered 149 souls. In 1909 the number of the confederated Peoria was 204, only about 75 of whom had as much as one half Indian blood.

Habitants

French settlers came to the area to trade and to serve as craftspeople and artisans to promote the growth of the post. Many were voyageurs who had decided to settle or just to winter, but many others were traders. Around the walls of the fort were as many as 90 houses of French and Natives. At its height there may have been as many as 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants in the general area. The most important craftsman to the Indians was the blacksmith. In 1715, the Indians specifically requested “an officer to govern them, a missionary to instruct them, and a blacksmith.” Blacksmith Jean Richard was sent to Ouiatenon and like many inhabitants of Ouiatenon, he took an Indian wife. Some habitants brought their families with them.

French Military

The French military at Ouiatenon were most likely members of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine, or French Canadian Navy. They came to help keep the peace at this rough frontier outpost wearing impressive uniforms of grey and blue. Charles Renaud Dubuisson was the first to be in command at Ouiatenon, but was later sent to Miamis (Fort Wayne). Vincennes (the younger) was in command of the military under orders of Dubuisson. Francois de l’Epervanche de Villemure was another commandant at Ouiateneon. He was assigned to govern Ouiatenon during the French and Indian War. Ouiatenon saw military action during the French and Indian War, Pontiac’s Uprising and the American settlement period.

The military presence at Ouiatenon was never large, with only ten or 20 men. However, when food was in short supply in the Upper Country, fifty more troops were sent to Ouiatenon which had a better food supply thanks to the Wea.

The provisions for the French troops were basic rations of bread, salt pork, and dried peas. Fresh beef could be purchased and vegetable gardens were established as well as wild game to add variety to their diet. During the French and Indian War when provisons were tight, horsemeat was substituted for pork.

Their pay was small and the officers had to pay for their own food.

The British

As the victors in the French and Indian War, the British laid claim to the former French empire in America in 1760, but British soldiers did not arrive at Ouiatenon until October 1761. Even as an official British post, Ouiatenon was relatively unchanged because many of the French traders remained to continue the fur trade. The British installed only a small garrison, and even that limited presence was short lived. Native allies of Pontiac captured the post in 1763. The Indians spared the lives of the British soldiers, but forced them to leave the post.

Although Ouiatenon officially remained British territory until the American Revolution, no soldiers were reassigned there after 1763, and the official British presence was that of a single representative. In 1778 British troops commanded by Lietenant Governor Henry Hamilton camped near Ouiatenon on their way to Vincennes to fight Virginia forces commanded by George Rogers Clark. While at Ouiatenon the British held artillery practice, negotiated with the natives, and hosted a hog roast for their native allies. After Clark’s defeat of the British and capture of Hamilton, Ouiatenon effectively became American territory, but, with the exception of some of Clark’s troops, was never occupied formally by American forces.

The Feast of the Hunters’ Moon

The Feast of the Hunters’ Moon is a recreation of the celebration that occurred in the fall when the Voyageurs landed, bringing fresh goods from Canada. Neighboring Indian villages, traders, habitants, and the military would all come together to celebrate, exchanges stories and goods. There would be feasting, involving foods from the many different cultures. There would be signing and dancing mixing English, French and native songs and music. Everyone would look at the beautiful goods brought in by the merchants and bring the summer furs to be prepared for the long trip back to Detroit. The name of this celebration comes from the Wea name for the November Moon, the hunting moon. This was the time of good hunting for the Wea as they broke from their summer camps at Ouiatenon and dispersed along the Wabash to hunt for the winter.