Joseph Boyden depicts an accurate analysis of Indigenous people in Canadian history throughout the 17th century in his novel, “The Orenda”. The Orenda presents internal warfare amongst the First Nation groups and religion, which plays a key role in establishing a relationship between the First Nations and the French. Boyden implements his observation on the tensions between the Huron and Iroquois, revealing the cultural traditions of warfare and uncovers the French Jesuits efforts to convert their Native ally, Huron to Christianity.
Boyden’s novel takes place in settlement during the 17th century narrated by Huron member, Bird, Haudenosaunee girl, SnowFall and a French Jesuit, Christophe. In the first part of the chapter, Bird’s family is massacred. Devastated by this he swears to avenge his family and so he murders Snowfall’s family, the one that slaughtered his, captures Snowfall to raise and replace his deceased daughter. Christophe referred to as Crow, is held captive by the Huron who believes he is an asset to them. Tensions between the Huron and the Haudenosaunee erupts into the New World. The Huron and Jesuits unite to battle against the wrath of the Haudenosaunee.
Boyden’s novel heavily focuses on the significance of internal warfare customs between the Huron, Haudenassee, and the French during the 17th century. To Indigenous people, war was a way of portraying their strength among their neighboring tribes. Indigenous men who fought in battles as a way of proving masculinity. Various tactics were used to prove their strength in war and recover from casualties. Capturing members from enemy tribes to recover the loss of their own was a way “the Iroquoian peoples strengthen themselves while weakening their enemies”. Chiefs leading the Iroquoian war held great expectations to their war party. In 1724, a French Jesuit missionary, Joseph Lafitau noted that the Iroquois “expect a chief to not only be skillful but also lucky. They are peculiar in this respect that, if he does not bring back all his people and if someone even dies a natural death, he is almost entirely discredited”. The pain of losing a comrade is such a great deal to these men that the leaders of the war party “…opted to engage in single combat with one another rather than risk the lives of their [men]”. The two leaders would rather risk their own life than lose their followers because “if he lost too many men, he might never [be] allowed to lead another war party”, and thus ruining his reputation. One Jesuit documented that the leaders of the opposing war parties would negotiate and decided that the results of single combat battle between the leaders, “agreeing that the followers of the loser would return home unmolested”. This Jesuit recalls that the French, ally of the Huron “throwing the Iroquois to the ground and triumphantly carried him off on to his shoulders” to his tribe for the “act of torture to slow death”. The First Nations traditional tribal warfare transformed into using destructive lethal weapons given to them by their allies, the French. However, even though the French maintained this mutual respect with the First Nations, it seems that the French were reluctant in giving them the weapons. Jesuit Barthélemy Vimot reveals “we have always been afraid to arm the savages too much”. Despite the French resisting to give their native allies these lethal weapons, the French in desperate measures had to in order to defeat the Iroquois.
Boyden reveals the French Jesuits efforts to convert their native ally, the Huron to Christianity in the New World. The French agreed on allying with the Huron to fight against their neighbors, the Iroquois, in exchange for sending more missionaries and priests along with the Huron. In this matter, the Jesuits mission was an opportunity to purify these “sauvages” to what they referred the Huron as. Which meant that “New France was a laboratory for Jesuit efforts: tension and contradictory thrusts characterized their mission strategy”. The Jesuits even learned their native tongue in order improve the teachings of Christianity to the Huron people. Father Charles Lalemant, a superior of the Jesuit mission embarks on his journey to the Huron and adds, “they have spent most of the time studying the language of the natives, for which purpose Brébeuf [, another Jesuit who went on the mission with Lalemant,] spent the winter among the savages; they had learned all they could of the people and the country; and had preached to and confessed the French colonists.” The Jesuits struggle to pursue the Huron into the Jesuits righteous path regardless of the evidence shown and preached to the Huron people. Father Brébeuf reports, “when we preach to them of one God, Creator of Heaven and earth, and of all things, even when we talk to them of Hell and Paradise and of our other mysteries, the headstrong reply that this is good four our Country and not for theirs; that every Country has its own fashions. But having pointed out them, by means of a little globe that we had brought there is only one world, they remain without reply”. Despite the work the Jesuits put in to convert the Huron, they remain grounded to their religious roots and refuse to be turn to the Jesuits religion. Father Brébeuf states “it remains now to say something of the country, of the manners and customs of the Hurons, of the inclination they have to the Faith, and of our insignificant labors.”