Historic inaccuracies

I am writing about an article published in the Nation (Vol 25, No 21) August 17, “Oral history prevails; Hudson Bay Company’s first trading post is where the Cree said it was,” by Felix von Geyer.

There are numerous mistakes and inaccuracies in this article. Here are a few of the most serious:

 

1. The article talks about Hydro-Québec’s involvement in a 2014 project but does not indicate the administrative context of the 2018 work, which was a joint project between the Cree Nation Government and the Waskaganish First Nation associated with the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the Nonsuch and the founding of Charles Fort. The article leaves the false impression the Hydro-Québec had something to do with the funding of the 2018 project. Over the years, the Cree Nation Government and the Waskaganish First Nation have collaborated on several archaeology projects. Because of the 350th anniversary, we felt it was important to do a project this year relating to Charles Fort.
2. Many of the dates cited in the article are incorrect. Here are some example: “In 1688, the Cree encountered…” should be 1668; “…in the spring of 1688…” should read 1669; “Prince Rupert’s motivation to establish what would become the Hudson Bay Company in 1687…” should read 1670.
3. Both the headline of the article and the final paragraph suggest that Cree oral history played a key role in the archaeological project. Contrary to what is stated in the final paragraph, Mr. Roy did not state that the “the longevity and accuracy of the First Nations’ oral tradition helped bring this all [the archaeology project] about.” Nor did he say or imply that Cree traditional knowledge or traditions were significant in locating of the Charles Fort post being excavated. While I would strongly agree that “the longevity and accuracy of the First Nations’ oral tradition” is often of critical importance in archaeology – and would add that this has been demonstrated many times in the archaeology projects carried with the communities by the Cree Nation Government – this is simply not true in the case of the 2018 Waskaganish project. To claim otherwise, is to cast doubt on the very real importance of oral history in other projects.

   There are Cree oral traditions related to the first arrival of the English and the initiation of trading relations, and we will request that Mr. Roy include these in his report. And we hope that there will be other opportunities to include Cree knowledge in the interpretation of the finds.

4. There are numerous other errors in the article, for example: the idea that beads replaced “bone” in decoration on clothing; the prevalence of glass beads on First Nations’ “quillwork”; the idea that keeping soldiers’ gunpowder dry “using water-resistant fur” was Prince Rupert’s motivation for the establishment of the HBC; the idea that Albanel was with Louis Jolliet when he arrived in 1672; the misspelling Morantz’s name.

As a historian and archaeologist specialized in the fur-trade, Christian Roy will surely have additional corrections.

The errors and misinformation in this article are surprising in a respected news source like the Nation, which values facts and solid reporting. While I am pleased that the Nation has shown an interest in archaeology in Eeyou Istchee, I think the article could have stated more clearly the significance of the 2018 project, which, as I see it, is that of a Cree community that values and celebrates its history, going back thousands of years.

In the framework of the 350th anniversary, Waskaganish sponsored and collaborated on an archaeology project that resulted in probable finding (to be confirmed) of the very first house built by the English in 1668, the first post of what would become the vast fur-trading empire of the Hudson’s Bay Company and that would greatly influence the history of the Cree and indeed all of Canada. Although the project was directed by an outside archaeologist under contract with the Cree Nation Government, the work was executed under his direction by a very experienced team of local archaeological technicians. Of broader interest, the community has put in place measures to protect its waterfront, and the many heritage sites it contains.

David Denton

Archaeology Coordinator

Cree Nation Government / Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute