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The Charity Site Guide to a 17th Century Huron Village on Christian Island |
Drawing by Cathy Merritt
Introduction | What Is The Charity Site | The Final Years In Huronia | Prisoners On Christian Highland | The Final Retreat | Charity Site: The Excavation | Future Work & Acknowledgments
WHAT IS THE CHARITY SITE
The Charity Site (BeHb-4 )
is the name given to the location of a 345 year old Huron Village on
the Southwest Shore of Douglas Lake on Christian Island. Since its
discovery in 1987 over 500 square meters have been excavated, almost
exclusively by cruise made up of Beausoleil band members.
The excavations revealed a large lake - side community that could have been occupied by well over 1000 people. Many artifacts recovered from the 1991 excavations are on display in the Christian Island Village library.
Charity is just one of potentially many important archeological sites on Christian Island. The most well known is Ste. Marie II, the remains of a Jesuit fort, built by the French around the same time that the Charity Site was occupied. Both share that tragic, yet important history. A history known to archeologists principally from the Jesuit Relations, a series of letters written by French missionary priests who occupied the island among with the Huron in the mid 1600's.
The investigation of the Charity campsite since 1991 has been the result of a very successful joint project between the Beausoleil First Nations and Northeastern Archeological Associates. One of its primary research projects has been to test the accuracy of the Jesuit Relations with results from the excavations. But the projects most important goal has been to enrich the present community on Christian Island.
This booklet has created to elaborate on information presented in the charity Site exhibit and to provide an overview of the history of Christian Island. We hope that with further excavations the exhibit will grow substantially larger and will reveal you has to ask of this intriguing community.
