French Studies research assistants Sarah Reilly and Monika Sosnowski are currently filming and starring in a new series of videos that help to disseminate research from L’Ontario français et ses premiers textes (Early Ontario French Narratives), a SSHRC-funded project led by Professor François Paré (French Studies). The videos are intended to deepen understanding of French Ontario history and its inseparable connection with aboriginal history.
The
three
year
project, L'Ontario
Français
et
ses
premiers
textes, focuses
on
the
writings
of
French
voyageurs
and
missionaries
in
the
Great
Lakes
Region
(Ontario,
New
York,
Michigan)
between
1636
and
1760.
These
fascinating
texts
constitute
the
earliest
form
of
literature
written
in
French
in
what
is
now
the
Canadian
province
of
Ontario.
“It’s
easy
to
dismiss
this
part
of
our
collective
memory,”
says
Prof. Paré.
“Yet the
voyageurs
were
the
first
witnesses
and
participants
in
an
era
of
contacts
with
indigenous
peoples.
That
alone
continues
to
define
what
we
are
today”.
To develop the video series, Reilly and Sosnowski began by researching elements of 17th and 18th century Ontario history, including
- Early dictionaries of Ontario’s indigenous languages by Gabriel Sagard and Jean de Brébeuf
- La Salle’s extensive commercial trade on the Great Lakes
- Pastedechouan, an aboriginal boy sent to France by Champlain
- French and Aboriginal conceptions of dreams
- Cartography of the Great Lakes and the lower Grand River by René de Galinée
Reilly graduated from Waterloo with a French Honours degree and completed a year at Queen's University's Faculty of Education. She will be continuing her studies this fall in Waterloo's MA in French Studies program.
Sosnowski, a Kitchener native, completed her studies in the French Teaching Specialization program at Waterloo this past year. She will be attending the Faculty of Education at Nipissing University this fall.
The videos are filmed around Kitchener-Waterloo with locations that include the Huron Natural Area and St. Jacobs Mill Race Trail, the Toronto Carrying Place, along the Grand River (called La Rapide in 17thcentury Ontario) and on Lake Erie by the Dollier and Galinée wintering site of 1669 in Port Dover.
With six videos already posted and many more to come, there’s something on this channel for everyone, from local history buffs to educators.
This story is adapted from a news release written by Sarah Reilly and Monika Sosnowski which was first published in the Daily Bulletin.