Henri Membertou
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Chief Henri Membertou ( – 18 September 1611) was the ''sakmow'' ( grand chief) of the
Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
tribe situated near
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, site of the first French settlement in
Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...
, present-day
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, Canada. Originally ''sakmow'' of the Kespukwitk district, he was appointed as Grand Chief by the ''sakmowk'' of the other six districts. Membertou claimed to have been a grown man when he first met
Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...
in 1534, which makes it likely that he was born in the early years of the sixteenth century.


Biography


Pre-baptism

Before becoming grand chief, Membertou had been the District Chief of Kespukwitk, a part of the Mi'kmaq nation which included the area where the French colonists settled Port-Royal. In addition to being ''sakmow'' or political leader, Membertou had also been the head ''autmoin'' or spiritual leader of his tribe – who believed him to have powers of healing and prophecy. Membertou was known to have acquired his own French
shallop Shallop is a name used for several types of boats and small ships (French ''chaloupe'') used for coastal navigation from the seventeenth century. Originally smaller boats based on the chalupa, the watercraft named this ranged from small boats a ...
which he decorated with his own totems. He used this ship to trade with Europeans far out at sea, gaining first access to this important market and allowing him to sell goods at more worthwhile exchanges ("forestalling the market"). Membertou became a good friend to the French. He first met the French when they arrived to build the
Habitation at Port-Royal Port-Royal National Historic Site is a National Historic Site located on the north bank of the Annapolis Basin in Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia, Canada. The site is the location of the Habitation at Port-Royal, which was the centre of activi ...
in 1605, at which time, according to the French lawyer and author
Marc Lescarbot Marc Lescarbot (c. 1570–1641) was a French author, poet and lawyer. He is best known for his ''Histoire de la Nouvelle-France'' (1609), based on his expedition to Acadia (1606–1607) and research into French exploration in North America. C ...
, he said he was over 100 and recalled meeting
Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...
in 1534. Both Lescarbot and explorer
Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...
wrote of having witnessed him conducting a funeral in 1606 for Panoniac, a fellow Mi'kmaw ''sakmow'' who had been killed by the Armouchiquois or
Passamaquoddy The Passamaquoddy (Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language, Passamaquoddy: ''Peskotomuhkati'', Plural: ''Peskotomuhkatiyik'') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American/First Nations in Canada, First Nations people who live in northea ...
tribe, of what is now Maine. Seeking revenge for this and similar acts of hostility, Membertou led 500 warriors in a raid on the Armouchiquois town, Chouacoet, present-day
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, in July, 1607, killing 20 of their people, including two of their leaders, Onmechin and Marchin. He is described by the Jesuit Pierre Biard as having maintained a beard, unlike other Mi'kmaq males who removed all facial hair. He was larger than the other males and despite his advanced age, had no grey or white hair. Also, unlike most ''sakmowk'' who were polygamous, Membertou had only one wife, who was baptised with the name of "Marie". Lescarbot records that the eldest son of Chief Membertou had the name Membertouchis (Membertouji'j, baptised Louis Membertou after the then-King of France,
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...
), while his second and third sons were called Actaudin (absent at the time of the baptism) and Actaudinech (Actaudinji'j, baptised Paul Membertou). He also had a daughter, given the name Marguerite. After building their fort, the French left in 1607, leaving only two of their party behind, during which time Membertou took good care of the fort and them, meeting them upon their return in 1610.


Baptism

On 24 June 1610 (Saint John the Baptist Day), Membertou became the first native leader to be baptised by the French, as a sign of alliance and good faith. The ceremony was carried out by priest Jessé Fléché, who went on to baptize all 21 members of Membertou's immediate family. Citing Wallis and Wallis It was then that Membertou was given the baptismal name ''Henri'', after the late king of France, Henry IV. Membertou's Baptism was part of the entry by the Mi'kmaq into a relationship with the Catholic Church, known as the Mi'kmaw Concordat.


Post-baptism

Membertou was very eager to become a proper Christian as soon as he was baptized. He wanted the missionaries to learn the Algonquian
Mi'kmaq language The Miꞌkmaq language ( ; ), or , is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 11,000 Miꞌkmaq in Canada and the United States; the total ethnic Miꞌkmaq population is roughly 20,000. The native name of the language is , or (in some ...
so that he could be properly educated. Biard relates how, when Membertou's son Actaudin became gravely ill, he was prepared to sacrifice two or three dogs to precede him as messengers into the spirit world, but when Biard told him this was wrong, he did not, and Actaudin then recovered. However, in 1611, he contracted
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
, one of the many infectious diseases spread in the New World by Europeans. By September 1611, he was very ill. Membertou insisted on being buried with his ancestors, something that bothered the missionaries. However; Membertou soon changed his mind and requested to be buried among the French. He died on 18 September 1611. In his final words, he charged his children to remain devout Christians. In 2007
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issued a $0.52 stamp (domestic rate) in its "French Settlement in North America" series in honour of Chief Membertou. A portrait of Membertou painted by the noted Mi'kmaq artist, Alan Syliboy, was presented to Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
during the 2010 Royal Tour of Canada. The portrait is on permanent display at Government House (Nova Scotia).


Songs

Three songs of Membertou survive in written form, and provide the first music transcriptions from the Americas. The melodies for the songs were transcribed in solfège notation by
Marc Lescarbot Marc Lescarbot (c. 1570–1641) was a French author, poet and lawyer. He is best known for his ''Histoire de la Nouvelle-France'' (1609), based on his expedition to Acadia (1606–1607) and research into French exploration in North America. C ...
. The time values of each note were recorded in an arrangement of Membertou's songs in
mensural notation Mensural notation is the musical notation system used for polyphony, polyphonic European vocal music from the late 13th century until the early 17th century. The term "mensural" refers to the ability of this system to describe precisely measur ...
by Gabriel Sagard-Théodat. The melodies use three notes of the solfege scale – originally transcribed as Re-Fa-Sol by Lescarbot, but more easily sung as La-Do-Re. Transcriptions of these songs are available for
Native American flute The Native American flute is a musical instrument and flute that is held in front of the player, has open finger holes, and has two chambers: one for collecting the breath of the player and a second chamber which creates sound. The player breat ...
.


See also

* List of grand chiefs (Mi'kmaq) *
Order of Good Cheer The Order of Good Cheer ( French: L'Ordre de Bon Temps) was originally a French Colonial order founded in 1606 by suggestion of Samuel de Champlain. A contemporary order awarded by the Province of Nova Scotia bears the same name in continuanc ...


References


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Membertou, Henri Year of birth unknown 1611 deaths Canadian Mi'kmaq people Canadian Roman Catholics People from Annapolis County, Nova Scotia People of New France Converts to Roman Catholicism from pagan religions Indigenous leaders in Atlantic Canada Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 16th-century indigenous leaders of the Americas 17th-century indigenous leaders of the Americas 1500s births Canadian men centenarians