Tessouat (''

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

'': Tesswehas) ( c. ??? – 1636–1654) was an Algonquin chief from the Kitchesipirini nation ("Kitche"=Great, "sipi"=river, "rini"=people: the people from the great river, the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

). His nation lived in an area extending from

Lake of Two Mountains Lake of Two Mountains (French: ''Lac des Deux Montagnes'') is part of the river delta widening of the Ottawa River in Quebec, Canada, at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. Lake of Two Mountains has four outflows: Rivière des Mille Îl ...

to modern-day

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke ( ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River (Ontario), Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley, northwest of Ottawa. Though containing the administrative headquarters of Renfre ...

. Tessouat lived in L'Isle-aux-Allumettes, in a neck of the Ottawa River. He was described by the French settlers as having a strong character. He was also blind in one eye (in French, borgne) and was dubbed "le Borgne de l'isle". His position was highly strategic, as the Ottawa River was the safest way to go from the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

and to Huronia, near

Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...

. Tessouat took advantage of his position to impose some sort of customs duties on the French fur traders navigating on the Ottawa River, as well as to impose some of his authority. For example, in 1633, he refused to let the Jesuits go to Huronia, fearing he would lose authority in the region. To maintain the economic supremacy of the Kitchisipirini, he made great efforts to keep his French, Wendat (Huron), and

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

allies from trading with each other directly, preferring that they trade through Algonquin middlemen. At that time, the Algonquins, Wendats, and several other Great Lakes First Nations were at war with the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. Yet, Tessouat initiated peace talks with the

Mohawk nation The Mohawk, also known by their own name, (), are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people of North America and the easternmost nation of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the Five Nations or later the ...

and, in 1634, they agreed to a peace treaty. The alleged motive behind this political move was to gain access to the Dutch settlers in what is now known the New York State, perhaps in order to be in a better negotiating position with the French traders. Peace with the Mohawks only lasted two years and Tessouat died a few months after bloody fights against the Mohawks. In 1641, after Tessouat's death, in the fashion of an Algonquian custom, a new Tessouat was reborn. The custom consisted of bringing back to life an important dead chief in a highly spectacular ritual. The new Tessouat was brought to life to save the Kitchesipirini nation, which was by then afflicted by death, caused by the European diseases, and isolated after several losses to the Iroquoian confederation. Strangely enough, the new Tessouat was also blind in one eye. This fact probably contributed to muddle the French, who sometimes did not distinguish the new Tessouat from the old one. To save his nation, the new Tessouat decided to move from the Ottawa River area to a place nearby the French. After going to Sillery (nearby Quebec), where the Wendats refused their hospitality, Tessouat decides to bring his nation to

Montreal island The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelag ...

, where he agrees to receive the Christian baptism. In 1647, fearing an attack from the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

and suspecting that the French would not defend them, Tessouat and his nation moved again. The new Tessouat finally died at

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, in 1654.

References

*Remi Savard, ''L'Algonquin Tessouat et la fondation de Montréal'' (Gallimard, 1996), . * * {{cite web , last1=Jury , first1=Elsie McLeod , title=Tessouat (fl. 1603-13) , url= http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/tessouat_1603_13_1E.html , website=Dictionary of Canadian Biography , publisher=University of Toronto/Université Laval , year=1966 , accessdate=18 April 2020 , ref=Volume 1

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20050909032232/http://www.wilkesweb.us/algonquin/cac-nations.htm *http://radio-canada.ca/radio/profondeur/RemarquablesOublies/Tessouat.htm Indigenous leaders in Ontario Indigenous leaders in Quebec Algonquin people Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 17th-century Native American people