“F re re s e t E n f a n ts d u m e m e P e re ” T h e F r e n c h I ll u s io n o f E m p i r e W e s t o f th e G re a t L ak es, 1 7 3 1 -1 7 4 3 SCOTT BERTHELETTE University of Saskatchewan a bs t r a c t I n th e e ig h te e n th c e n tu ry F ra n c e ’s m e tr o p o li ta n a u th o ritie s a n d c o lo n ia l officials ta s k e d th e F r e n c h w e s te r n e x p lo re r P ie rre d e L a V ere n d ry e to in te g r a te th e in d ig e n o u s p e o p le s o f th e Petit Nord— C re es , A s s in ib o in e s , M o n s o n is , A n is h in a a b e g , a n d D a k o ta s — in to th e n e tw o r k o f F r e n c h - m e d ia te d a llian ces e m a n a ti n g fr o m th e G r e a t L ak es . T h e g o v ­ e r n o r g e n e ra l o f N e w F ra n c e , k n o w n as O n o n tio b y th e N a tiv e s , s o u g h t to e n s u re th e s y m b o lic s u b ju g a tio n o f all in d ig e n o u s p e o p le s o f th e G r e a t L a k es a n d th e Petit Nord. U n lik e th e p e o p le s o f th e G r e a t L a k es w h o w e re d e v a s ta te d b y e n d e m ic w a rfa re a n d v im le n t d iseases, th e in d ig e n o u s social f o r m a tio n s o f th e Petit Nord a n d N o r th e r n G r e a t P la in s re m a in e d p o li ti ­ cally c o h e siv e a n d a u to n o m o u s in th e e ig h te e n th c en tu ry . T h u s , th e C re es , A s s in ib o in e s , D a k o ta s , a n d o th e r s re s is te d c re a tin g a “m id d le g r o u n d ” w it h L a V e re n d ry e a n d o th e r F re n c h n e w c o m e rs , as th e y h a d little d e sire o r n e e d fo r F r e n c h m e d ia ti o n in th e ir te rr ito rie s . L a V eren d ry e ’s a m b itio n s fo r a F r e n c h - m e d ia te d p e a c e , o r “Pax Ga/lica,” w e re th w a r te d in th e o v e r­ Petit Nord a n d N o r th e r n G r e a t w h e lm in g ly N a tiv e p o litic a l sp ace o f th e P la in s . I n th e firs t w e e k s o f th e s u m m e r o f 1 7 3 3 , sev eral ra id in g p a rtie s o f C r e e , M o n s o n i, a n d A s s in ib o in e w a rrio rs s tr u c k o u t s o u th w e s t fro m th e L a k e o f th e W o o d s via th e W a rr o a d R iv e r o n to th e p ra irie p a rk la n d b e tw e e n th e h e a d w a te rs o f th e M is s is s ip p i a n d th e M is s o u r i rivers. T h e y e n d e a v o re d to a tta c k th e M a s c o u te n s P o iia n e s , o th e rw is e k n o w n as th e Scioux des Prairies I w o u ld lik e to t h a n k R o b e r t E n g le b e r t a n d K a th ry n M a g e e L ab e lle o f th e U n i­ v e rs ity o f S a s k a tc h e w a n fo r th e ir h e lp fu l fe e d b a c k a n d in s ig h tf u l c o m m e n ts o n th is article. Early American Studies (W in te r 2016) C o p y rig h t © 2 0 1 6 T h e M c N e il C e n te r fo r E arly A m e rica n S tudies. A ll rig h ts reserved. Berthelette • “Fr'eres et Enfants du meme Pere" \ o r t h e w e s t e r n D a k o t a s . I n t h e m i d - e i g h t e e n t h c e n tu r y , t h e D a k o t a - Y a n t o n / Y a n k t o n a i - L a k o t a a ll ia n c e n e t w o r k w a s e m e r g i n g a s t h e d o m i n a n t t r a d i n g a n d m i l i t a r y p o w e r w e s t o f t h e G r e a t L a k e s in t h e t e r r i t o r y s t r e t c h i n g f r o m t h e U p p e r M i s s i s s i p p i V a lle y t o t h e M i s s o u r i R i v e r V a lle y . T h e C r e e M o n s o n i - A s s i n i b o i n e a ll ia n c e c o n t e s t e d t h e w e s t e r n D a k o t a s ( Y a n k t o n / Y a n k to n a i) fo r c o n tro l o f h u n tin g te r r ito ry a n d tra d e n e tw o rk s o n th e N o r t h e r n G r e a t P l a i n s .1 O n J u l y 8 , 1 7 3 3 , a n o v e r l a n d p r a i r i e e x p e d i t i o n c o n s i s t i n g o f fiv e h u n d r e d C r e e w a rrio rs w a s a tta c k e d b y a m u c h s m a lle r g r o u p o f e a s te rn D a k o ta s , “w h o m i s t o o k t h e m f o r A s s i n i b o i n e n o t o n t h e w a r p a t h . ” T h e F r e n c h r e c ­ o g n iz e d th is e a s te rn g ro u p o f D a k o ta s a s a s e p a r a te Y a n k to n /Y a n k to n a i; th e F r e n c h d is tin g u is h e d th e m as th e or Scioux franfois p e o p le fro m th e Scioux des rivieres b e c a u s e o f th e ir se a s o n a l tra d e r e la tio n s h ip w ith F o r t B e a u h a rn o is , th e F r e n c h tra d in g p o s t a t L a k e P e p in in th e U p p e r M is s is ­ s i p p i V a lle y . T h e Scioux franfois a tta c k e d th e C r e e re a r g u a rd b u t w e re so o n s u rp ris e d a n d o v e rw h e lm e d b y th e s u p e rio r n u m b e r s o f th e ir fo e. T h e sm a ll D a k o ta p a r ty to o k c o v e r in a n iso la te d w o o d in th e m id s t o f th e p r a irie l a n d s c a p e .2 A c c o r d in g to th e F r e n c h a c c o u n t, th e b a ttle b e tw e e n th e D a k o ta s a n d C re e s la s te d u n til n ig h tfa ll. A t d u s k c o m b a t c e a se d , a n d a p r o m in e n t C r e e “Qui est-ce qui nous tue [ W h o is i t t h a t is k i l l i n g u s ] ? ” T h e uScioux franfois." T h e C r e e c h i e f c a ll e d b a c k , “ Nous sommes Cristinaux franfois. Pourquoy nous tuez vous? Nous sommes fr'eres et Enfants du meme Pere [ W e a re t h e F r e n c h C r e e . W h y a r e y o u k i l l i n g u s? c h i e f c a ll e d o u t , D a k o ta s s h o u te d b a c k , W e a r e b r o t h e r s a n d c h i l d r e n o f t h e s a m e f a t h e r ] . ” T h e t w o s id e s c a ll e d a t r u c e a n d w e n t t o c o l le c t t h e b o d i e s o f t h e s la in . T h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n g r e a t l y a f f l ic te d t h e C r e e s , w h o c o u n t e d a m o n g t h e i r d e a d w a r r i o r s t h e s o n o f o n e o f t h e i r p r o m i n e n t c h ie f s . A f t e r w a r d , t h e C r e e s a n d M o n s o n i s r e t u r n e d to th e lo c a l F r e n c h c o m m a n d a n t, a n o ffic e r n a m e d P ie rr e G a u lti e r d e L a An Infinity o f Nations: How the Native New World Shaped 1. M ic h a e l W itg e n , Early North America (P h ila d e lp h ia : U n iv e r s ity o f P e n n s y lv a n ia P re s s, 2 0 1 2 ), 1 6 4 - 65, 227. 2 . P i e r r e G a u l t i e r d e L a V e r e n d r y e , “ R e p o r t i n J o u r n a l F o r m o f a ll t h a t t o o k p la c e a t f o r t S t. C h a r l e s f r o m M a y 2 7 , 1 7 3 3 , t o J u l y 1 2 o f t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r , 1 7 3 4 , to be tr a n s m itte d to th e M a rq u is d e B e a u h a rn o is , G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l o f N e w F r a n c e , b y h is v e r y h u m b l e s e r v a n t L a v e r a n d e r i e , w h o h a s b e e n h o n o u r e d w i t h h i s o r d e r s f o r t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f s e v e r a l P o s ts t o p r e p a r e t h e w a y f o r t h e d i s c o v e r y o f t h e W e s t e r n S e a ,” i n drye and His Sons, Journals and Letters of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes de La Veren­ e d . a n d t r a n s . L a w r e n c e J . B u r p e e ( 1 9 2 7 ; r e p r ., N e w Y o rk : G r e e n ­ w o o d P re s s , 1 9 6 8 ), 1 3 7 . 175 176 | Early American Studies • Winter 2016 Verendrye, and bem oaned th a t “the Sioux w ere continuing to kill them and did n o t heed the w ord o f th eir F ather.”3 T h e same French officer, L a Verendrye, from Fort St. C harles at the Lake o f the W oods, recorded the narrative o f the 1733 battle between the Cristi- naux franfois and Scioux franyois.4 In La Verendrye’s narrative, the French occupied a position o f m ajor im portance in the Native political sphere west o f the G reat Lakes. Supposedly, the ceasefire was issued only because the warring Crees and D akotas had suddenly recognized each other as “brothers and children o f the same father” and thus connected to the same Frenchm ediated alliance.5 W est o f the G reat Lakes, La Verendrye im agined him self as the local representative or m outhpiece o f the “father” o f the alliance, the governor general o f N ew France, called O n o n tio by the Natives. T his French im perial narrative, however, was far from the political realities o f Native inter­ village politics in the heart o f N orth Am erica. R ather than a ffirm i n g the reali­ ties o f intervillage relations, the linguistic conventions o f the French alliance— “brothers and children o f the same father”— betrayed French fanta­ sies o f a paternalistic em pire in the continental interior. T h is article focuses on the disparities betw een the rhetoric and the reality o f the French E m p ire w est o f the G re at Lakes. T h e French failure to secure enduring affiances in the h eart o f N o rth A m erica stem m ed from the fact th a t French officers placed the assets o f em pire into a Native political space already beset by internal struggle. Intervillage patterns o f warfare drew the French into a political conflict betw een the C rees-M onsonis-A ssiniboines and the D akotas- A nishinaabeg for control o f h u n tin g and trade territory on the N o rth ern G re a t Plains.6 T h is ongoing political conflict thw arted 3. Ibid., 137-38. 4. For biographies and publications on the life o f La Verendrye and his search for the W estern Sea, consult Denis Com bet, In Search o f the Western Sea: Selected Journals o f L a Verendrye (W innipeg: G reat Plains Publications, 2001); Antoine Cham pagne, Nouvelles etudes sur les L a Verendrye et le poste de I'Ouest (Quebec: Presses de l’Universite Laval, 1971); Lawrence J. Burpee, Pathfinders o f the Great Plains (Toronto: Brook & Co., 1914); Agnes Laut, Pathfinders o f the West (New York: M acmillan, 1904); M artin Kavanagh, L a Verendrye: H is Life and Times (N or­ wich, U.K.: Fletcher & Son, 1967); Nellis Crouse, L a Verendrye: Fur Trader and Explorer (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1956); D uane R. Lund, Lake o f the Woods: Yester­ day and Today (Staples, M inn.: Nordell, 1975). 5. La Verendrye, “Report in Journal Form ,” 137. 6. For a more detailed analysis o f the Anishinaabeg’s western m igration, consult Laura Peers, The Ojibwa o f Western Canada, 1780 to 1870 (W innipeg: University of M anitoba Press, 1994). Berthelette • “Freres et Enfants du meme Pere” | F r e n c h im p e r ia l a m b i tio n s to u n i te th e s e n a tio n s as o b e d ie n t “ c h ild r e n ” o f t h e F r e n c h g o v e r n o r a n d u n d e r m i n e d L a V e r e n d r y e ’s a m b iti o n s f o r e x p lo r a ­ t io n , tr a d e , a n d e m p i r e in t h e h e a r t o f N o r t h A m e r ic a . L a V e r e n d r y e f o u n d h i m s e l f o n a N a tiv e g r o u n d , w h e r e a u to n o m o u s N a tiv e p o l it ic a l s o c ia l f o r m a ti o n s d i c t a t e d t h e t e r m s o f a llia n c e . T h i s a r t i ­ c le b u ild s o n K a t h le e n D u V a l ’s c o n c e p t u a l f r a m e w o r k o f t h e N a tiv e g r o u n d , a r g u i n g t h a t E u r o p e a n n e w c o m e r s w e r e s u b o r d i n a t e a llie s in r e l a ­ ti o n s w i t h t h e i r i n d ig e n o u s h o s ts , w h o m t h e y l o o k e d to f o r p r o v is io n s , n o u r i s h m e n t , a n d g u i d a n c e in t h e c o n t i n e n t a l i n te r io r . D u V a l p r o p o s e d t h e f r a m e w o r k o f t h e N a tiv e g r o u n d to c o u n t e r t h e i n c l i n a t i o n o f h i s t o r i ­ a n s w h o “ h a v e t e n d e d to a s s u m e t h a t N a t iv e A m e r i c a n s wanted s t r u c t m id d l e g r o u n d s w i t h a ls o b u ild s o n E u ro p e a n s . ” 7 T h is a r ti c le to c o n ­ M i c h a e l W i t g e n ’s c o n c e p t u a l f r a m e w o r k o f t h e “ N a t iv e N e w W o r l d , ” d e v e lo p e d as a n a n a lo g u e to th e E u ro p e a n -d o m in a te d A tla n tic N ew W o r l d . T h e N a tiv e N e w W o r l d e m e r g e d t h r o u g h a r e o r i e n t a t i o n o f N a t iv e p o l it ic a l s p a c e t o w a r d t h e w e s t e r n i n t e r i o r , a w a y f r o m t h e e n d e m i c w a r ­ f a r e w i t h t h e H a u d e n o s a u n e e s a n d e p i d e m ic d is e a s e s , w h i c h d e v a s t a te d t h e S t. L a w r e n c e V a lle y a n d t h &pays d’en haut, 8 B o t h in t h e N a tiv e N e w W o r l d a n d o n t h e N a tiv e G r o u n d , “ E u r o p e a n c o lo n i a lis m m e t n e i t h e r a c c o m m o d a t io n n o r r e s is ta n c e b u t i n c o r p o r a t i o n . ” 7 . R i c h a r d W h i t e f ir s t u s e d th e te r m in g s , c o m p r o m is e s , a n d middle ground to 9 I n d i g e n o u s p e o p le s d e s c r ib e th e s h a r e d m e a n ­ “c re a tiv e m is u n d e r s t a n d in g s ” i n h e r e n t in th e F r e n c h - A lg o n q u ia n a llia n c e in t h z pays d’en haut; R ic h a r d W h i t e , The Middle Ground: Indi­ ans, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1600-1815 ( N e w Y o rk : C a m ­ b r id g e U n iv e r s ity P re ss, 1 9 9 1 ). W h ite has a lso d e s c r ib e d F re n c h o f fic e r s “g r a d u a te s o f th e s c h o o l o f th e m i d d le g r o u n d ,” w h o c a r r ie d a w a y f r o m t h e pays haut as d’en in to th e n o r th w e s te r n in te r io r th e d ip lo m a tic la n g u a g e o f th e m i d d le g r o u n d a n d its s t r u c t u r e s o f c r o s s - c u ltu r a l u n d e r s ta n d i n g ; R ic h a r d W h i t e , “C r e a tiv e M i s u n ­ d e r s ta n d in g s a n d N e w U n d e r s ta n d in g s ,” William and Mary Quarterly 63, no. 1 ( 2 0 0 6 ) : 1 0 . K a t h l e e n D u V a l h a s b la m e d “R ic h a r d W h i t e ’s m a s te r f u l b o o k ” as th e c a ta ly s t f o r m a n y h is to r ia n s ’ a s s u m p tio n s t h a t in d ig e n o u s p e o p le s w a n te d to a t ta in a le v e l o f c r o s s - c u lt u r a l c o m p r o m i s e a n d u n d e r s ta n d in g w i t h th e E u r o p e a n n e w ­ c o m e r s . S h e h a s a r g u e d t h a t o n ly in d ig e n o u s g r o u p s a lre a d y w e a k e n e d b y d is e a s e e p id e m ic s a n d e m b a tt le d b y w a r wanted to c re a te a m id d le g r o u n d w it h E u r o p e a n n e w c o m e r s . O n th e o t h e r h a n d , “c o h e s iv e n a tiv e p e o p le s p r e f e r r e d to m a in ta in th e ir o w n s o v e re ig n id e n ti ti e s a n d m a k e i n d e p e n d e n t d e c is io n s r e g a r d in g th e w a y s th e y r a n t h e i r s o c ie tie s a n d th e u s e to w h ic h th e y p u t t h e ir la n d r e s o u r c e s ”; K a th l e e n D u V a l, The Native Ground: Indians and Colonists in the Heart o f the Continent ( P h i l ­ a d e lp h ia : U n iv e r s ity o f P e n n s y lv a n ia P r e s s , 2 0 0 6 ) , 5 ; e m p h a s is a d d e d . 8. W i t g e n , 9 . D u V a l, An Infinity of Nations, The Native Ground, 5. 4 6 -4 7 . 177 178 Early American Studies | • Winter 2016 s o u g h t to d r a w E u r o p e a n m e r c h a n ts a n d tra d e rs in to th e ir o w n lo c a l p a t ­ te r n s o f la n d a n d re s o u r c e a llo c a tio n , s u s te n a n c e , g o o d s e x c h a n g e , g e n d e r re la tio n s , d ip lo m a c y , a n d w a rfa re . F r e n c h c la im s o f e m p ir e r e m a in e d te n u o u s a n d d iffic u lt to e n fo rc e , in s p ite o f th e a s s e rtio n s m a d e o n c o lo n ia l m a p s a n d in w r itin g s . F r e n c h c o lo n ia l o ffic e rs c a te g o ri z e d th e s e v a rio u s in d ig e n o u s p e o p le s as m e m b e rs of tr ib e s ” a n d “n a tio n s ,” w h ic h e n a b le d th e m to im a g in e N a tiv e c o m m u ­ n itie s as e x te n s io n s o r a p p e n d a g e s o f e m p ir e , b u t th e y u ltim a te ly fa ile d to p r o d u c e th e p a te r n a lis tic r e la tio n s h ip s t h a t th e y h a d d e s ire d . F a V e re n d ry e w a s u n a b le to u n d e rs ta n d th a t no s in g u la r C r e e o r A n is h in a a b e n a tio n e x is te d in th e n o r th w e s te r n in te r io r . R a th e r , th e s e v a rio u s N a tiv e c o m m u n i t i e s w e r e h e l d t o g e t h e r b y s p r a w l i n g k i n s h i p n e t w o r k s a n d s o c ia l f o r m a t i o n s . 10 T h e r e f o r e , n o s i n g u l a r l y a g r e e d - o n o r u n i f y i n g p o l i c y c o u l d be d e v is e d b e tw e e n th e F re n ch C ro w n and a s in g u la r A n is h in a a b e “ n a ti o n .” F o r e x a m p le , th e C h a g o u a m ig o n ( F a P o in te ) A n is h in a a b e g o f t h e w e s t e r n s h o r e o f L a k e S u p e r i o r h a d f o r g e d a k i n s h i p a ll i a n c e w i t h e a s t e r n D a k o t a b a n d s o f t h e U p p e r M i s s i s s i p p i V a lle y , w h i l e t h e G i c h i g a m iin g (L a k e S u p e r io r ) a n d B o w - e - tin g ( S a u lt S a in te M a r ie ) A n is h i­ n a a b e b a n d s w e r e m o r e f i r m l y e m b e d d e d i n t h e F r e n c h a ll i a n c e s y s t e m o f th e pays d'en haut.n U n lik e th o s e o f t h t pays d'en haut, h o w e v e r, th e m a n y in d ig e n o u s p e o p le s w e s t o f th e G r e a t L a k e s d id n o t lo o k to w a rd O n o n t i o t h e “f a t h e r ” f o r m e d i a t i o n a n d a r b i t r a t i o n o f t h e i r in te r v illa g e d i s p u t e s . F r e n c h c o n c e p tio n s o f a llia n c e a n d m e d ia tio n w e re r e je c te d in th is o v e r ­ w h e lm in g ly N a tiv e s p a c e . T h e illu sio n o f a F r e n c h - m e d ia te d p e a c e w e s t o f th e G r e a t L a k e s w a s f ir m l y s h a t t e r e d i n 1 7 3 5 - 3 6 w h e n m i x e d D a k o t a - A n i s h i n a a b e w a r p a r t ie s b e g a n t o r a i d C r e e a n d M o n s o n i v i ll a g e s a r o u n d t h e L a k e o f t h e W o o d s , R a in y L a k e , a n d th e B o u n d a r y W a te rs re g io n . T h e fa ilu re o f F re n c h im p e ­ r ia l p o l i t i c s b e c a m e e s p e c i a l ly e v i d e n t o n J u n e 6 , 1 7 3 6 , w h e n a p a r t y o f t w e n t y - o n e F r e n c h m e n , l e d b y L a V e r e n d r y e ’s e l d e s t s o n , J e a n - B a p t i s t e , w a s m a s s a c r e d b y a D a k o t a - A n i s h i n a a b e r a i d i n g p a r t y o n a s m a ll i s l a n d o n th e L a k e o f th e W o o d s . L a V e re n d ry e a n d h is su c c e sso rs to th e w e s te rn p o s ts h a d b e e n d ra w n in to d e s tru c tiv e a n d e n d e m ic p a tte rn s o f r a id in g a n d w a rfa re th a t w o u ld p e rs is t u n til th e w ith d ra w a l o f th e F r e n c h fro m th e in te r io r o n th e ev e o f th e S e v e n Y e a rs’ W a r. U ltim a te ly , L a V e re n d ry e a n d t h e F r e n c h b e c a m e s u b s i d i a r y p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e w o r l d o f N a t iv e p o l i t i c s . 10. W itg e n , A n Infinity o f Nations, 11. I b id , 2 9 0 , 3 0 5. 19. Berthelette • "Freres et Enfants du meme Pere” | F R E N C H C O N C E P T IO N S O F A L L IA N C E A N D E M PIR E IN T H E N O R T H W E S T E R N I N T E R I O R I n th e late se v e n te e n th c e n tu ry th e F re n c h c o lo n ial g o v e rn m e n t h a d u sed th e d e v a sta tio n o f th e B e av e r W a rs as ju stific a tio n to u n ite th e v a rio u s p e o ­ p les o f th e G r e a t L a k e s as “c h ild r e n ” o f O n o n tio .12 D ise a se e p id e m ic s, f a m ­ in e, a n d u n p r e c e d e n te d levels o f H a u d e n o s a u n e e m ilita ry a g g re ssio n h a d fo rc e d th e W e n d a ts , E rie s, O tta w a s, P o tta w a m is, a n d m a n y o th e r in d ig e ­ n o u s p e o p le s to re lo c ate w e stw a rd as re f u g e e s.13 T h e F re n c h fo llo w e d th is w e s tw a rd m ig r a tio n a n d e s ta b lish e d th em selv e s a m o n g th e se a g g re g a te d v il­ lag es o f e th n ic a lly d iv erse n a tio n s p o p u la tin g th e G r e a t L ak e s. T h e y p u r ­ su e d a p o licy to u n ite th e n a tio n s o f th is “s h a tte r z o n e ” in to a F r e n c h m e d ia te d a llia n c e .14 T h e F r e n c h c o n so lid a te d th is allian ce in 1701 w ith th e G r e a t P eace o f M o n tr e a l.15 T h e p e ace tre a ty c e m e n te d th e p a tria r c h a l a lli­ a n c e o f m e d ia tio n in th e pays d ’en haut a n d e x te n d e d a “ Pax Gallica” to an The Middle Ground, 1—49. The Great Peace of Montreal of 1701: French-Native Diplomacy in the Seventeenth Century, tra n s. P h yllis A r o n o f f a n d H o w a rd S c o tt (M o n tre a l: 12. W h ite , 13. G ille s H a v a rd , M c G ill- Q u e e n ’s U n iv e rsity P re ss, 2 0 0 1 ) , 4 0. 14. F o r m o re d isc u ssio n o n “s h a tte r z o n e ” th e o ry , see R o b b ie E th r id g e , “I n t r o ­ d u c tio n : M a p p in g th e M ississip p ia n S h a tte r Z o n e ,” in R o b b ie E th r id g e a n d S h e ri Mapping the Mississippian Shatter Zone: The Colonial Indian Slave Trade and Regional Instability in the American South (L in c o ln : U n iv e r sity o f M . S h u c k -H a ll, e d s., N e b ra s k a P re ss, 2 0 0 9 ). 15. C a n a d ia n a n d F r e n c h c o lo n ia l h is to r ia n s h a ve d e b a te d w h e th e r th e 1701 G r e a t P e ac e o f M o n tr e a l w as a d ip lo m a tic v ic to ry fo r th e F r e n c h o r fo r th e Five N a tio n s Iro q u o is (H a u d e n o sa u n e e ) . G ille s H a v a rd situ a te s h is a sse ssm e n t o f th e Iro q u o is d ip lo m a tic o u tc o m e b e tw e e n th e tw o p o la riz in g c am p s o f W . J. E cc le s a n d Jo se A n to n io B r a n d a o . W h e re a s E cc le s a rg u e s th a t th e F r e n c h fo rc ed th e Iro q u o is to c a p itu la te to th e p e a ce tre aty , B ra n d a o asse rts th a t th e a g re e m e n ts o f 1701 d id n o t re p r e se n t a m ilita ry d e fe a t fo r th e F ive N a tio n s, b u t r a th e r a “tr iu m p h o f I r o ­ q u o is d ip lo m a c y .” H a v a rd p o sits th a t th e G r e a t P e ac e o f M o n tr e a l w as still fu n d a ­ m e n ta lly a F r e n c h -im p o s e d p e ac e, b u t o n e in w h ic h th e Iro q u o is still d e riv e d so m e a d v a n ta g e s fro m th e n e g o tia tio n s, n o ta b ly th e r e tu rn o f p riso n e rs as w ell as success­ fu l d ip lo m a tic a n d c o m m e rc ia l o v e rtu res in th e w e ste rn G r e a t L ak e s. H a v a r d argues t h a t d e sp ite th e se a d v an ta g es, it w o u ld b e a naiv e e x ag g e ra tio n to sp e a k o f Iro q u o is tr iu m p h : “I f th e re w a s a tr iu m p h fo r a n y o n e , it w as fo r th e F r e n c h . T h e T ree o f The French in North America, rev. ed. ( M a rk h a m , O n t.: F itz h e n ry & W h ite s id e , 1 9 9 8 ); H a v a rd , The Great Peace of Montreal of 1701; Jo se A n to n io B ra n d a o , Your Fyre Shall Burn No More: Iroquois Policy toward New France and Its Native Allies to 1701 (L in c o ln : P e ac e h a d b e e n p la n te d in M o n tr e a l, n o t in O n o n d a g a .” W . J. E cc le s, U n iv e rsity o f N e b ra s k a P re ss, 2 0 0 0 ). 179 1 80 | Early American Studies • Winter 2016 im m en se g eo g rap h ic area o f N o rth A m e ric a .16 In th e G re a t Peace o f 1701, o ver fo rty in d ig en o u s n a tio n s reco g n ized th e g o v e rn o r g en era l as th e “fath e r” o f th e alliance. A lth o u g h th e G r e a t L akes N atives h a d m a n d a te d th a t th e alliance b e “larg ely A lg o n q u ia n in fo rm a n d sp irit,” th ey still n e ed ed th e “g lu e ” o f O n o n tio ’s a u th o rity a n d F re n ch m e d ia tio n to b in d th e alliance to g e th e r.17 L a V erend ry e w as a F re n ch co lo nial servan t, fiercely loyal to th e F ren ch C ro w n , a n d w as task ed to carry o u t th e im p e ria l policies o f Versailles. H e s o u g h t to m ak e th e M o n so n i, C ree , A ssin ib o in e, A n ish in a a b e , an d D a k o ta p eo ples all “b ro th e rs an d ch ild ren o f th e sam e fa th e r,” a n d to b in d th e m to th is p reex istin g n e tw o rk o f F re n c h -m e d ia te d alliances e m a n a tin g fro m th e G re a t L akes regio n . T h e F re n c h co lo nial h isto ria n G illes H a v a rd has d e scrib ed th is alliance n e tw o rk as an e m a n a tin g “circle o f p eace,” O n o n tio ’s cab in s ta n d in g a t th e c e n te r o f th e circle.18 In th eo ry , th e ro le a n d ack n o w l­ e d g e m e n t o f th e g o v ern o r g en era l as th e fath e r o f th e alliance w o u ld have p e rm itte d th e p eo p les o f th e n o rth w e ste rn in te rio r to fo rg et th e ir in terv il­ lage q u arrels a n d to forge a c o m m o n id en tity . In reality, th is was o fte n far fro m th e case because o f p reex istin g p a tte rn s o f w arfare, w h ic h o fte n p laced F re n ch officers a t th e w estern p o sts in a p erilo us p o sitio n . U n lik e th e ir G re a t L akes c o u n te rp arts, th e C rees h a d rejected O n o n tio as th e ir fath er; th e y d id n o t n eed th e “g lu e” o f F re n ch m ed ia tio n to h o ld to g e th e r th e ir alread y cohesive alliance w ith th e A ssin ib o in es, n o r d id th e y n eed o r w a n t O n o n tio ’s a u th o rity to p ro te c t th e m fro m th e ir tra d itio n al en em ies, th e D ak o tas. L a V erendrye a tte m p te d to tak e p o ssession o f h u g e sw aths in th e n am e o f th e F re n c h C ro w n . S ta rtin g in th e 1730s, L a V erendrye an d o th e r F ren ch 16. F o r a m o re in -d e p th analysis o f th e F re n c h im p e ria l stra te g y o f th e Pax Gallica, see G illes H a v a rd , “P ro te c tio n a n d U n e q u a l A llian ce: T h e F ren ch C o n c e p tio n o f S o v ereig n ty over In d ia n s in N e w F ra n c e ,” in R o b e rt E n g le b e rt a n d G u i l l a u m e T easdale, ed s., French and Indians in the Heart o f North America, 1630-1815 (E a st L an sin g : M ic h ig a n S tate U n iv ersity Press, 2 0 1 3 ). H a v a rd ( 1 1 8 -2 3 ) relates th e stra tegy o f Pax Gallica to M ic h e l F o u ca u lt’s ex p ressio n silent war, a w ay fo r th e F ren ch to ex ten d fo rm s o f d o m in a tio n over in d ig en o u s p eo ples. H a v a rd argu es th a t th is “p e a c e -w ar” w as b u ilt o n co n c ep ts o f a rb itra tio n a n d m e d ia tio n . F re n c h m e d ia tio n , an in te g ra l c o m p o n e n t o f th e m id d le g ro u n d , w as n o t a b e n ig n o r e g a l i t a r i a n p ro c ­ ess. A lth o u g h th e F ren ch w ere u n a b le to su bju gate th e In d ia n s as “su bjects,” th ey w ere, n ev erth eless, ch arac teriz ed as “su b o rd in a te allies w h o h ad p erfo rm ed an act o f p o litical allegian ce, w h ile still re ta in in g th e ir so vereign ty.” 17. W h ite , The Middle Ground, 1 4 3 -4 5 . 18. G illes H a v a rd , Empire et metissages: Indiens et Franfais dans lepays d'en haut, 1660-1715 (Paris: P resses d e l’U n iv ersite P a ris -S o rb o n n e , 2 0 0 3 ), 2 1 7 -1 9 . Berthelette • “Freres et Enfants du meme Pere” | im p e ria l a g e n ts b e g a n to e s ta b lis h p o s ts in th e te rr ito rie s n o r th w e s t o f L a k e S u p e rio r, k n o w n as th e Petit Nord. T h e h is to ric a l g e o g ra p h e r P a u l H a c k e tt Petit Nord w as a n in fo rm a l re g io n a l d e s ig n a tio n h a s n o te d t h a t th e te r m e m p lo y e d firs t b y th e F r e n c h fu r tra d e rs “to d e s crib e th e larg e a n d v a lu a b le f u r - tr a d in g c o u n try n o r th o f L a k e S u p e rio r a n d e a s t o f L a k e W in n i p e g .”19 B y 1 7 3 8 L a V e re n d ry e ’s in te re s ts h a d b e g u n to s h if t s o u th w e s te rly , to w a rd th e p ra irie p a rk la n d s a n d th e n o r th e a s te rn G r e a t P la in s . I n p a rtic u la r, L a V e re n d ry e s o u g h t access to g e o g ra p h ic a l k n o w le d g e a n d tra d e o p p o r tu n itie s fro m th e M a n d a n , H id a ts a , a n d A r ik a ra p e o p le s o f th e M is s o u r i R iv e r V al­ ley .20 F in a lly , b y th e 1 7 4 0 s L a V e re n d ry e a n d h is so n s b e g a n to e s ta b lish p o s ts in th e H u d s o n B a y L o w la n d s a n d s u b a rc tic re g io n s n o r th w e s t o f L a k e W in n i p e g in a n a tt e m p t to d iv e rt tra d e aw ay fro m th e H u d s o n ’s B a y C o m ­ p a n y p o s ts . L a V e re n d ry e a ss e rte d p o s s es s io n o v er th e se v a rio u s te rr ito rie s o n m a p s as w e ll as in c o lo n ia l w r itin g s . A s th e N a tiv e A m e ric a n h is to ria n M ic h a e l W it g e n h a s a rg u e d , “ T h e so cial w o rld o f th e F r e n c h a llia n c e . . . w as c o n tin ­ g e n t o n th e re la tio n s h ip b e tw e e n th e F re n c h a n d t h e ir I n d ia n allies. T h is m e a n t t h a t th e F re n c h E m p ir e in th e w e s t f u n c tio n e d as a n e x te n s io n o f th e s e re la tio n s h ip s , o r n o t a t all.”21 H is to r ia n P a tric ia S e ed h a s s im ila rly a rg u e d t h a t th e F r e n c h to o k “p o s s e s s io n ” o f th e se te r rito rie s th r o u g h c o n ­ s e n t fro m in d ig e n o u s allies a n d tra d e p a rtn e rs . T h i s c o n s e n t fro m in d ig e ­ n o u s p a rtic ip a n ts , h o w e v e r, c o u ld b e e ith e r c o e rc ed o r fa b r ic a te d b y th e F r e n c h p a rtic ip a n ts . N e v e rth e le s s , th e s e c e re m o n ie s o f c o n s e n t (h o w e v e r d is to rte d ) w e re still n ec es sa ry a n d u n d e rta k e n b y th e re p re s e n ta tiv e s o f O n o n t i o in th e n o r th w e s te rn in te r io r .22 W h e n L a V e re n d ry e firs t e s ta b lis h e d h im s e lf a t F o rt St. C h a r le s a t th e L a k e o f th e W o o d s , h e u n d e r to o k a c e re m o n y o f p o s se ss io n a n d p re s e n te d h im s e lf as th e m o u th p ie c e o f O n o n tio , th e g re a t f a th e r o f th e F r e n c h alli­ a n ce. W h e n a g r o u p o f A s s in ib o in e e m iss arie s firs t p re s e n te d th em s e lv e s to th e F r e n c h a n d r e q u e s te d t h a t th e y e s ta b lis h a tra d in g p o s t in th e v icin ity , L a V e re n d ry e m a d e a s o le m n s p e ec h w e lc o m in g th e m in to th e tra d e a llia n c e a n d O n o n t i o ’s fam ily : 1 9 . P a u l H a c k e tt, A Very Remarkable Sickness: Epidemics in the Petit Nord, 1670 to 1846 (W in n ip e g : U n iv e rs ity o f M a n ito b a P re ss , 2 0 0 2 ), 15. 2 0 . F o r m o r e d is c u ss io n o n th e M a n d a n , H id a ts a , a n d A rik a ra p e o p le s in th e e ig h te e n th c e n tu ry , see E li z a b e th A . F e n n , Encounters a t the H eart o f the World: A History o f the M andan People (N e w Y ork: H il l a n d W a n g , 2 0 1 4 ). 2 1 . W itg e n , A n Infinity o f Nations, 1 5 8 . 2 2 . P a tr ic ia S e ed , Ceremonies o f Possession in Europe's Conquest o f the N ew World, 1 4 9 2 -1 6 4 0 (N e w Y ork: C a m b r id g e U n iv e rs ity P re ss ), 4 1 . 181 182 | Early American Studies • Winter 2016 Figure 1. M ap o f the Petit Nord, from Paul H ackett, A Very Remarkable Sickness: Epidemics in the P etit Nord, 1670 to 1846 (W innipeg: University o f M anitoba Press, 2002), 16. I then began by telling them that our Father, the great chief, would be very glad that they had come to see me at fort St. Charles: in his name I received them into the number o f his children; I recommended them never to listen to any other word than his, which would be announced to them by me or by someone in my place. . . . [T]he French were numerous, there was no land unknown to them, and there was only one great chief among them, whose mouth piece I was, and whom all the others obeyed. If they obeyed him also as his children, every year he would send Frenchmen to them to bring them such things as they required to satisfy their needs.23 23. La Verendrye, “Report in Journal Form,” 147-48. Berthelette “Freres et Enfants du meme Pere” • | L a V e r e n d r y e d e s c r ib e d h im s e lf a s a “ m o u th p ie c e ” o f O n o n t i o , th e “o n e g r e a t c h ie f .” H a v a r d h a s d e s c r ib e d th e s e “ m o u th p ie c e s ” o f O n o n t i o , o r im p e ­ r ia l a g e n ts o f th e F r e n c h C r o w n , as “d ip lo m a ts in I n d ia n la n d s , v e rita b le p o lit ­ ic a l in te r m e d ia r ie s , w h o gave th e ir h o sts m a n y g ifts w h ile s im u lta n e o u s ly i n te r v e n i n g i n t h e i r d o m e s t ic a ff a ir s .” B y v i r t u e o f t h e i r p o s i ti o n s a s m e d i a t o r s a n d a r b ite r s o f a llia n c e , th e F r e n c h “c la im e d t h e r ig h t to in te r f e re in a b o r ig in a l a f f a i r s a n d , i n t h e m a r g i n s o f t h e i r e m p i r e , ‘f a b r i c a t e d ’ i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w t o s o m e e x t e n t t o e n s u r e t h e s y m b o l i c s u b j u g a t i o n o f t h e I n d i a n n a t i o n s . ” 24 L a V e re n d ry e w o u ld use h is p o s itio n as th e re p re s e n ta tiv e o f O n o n tio in an a t t e m p t t o i n f l u e n c e N a ti v e i n te r v illa g e p o l itic s a n d d ip lo m a c y . T h e F r e n c h illu s io n o f e m p ir e w e s t o f th e G r e a t L a k e s s o o n b e g a n to u n r a v e l w h e n , in J a n u a r y 1 7 3 4 , L a V e re n d ry e le a r n e d fr o m M a rin U rte s - b is e , o n e o f h is m e r c h a n t a s so c ia te s a t F o r t S t. P ie rr e a t R a in y L a k e , th a t a p a rty D a k o ta of and th re e h u n d re d A n is h in a a b e M o n so n i v illa g e s in w a r rio rs th e w as p re p a rin g to a tta c k U p p e r M i s s i s s i p p i V a l l e y . 2S A t th is p o i n t, L a V e r e n d r y e h a d a lr e a d y b e e n in th e B o u n d a r y W a te r s r e g io n o f th e Petit Nord f o r m o re th a n th r e e y e a rs a n d h a d e s ta b lis h e d tw o t r a d ­ in g p o s ts , F o r t S t. P ie rr e a t R a in y L a k e a n d F o r t S t. C h a r le s a t th e L a k e o f th e W oods. T h e M o n s o n i c h ie f n e a r F o r t S t. P ie rr e fe a r e d th a t th e th r e e h u n d r e d w a r rio rs w o u ld d e p a r t o n th e w a r p a th w ith o u t F r e n c h c o n ­ s e n t, b e c a u s e th e y w e re b e in g “s tr o n g ly u r g e d th e r e to b y s o m e o ld w o m e n w h o w e re w e e p in g d a y a n d n ig h t m o u rn in g o v e r th e d e a th o f th e ir re la ­ tiv e s a n d b e s e e c h in g p t h e m t o g o t o w a r t o a v e n g e t h e m . ” 26 L a V e r e n d r y e le f t F o r t S t. C h a r le s in h a s te a n d a rriv e d a t F o r t S t. P ie r r e b y th e e n d o f th e m o n th , s e e k in g to p r e v e n t th e w a r a g a in s t th e D a k o ta s a n d C h a g o u a m ig o n (L a P o in te ) A n is h in a a b e g , b o th o th e r w is e c a lle d th e Scioux 24. H a v a r d , “ P r o te c ti o n a n d U n e q u a l A llia n c e ,” 1 2 5 . 25. A c c o r d in g to G . H u b e r t S m it h , th e M o n s o n is w e re a s m a lle r g r o u p liv in g a r o u n d R a in y L a k e w h o w e re c lo s e ly r e la te d to th e C r e e s , “ in s o m e n o w o b s c u re m a n n e r ”; G . H u b e r t S m ith , Plains, 1738-43 The Explorations o f the La Verendryes in the Northern (L in c o ln : U n iv e r s ity o f N e b ra s k a P re s s, 1 9 8 0 ), 7 . C o n v e rse ly , V ic ­ t o r P . L y tw y n a r g u e s t h a t th e M o n s o n is h a d “ a c lo s e a s s o c ia tio n w it h th e O jib w a ” ; V i c t o r P . L y t w y n , The Fur Trade o f the Little North: Indians, Pedlars, and Englishmen East of Lake Winnipeg, 1760-1821 ( W i n n i p e g : R u p e r t ’s L a n d R e s e a r c h C e n t r e , 1 9 8 6 ) , 4 . S im ila rly , M ic h a e l W i t g e n id e n tif ie s th e M o n s o n is a s a p e o p le “ c o n n e c te d p o litic a lly a n d s o c ia lly to th e p e o p le o f B o w - e - ti n g , o r S a u lt S a in te M a r ie , b u t th e y w e re fro m th e w e s te r n in t e r io r . . . . [ T h e y ] h u n t e d a n d liv e d in th e w a te r s h e d s t h a t c o n n e c te d G ic h ig a m ii n g ( L a k e S u p e r io r ) to G ic h i- z ii b i ( th e M is s is s ip p i) a n d th e D a k o ta c o u n tr y .” W itg e n , 26. An Infinity o f Nations, 185. L a V e re n d ry e , “ R e p o r t in J o u r n a l F o r m ,” 1 6 5 . 183 184 | Early American Studies franfois, • Winter 2016 w h o w e r e a llie d to t h e F r e n c h a t t h e L a k e P e p i n t r a d i n g p o s t o n t h e U p p e r M i s s i s s i p p i . 27 T h e F r e n c h h a d a t t e m p t e d t o r e o p e n c o m m e r c i a l t ie s w i t h t h e e a s t e r n D a k o t a s f o l l o w i n g t h e F r e n c h - A l g o n q u i a n a l l ia n c e d e f e a t o f t h e M e s q u a k i e s i n 1 7 3 2 . 28 T h e D a k o t a s s i d e d w i t h t h e F r e n c h t r a d e r s a n d e v e n c la s h e d w i t h t h e M e s q u a k ie s o v e r t h e is s u e o f F r e n c h c o m m e r c ia l p r e s e n c e . G a r y C la y to n A n d e r s o n h a s d e s c rib e d th e F o x W a rs as a n e v e n t w ith “m o m e n ­ to u s im p lic a tio n s fo r th e D a k o ta s , w h o n o lo n g e r re m a in e d iso la te d fro m c o n s is te n t c o lo n ia l e x p l o ita tio n .” A la r g e r t r a d i n g p o s t w a s e s ta b lis h e d n e a r L a k e P e p i n a n d t h e D a k o t a s w e r e b r o u g h t i n t o O n o n t i o ’s f a m i l y a n d t u r n e d i n t o “ a c o m m e r c i a l l y r e s p o n s i v e p e o p l e . ” 29 C o m m e r c i a l e x c h a n g e c o u l d s i m ­ p l y n o t e x i s t o u t s i d e t h e a l l ia n c e . A s R i c h a r d W h i t e a r g u e s , t h e f u r t r a d e ‘w a s s t r u c t u r e d b y t h e o v e r a r c h i n g p o l i t i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p o f F r e n c h f a t h e r s t o t h e i r A l g o n q u i a n c h i l d r e n . T h i s a l l ia n c e p r o v i d e d t h e m e a n s f o r l i n k i n g t h e A l g o n q u i a n s y s t e m o f e x c h a n g e , w i t h i ts e m p h a s i s o n t h e p r i m a c y o f s o c i a l r e l a t i o n , t o a m u c h l a r g e r w o r l d e c o n o m y . ”30 A n d e r s o n a rg u e s th a t E u r o p e a n tra d e rs w e re f o rc e d in to th e k in s h ip o b li­ g a tio n s o f t h e in d ig e n o u s s o c io e c o n o m ic s y s te m : “ K in s h ip a n d e c o n o m ic t i e s a ls o a l l o w e d a c c e s s t o t h e D a k o t a p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m . . . . [ B y ] t h e c r e a t i o n o f k i n s h ip tie s , e n t ir e n a tiv e d e s c e n t g r o u p s c o u ld b e o b lig a te d to h u n t f o r t h e i r b e n e f i t a n d t o t u r n t h e i r p e l t s o v e r t o t h e i r n e w r e l a t i v e , t h e t r a d e r . ”31 S i m i la r ly , P a u l C . T h i s t l e h a s a r g u e d , “ I n b a n d s o c i e t ie s , s u c h a s t h a t o f t h e C r e e , tr a d e a u to m a ti c a l ly e n c o m p a s s e s s o c ia l r e l a tio n s h ip s a n d o b lig a tio n s , 2 7 . W i t g e n r e f e r s t o t h e A n i s h i n a a b e p e o p l e o f t h e S i o u x - S a u t e u r a ll i a n c e a s t h e p e o p le o f S h a g w a a m ik o n g , k n o w n in th e F r e n c h c o lo n ia l s o u rc e s as L a P o in te d u C hequam egon Nations, on th e w e s te rn sh o re o f L ake S u p e r io r ; W i t g e n , An Infinity of 3 0 5 . T h e re s t o f th e p e o p le s o f A n is h in a a b e w a k i se e m to h a v e re m a in e d a tta c h e d to F r e n c h o r E n g lis h tr a d e in te re s ts in th e pays d'en haut a n d th e Petit Nord. 28. F or a m ore d e ta ile d and E d m u n d s a n d J o s e p h L . P e y s e r, France ( N o r m a n : in -d e p th a n a ly s is o f th e F o x W a rs , see D a v id The Fox Wars: The Mesquakie Challenge to New U n iv e r s it y o f O k la h o m a P r e s s , 1 9 9 3 ) ; J o s e p h L . P e y s e r , “ T h e F a te o f th e F o x S u r v iv o r s: A D a r k C h a p t e r in th e F lis t o r y o f th e F r e n c h in th e U p p e r C o u n tr y , 1 7 2 6 - 1 7 3 7 ,” Wisconsin Magazine o f History 7 3 (1 9 9 0 ): 8 3 - 1 1 0 ; B r e tt R u s h f o r th , “ S la v e ry , th e F o x W a r s , a n d th e L im its o f A lli a n c e ,” Quarterly 6 3 , William and Mary n o . 1 (2 0 0 6 ): 5 3 -8 0 . 2 9 . G a r y C l a y t o n A n d e r s o n , Kinsmen o f Another Kind: Dakota-White Relations in the Upper Mississippi Valley, 1650-1862 ( L i n c o l n : U n i v e r s i t y o f N e b r a s k a P r e s s , 1 9 8 4), 4 1 -4 2 . 3 0. W h ite , The Middle Ground, 1 0 4 - 5 . Kinsmen o f Another Kind, 31. A n d e rso n , 3 0 -3 1 . Berthelette • “Freres et E nfants du meme Pere" | 185 and all exchange is a social— not merely an economic—process. ” 32 There­ fore, the establishment of a trade agreement with the Crees or Dakotas automatically instigated a sociopolitical protocol of kinship and reciprocity; trade was not simply an economic exchange. In indigenous societies, gift giving was a sign and function of kinship bonds, a lasting familial bond that was constructed through reciprocal material exchange. Thistle argues that the Crees sought to impose “their conceptions of proper kin-like behaviour on the traders . ” 33 The French had thus extended the alliance to the Dakotas, against the greater wishes of their Cree and Assiniboine allies. Similarly, the Dakotas were not content with the inclusion of the Crees and Assiniboines as chil­ dren in Onontio’s family. In particular, the Dakotas were aggrieved by the number of firearms and amount of ammunition that La Verendrye was plac­ ing directly in the hands of their sworn enemies. As Anderson comments, “The French seemed oblivious to the impact their growing commercial sys­ tem was having on intertribal relations. ” 34 The sole hope for the preserva­ tion of French presence would have been a policy of strict neutrality, however, village politics and kinship obligations had dictated that La Veren­ drye allow his son Jean-Baptiste to accompany the war party against the Mascoutens Pouanes. Unbeknown to La Verendrye, the Mascoutens Poiianes were the Dakotas of the Prairies. Moreover, the woodland-based Dakotas, Scioux franfois, among whom the French had established them­ selves around Lake Pepin, now spent much of the summers hunting buffalo 32. Paul C. Thistle, Indian-European Trade Relations in the Lower Saskatchewan R iver Region to 1840 (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1986), 18. 33. For a more detailed analysis o f socioeconomic relationships between Euro­ pean traders and Native societies, as well as fur-trade marriages {a la fa fo n du pays ) in the P etit N ord and in the Great Lakes, see Jennifer S. H. Brown, Strangers in Blood: Fur Trade Company Families in Indian Country (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1980); Susan Sleeper-Smith, Indian Women and French M en: Rethinking Cultural Encounter in the Western Great Lakes (Amherst: University o f Massachusetts Press, 2001); Arthur J. Ray, Indians in the F ur Trade: Their Role as Hunters, Trappers and Middlemen in the Lands Southwest o f Hudson Bay, 1 6 6 0 -1 8 7 0 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1974); Andrew E. LaBounty, “ ‘This Coun­ tries Ladies’: Gender Negotiations at the Northwest Company, Grand Portage,” Nebraska Anthropologist 24 (2009): 36-47; Sylvia Van Kirk, M any Tender Ties: Women in Fur-Trade Society, 1 6 7 0 -1 8 7 0 (1980; repr., Norman: University of Okla­ homa Press, 1983); Cary Miller, “Gifts as Treaties: The Political Use o f Received Gifts in Anishinaabeg Communities, 1820-1832,” American Indian Quarterly 26, no. 2 (2002): 221-45. 34. Anderson, Kinsmen o f Another Kind, 42-43. 186 | Early American Studies ' Winter 2016 o n t h e p ra ir ie s . T h i s m a d e c la s h e s b e tw e e n t h e D a k o t a s a n d t h e g r o w in g C r e e - M o n s o n i- A s s in ib o in e c o a litio n in e v ita b le .35 U p o n a rr iv a l a t R a i n y L a k e , L a V e re n d ry e g a th e r e d a n a s s e m b ly o f p r o m ­ in e n t w a r r io r s a n d w a r c h ie f s in t h e h o u s e o f M a r i n U r te s b is e . L a V e r e n d ry e w a s c o n f id e n t t h a t h e c o u ld p r e v e n t th e o u t b r e a k o f w a r. H i s a c tio n s , h o w ­ e v e r, w o u ld o n ly f u r th e r e n ta n g le th e F r e n c h in th e C r e e - M o n s o n i p o litic a l s y s te m . L a V e re n d r y e b e g a n th e a s s e m b ly b y o p e n ly b e r a tin g a n d a d m o n ­ is h i n g t h e r e c o g n i z e d w a r c h ie f: B y th i s f la g I b in d y o u to m y s e lf ; b y th i s c o lla r I b a r a g a in s t y o u th e r o a d to th e S a u lte u r a n d th e S io u x [ A n is h in a a b e g a n d D a k o ta s ] ; a n d I g iv e y o u th i s to b a c c o in o r d e r t h a t y o u r w a r r i o r s m a y s m o k e i t a n d u n d e r s t a n d m y w o r d . . . . P e a c e is p r o ­ p o s e d , y e t y o u s e e k to tr o u b le th e la n d . D o y o u w a n t to s tr ik e th e S a u lte u r a n d th e S i o u x ? Y o u n e e d n ’t l e a v e t h e f o r t ; h e r e a r e s o m e ( p o i n t i n g t o t h e F r e n c h m e n ) , e a t i f y o u a r e b o l d e n o u g h , y o u a n d y o u r w a r r i o r s . I p i t y y o u ; I k n o w y o u l o v e w a r . 36 L a V e re n d ry e a tte m p te d to s h a m e th e w a r p a rty in to a b o rtin g th e e x p e d i­ tio n . S in c e t h e F r e n c h w e re a ls o a llie d w i t h t h e D a k o ta s a n d A n is h in a a b e g , L a V e re n d ry e m o c k in g ly in v ite d th e C re e s a n d M o n s o n is to s trik e a t th e F r e n c h m e n s i t t i n g i n c o u n c il , s in c e s y m b o l ic a l ly t h e y w e r e a ll k i n s m e n . A C re e c h ie f n a m e d L a M a rte b la n c h e , w h o h a d a c c o m p a n ie d th e F re n c h fro m F o r t S t . C h a r l e s , s u p p o r t e d L a V e r e n d r y e ’s a p p e a l ; h e a r g u e d : “ M y b r o t h e r s , d o y o u re fle c t o n w h a t y o u a re a b o u t to d o ? T h e S a u lte u r a n d S io u x a re o u r a llie s a n d c h ild r e n o f th e s a m e F a th e r . H o w h e a r t a s to w a n t to k ill h is o w n r e la tiv e s ? ” can a n y m a n h av e so b a d a 37 T h e a s s e m b ly d e li b e r a te d o n t h e b e s t c o u r s e o f a c tio n . F in a lly , t h e o p p o s ­ in g c h i e f r o s e a n d to ld L a V e r e n d r y e , “ M y F a t h e r , I a g r e e to a ll y o u a s k o n c o n d iti o n , n e v e r th e le s s , t h a t y o u w ill n o t p r e v e n t u s f r o m g o in g to w a r , a n d t h a t y o u w ill le t u s h a v e y o u r s o n as a w itn e s s o f o u r a c ti o n s .” L a V e re n d ry e s e e m s to h a v e a g re e d to th e s e c o n d itio n s a n d p u t o n a g o o d p e rfo rm a n c e : “I n p r e s e n tin g th e h a tc h e t to h im fo r th e ir d e a d . ” 38 I s a n g th e w a r so n g , a fte r w h ic h I w e p t A t th is p o in t th e w a r w a s p u t o f f u n til th e s p rin g , w h e n th e w a r r io r s w o u ld r e c o n v e n e a t F o r t S t. C h a r le s to c o lle c t p o w d e r , a m m u ­ n itio n , a n d , m o s t im p o r ta n t, h is e ld e s t s o n , J e a n -B a p tis te . L a V e re n d ry e d is tr ib u te d to b a c c o , p re s e n te d th e h a tc h e t, s a n g th e w a r 35. L a V e re n d r y e , “ R e p o r t in J o u r n a l F o r m ,” 1 3 7 - 3 9 . 36. Ib id ., 1 6 8 - 6 9 . 37. Ib id . 38. Ib id . Berthelette • “Freres et Enfants du meme Pere” | song, and even wept for the dead. Indeed, La Verendrye understood the importance of adhering to the legitimacy of the Cree-M onsoni culture of warfare. H e also understood the importance of exchanging gifts within Algonquian societies; goods exchanged hands virtually every time the French-Algonquian alliance came to a diplomatic compromise or decision.39 French imperial politics also emerged in the deliberations: La Verendrye attempted to bind the recognized war chief to him through the symbolic use of the French flag. Despite La Verendrye’s use of Cree-M onsoni cultural conventions and efforts to bind them to the imperial center of the alliance, however, he was unable to prevent the war against the Dakotas and the Chagouamigon Anishinaabeg. H e managed only to delay the war party until spring, and at the expense of his son’s accompaniment, which further entangled the French in the Native political system of the northwestern interior. Later that year, in May 1734, the French who had wintered at Fort St. Pierre arrived at Fort St. Charles with nearly four hundred M onsoni war­ riors armed for war, “who began singing the war song the same evening.” The war chief repeated the conditions that had been stated and agreed on by both sides at Fort St. Pierre in the winter. The war chief reiterated that Jean-Baptiste accompany them on the warpath: “If you are willing to let us have your son to come with us, we will go straight wherever you tell us; but if you refuse I cannot answer for where the blow may fall. . . . I am chief, it is true, but I am not always the master of their will.”40 T he war chief con­ fessed that only Jean-Baptiste de la Verendrye would be able to lead the war party to the most suitable enemy; otherwise, the war chief threatened that the blow could very well fall on the Dakotas or the Anishinaabeg, whom La Verendrye wanted to avoid provoking. Although Jean-Baptiste was still “passionately desirous of going,” La Ver­ endrye was nevertheless reluctant: “I was agitated, I must confess, and cru­ elly tormented by conflicting thoughts.” Naturally, La Verendrye feared for his son’s safety as the Crees and Monsonis sought to war against the M ascoutens Pouanes, a nation with which he was unfamiliar. H e wondered, “how am I to entrust my eldest son to barbarians whom I did not know [Cree-M onsoni], and whose name even I scarcely knew, to go and fight against other barbarians of whose name and o f whose strength I knew noth­ ing? W ho could tell whether my son would ever return?”41 39. W hite, The M iddle G ro u n d 94. 40. La Verendrye, “Report in Journal Form,” 174. 41. Ibid., 175-76. 187 1 8 8 Early American Studies | L a V e re n d ry e F r e n c h m e n th a t to m y w a r.” re a s o n o f s o n m y I f L a to d ry e a n d h e a d L a h im V e re n d ry e h im , “ a s C r e e h e a n d re fu s e d is to n o t th e a s ic a lly : “M C re e ; w e y a re a ll d o m a r c h in g o n e . ” 43 J e a n - B a p t i s t e im p o r ta n c e T h e 1 7 3 4 , b o th a s a s w e ll u n w ittin g ly th e L a a s C r e e C re e s th e a n d a n d M a s u n fa m ilia r g r o u n d — D e tr o it a n d th e m is s io n s , e n e m ie s Ib id ., 1 7 5 - 7 7 . 4 3 . Ib id ., 1 8 0 - 8 1 . 4 4 . C o n c e r n in g th e d e m a n d e d M L a fin d m ilita ry s u c h J e a n - B a p tis te a s c o u te n s V e re n d ry e fa c t a s th e d e L a P o u a n e s , W “ p ro v e h is life d id a n d Iro q u o is V e r e n d r y e ’s itg e n to c a re o f a lm o s t c a rry e m b a r k S t. B o th h im in a n d o f w ith w e th e a re a ll p a ra m o u n t C h a rle s F r e n c h F r e n c h in D a k o ta s T h e in M w a rfa re . o f w a rfa re . a th e ir a n d e n te r o n M o n ­ in to th e o f th e fo rts h is to ry ra id c o n s id e r B e y o n d p e r m a n e n t in to b e c o m e w o u ld to a y h a d C re e s s o n th e pays m id d le s u c h o f as su c c e ss E n g l i s h . 44 p a r tic ip a tio n a rg u e s w illin g n e s s I o b e d ie n tly a ro s e p a tte rn s h a v e a n d to r a th e r d ip lo m a t­ in fra s tr u c tu re th e y h im o f J e a n - B a p tis te o f h is a n d fa m ilia r th e ir o n s o n is . th e th e th e lim ite d “ a t ta k e to b e e n F o r t o f h im s e lf. g a rris o n s , n o r M th a t th a t th e a o n s o n is . m in e in te rv illa g e p o litic s th e a re a t im p lic a te o f N a tiv e n o t ic h ilim a c k in a c — 4 2 . to th e i f h a v e a n d to M d e s ire d a p p ro p ria tio n s ta k e d id to to V e re n ­ p e r m it lis te n s itu a tio n c a b in s p a rty o n s o n i to a n d o f y o u , im p lie d v e rs io n w o r ld th e C re e s a n o th e r a lie n M o n g r e a tly s e e m s p u b lic c a n o e s , is h in g L a in d is p u te C re e s b e g w a r p a rty a s y o u .” A y o u r V e re n d ry e F re n c h a g a in s t c o m m o n a g a in s t b e L a I W fo r o f t h e i r v a l o u r . ” 42 o f m y s e lf ,” a n d re s o lv e th e th e s o u g h t c o u n te d to th a t J e s u it a n d b o th C r e e - M o n s o n is s o n m a n d a te d d’en haut, o n s o n i in to v e x e d , o f w a r th e h a v e y o k e .” w o u ld w itn e s s m u c h F r e n c h o n s o n is , b u t s a id s a v a g e s w a s th e p a rty , V e re n d ry e fa tig u e . T h e y w ith p la c e J e a n - B a p tis te a n d b e tw e e n to w a r . “th e r e ta k e F re n c h th e . g o n e th a t a n d C r e e s - M to L a V e re n d ry e to th e a n o th e r to g e th e r; la s u b s e q u e n t M th e y V e r e n d r y e ’s to fe a r o f f th e o n s o n i as a b le b e f o rm a tio n e n ta n g le d D a k o ta s , s o n is d e fig u re h e a d c e re m o n ia l th e T h e a w a s w o r rie d to w is h e d c h ie f .” s e e m n o t h e it w ith C r e e - M w a rrio rs b r o th e r s , s o n , c o u n s e llo r a c c u s to m e d th e ir c a n o e s . J e a n - B a p tis te a d v ic e . h a d a c c o m p a n y J e a n - B a p tis te o n s o n i g iv e s h a k in g h im m o s t in te llig e n t w h o h a d th e ir “ c o n s id e r a b le a ll t h e to h is to c o n s u lte d F r e n c h m a n a llia n c e firs t “ a s w a r n e d o v e r M th e ir I a ttr ib u te o f th e ir h is b e s t firs t o n s o n is o n ly J e a n - B a p tis te , im m e d ia te ly th o s e th e J e a n - B a p tis te th e m d ile m m a w o u ld re s u lt C r e e s - M m a k e a c c o m p a n y to b e th e y th e th is a n d n o t c o n s o lid a te T h e a n d p o s t th a t p e r m itte d c a p a c ity . “I n V e re n d ry e fe a r c o w a rd s , w ith s o lid ify w ro te : w o u ld Winter 2016 • th a t s a c rific e th e h is in th e 1 7 3 4 C r e e s - M [ s o n ’s ] ra id o n s o n is b o d y i f h e Berthelette • “Freres et Enfants du meme Pere" | T w o y e a rs la te r , o n J u n e 6 , 1 7 3 6 , a D a k o t a - A n is h i n a a b e w a r p a r ty a m b u s h e d a n d k ille d J e a n - B a p t is t e , a lo n g w it h t h e J e s u it m is s io n a r y p r ie s t F a t h e r A u ln e a u a n d n i n e t e e n o t h e r F r e n c h m e n , o n a s m a ll is la n d in th e L a k e o f th e W o o d s . I m m e d ia t e l y , L a V e r e n d r y e ’s a llie s c la m o r e d f o r v e n ­ g e a n c e f o r J e a n - B a p t is t e ’s m u r d e r , a f te r w h i c h h is s ta tu s as c h ie f a n d h is im p o r ta n c e to t h e C r e e s - M o n s o n is b e c a m e e v e n m o r e a p p a r e n t. I n A u g u s t 1 7 3 6 tw o C r e e a n d M o n s o n i d e p u tie s to ld L a V e re n d r y e t h a t “ th e y w e re w e e p in g in c e s s a n tly d a y a n d n i g h t, th e y , t h e i r w o m e n a n d t h e i r c h ild r e n , f o r t h e d e a th o f m y s o n w h o m th e y h a d a d o p t e d as c h i e f o f th e tw o n a ti o n s .” M o r e o v e r , t h e A s s in ib o in e s s e e m to h a v e a ls o a d o p te d J e a n - B a p tis te as t h e i r c h ie f f o r th e r o le t h a t h e p la y e d in t h e e s ta b l is h m e n t o f F o r t M a u r e p a s o n t h e R e d R iv e r in 1 7 3 4 . T h e L a k e W i n n i p e g C r e e s a n d t h e A s s in ib o in e s a s k e d L a V e re n d r y e “ to le t th e m k n o w i f I i n t e n d to g o a n d a v e n g e th e b l o o d o f th e F r e n c h , a n d p a r ti c u la r ly t h a t o f m y s o n , w h o m t h e y h a d a d o p te d as t h e i r c h ie f f r o m t h e t im e w h e n h e w a s b u i ld i n g t h a t f o r t [ M a u r e p a s ] in t h e i r c o u n tr y , a n d w h o s e d e a th th e y h a d a ll n e v e r c e a s e d to b e w a il.”45 T h e c h ie f s o f th e C r e e s a n d th e M o n s o n is p r o p o s e d to g a t h e r a f o r m id a ­ b le w a r p a r ty , to p la c e L a V e re n d r y e a t t h e i r h e a d , a n d to g o a v e n g e th e d e a th o f J e a n - B a p t is t e a n d t h e o t h e r F r e n c h m e n . L a V e r e n d r y e s e e m s to h a v e p e r s o n a lly d e s ir e d to u n d e r t a k e a w a r o f v e n g e a n c e f o r t h e d e a th o f h is s o n a n d th e o t h e r F r e n c h m e n . C o lo n ia l p o litic s , h o w e v e r , p r e v e n te d th e c o u r s e o f v e n g e a n c e a g a in s t th e D a k o ta s a n d A n i s h in a a b e g . L a V e r e n d r y e t o ld h is N a tiv e a llie s t h a t h e h a d w r i tt e n to G o v e r n o r G e n e r a l B e a u h a r n o is a n d w o u ld th u s h a v e to “ f ir s t w a it to g e t w o r d f r o m t h e i r F a t h e r a n d t h a t I w o u l d c o m m u n ic a te it to t h e m , ” a n d h e “ t h a n k e d t h e m f o r t h e i r g o o d w ill.” T h e f o llo w in g w e e k , tw o o t h e r c h ie f s to ld L a V e re n d r y e t h a t th e y w e r e a lso w e e p i n g in c e s s a n tly o v e r t h e d e a th o f J e a n - B a p t is te ; t h e c h ie f s a s s u r e d h i m w a n te d to p r e s e rv e h is a llia n c e w it h t h e m . ” M o r e o v e r , W i t g e n a s s e rts , “ T h e F r e n c h h a d b e c o m e e x p e n d a b le p a w n s in a N a tiv e p o w e r s tr u g g le f o r d o m in a n c e o f th e w e s t e r n in t e r i o r o f N o r t h A m e r ic a , a n d L a V e re n d r y e h a d g iv e n u p h is s o n as p a r t o f a p o w e r s tr u g g le h e c o u ld n o t f u lly u n d e r s t a n d .” W i t g e n , An Infinity of Nations, 3 0 5 - 1 0 . F o r m o r e in f o r m a tio n o n F r e n c h - in d ig e n o u s r e la tio n s a t m ilit a r y a n d t r a d ­ in g p o s ts , o r “f o r t s o c ie tie s ,” s e e A r n a u d B a lv a y , L'epee et la plume: Amerindiens et soldats des troupes de la marine en Louisiane et au pays d’en haut (1683—1763) ( Q u e b e c : P r e s s e s d e l’U n iv e r s ite L a v a l, 2 0 0 6 ). 4 5 . P ie r r e G a u lt ie r d e L a V e re n d r y e , “ R e p o r t o f th e S ie u r d e la V e re n d r y e , L ie u ­ t e n a n t o f th e T r o o p s a n d C o m m a n d a n t o f th e P o s ts o f th e W e s t, P r e s e n te d to M o n s ie u r th e M a r q u is d e B e a u h a r n o is , G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l o f N e w F r a n c e , to B e S e n t to th e C o u r t ( 1 7 3 6 - 1 7 3 7 ) , ” in L a Verendrye, Journals and Letters, 2 2 1 -2 2 . 189 190 | Early American Studies • Winter 2016 t h a t “t h e y w e r e all r e a d y to m o v e a g a in s t t h e e n e m y , a n d a s k e d m e f o r v e n g e a n c e .”46 O n c e a g a in , L a V e re n d ry e m a d e t h e s a m e a w k w a rd a n d c lu m s y r e p ly t h a t h e c o u ld n o t a c t u n t il i n s t r u c ti o n s a rr iv e d f r o m M o n tr e a l. C o n c e r n in g th e d e a th o f h is e ld e s t s o n , L a V e re n d ry e c o u ld sa y o n ly , “ k n o w , m y c h ild r e n , t h a t th e F r e n c h n e v e r u n d e r t a k e w a r w i t h o u t h a v in g c o n s u lte d t h e i r F a t h e r a n d o n ly d o it b y h is o r d e r : y o u s e e th e r e f o r e t h a t , h o w e v e r a n g ry I m a y b e , m y a rm s a re ti e d .”47 U l tim a te ly , th e 1 7 3 6 L a k e o f th e W o o d s m a s s a c re h i g h li g h te d th e w e a k n e s s o f th e F r e n c h in t h e Petit Nord. T h e m a s s a c re w a s a d e f in in g m o m e n t f o r L a V e re n d r y e in t h e N a tiv e p o l itic a l s p h e re in t h e n in e te e n voyageurs n o t Petit Nord. T h e d e a th o f h is s o n , t h e J e s u it, a n d th e o n ly s h a tt e r e d t h e fra g ile illu s io n o f e m p ir e , b u t a lso g a v e th e F r e n c h c o m m a n d a n t a u n i q u e o p p o r tu n i ty to e n te r th e w o r ld o f N a tiv e p o litic s as a n a u t h o r ita tiv e p a r t i c i p a n t in th e p o litic a l s p a c e o f th e C r e e - M o n s o n i- A s s i n ib o i n e c o a litio n . L a V e re n d r y e ’s A b o r ig in a l a llie s p r o ­ p o s e d to e le v a te h i m to t h e s ta tu s o f c o a litio n w a r c h ie f o f th e M o n s o n i C r e e - A s s i n ib o i n e a llia n c e o f t h e Petit Nord. T w o m o n th s f o llo w in g th e m a s s a c re , f o u r e m is s a r ie s f r o m t h e C r e e s a n d t h e M o n s o n is p r o p o s e d to p la c e L a V e re n d ry e “a t t h e i r h e a d a n d g o to a v e n g e t h e d e a th o f m y s o n a n d t h e o t h e r F r e n c h m e n .” L a V e re n d ry e f u r t h e r n o t e d h o w C r e e a n d A s s in ib o in e e m is s a r ie s f r o m “t h e n e ig h b o u r h o o d o f L a k e W i n n i p e g ” v is ite d h i m a t F o r t S t. C h a r le s a n d b e g g e d h i m to “g o a n d a v e n g e t h e b l o o d o f th e F r e n c h .” L a V e re n d r y e w r o te h o w th e s e r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s f r o m L a k e W i n n i ­ p e g a lso h o p e d “to s e e m e o r o n e o f m y s o n s a t t h e i r h e a d .”48 L a V e re n d ry e r e je c te d th is o p p o r tu n i ty f o r v e n g e a n c e , a lt h o u g h h e s e e m s to h a v e c o n te m p la t e d t h e p o s s ib ility , as a l e t te r f r o m G o v e r n o r B e a u h a r n o is to V e rs a ille s a tte s ts : “ T h e S ie u r d e la V e re n d ry e h i n t e d to m e b e fo r e h e k n e w o f t h e d i s a s te r t h a t h e h o p e d I w o u ld n o t o b je c t . . . i f h e t o o k v e n ­ g e a n c e f o r t h e d e e d [ m a s s a c re ], I f in d it h a r d to b e lie v e t h a t , i f h e g a v e t h e v e ry le a s t r e f le c tio n to th e m a t te r , h e w o u ld t h i n k o f f o llo w in g a c o u rs e so c o n t r a r y to t h e g o o d o f t h e s e rv ic e s .”49 B e a u h a r n o is a lso la t e r w r o te t h a t “T h e S ie u r d e la V e re n d ry e . . . s m i t te n w it h g r i e f a t t h e d e a th o f h is s o n , w a s t h i n k i n g o f p u t t i n g h i m s e lf a t t h e h e a d o f t h e C r e e a n d t h e A s s i n ib o i n e a n d m a r c h i n g a g a in s t th e S io u x ( a n e x tr e m e a n d v e ry u n s u ita b le c o u rs e to 4 6 . I b id ., 2 2 0 - 2 1 . 4 7 . I b id ., 2 2 9 . 4 8 . Ib id ., 2 2 0 - 2 3 . 4 9 . B e a u h a r n o is to M a u r e p a s , Q u e b e c , O c t o b e r 1 4 , 1 7 3 6 , in L a V e re n d r y e , Jour­ nals and Letters, 213. Perthelette • “Freres et Enfants du meme Pere” | 191 take); it might be more fitting to abandon the post of the Western Sea, or to send another officer there to relieve the Sieur de la Verendrye, one who would strive to reconcile all the nations.”50 Despite La Verendrye’s musings to the governor of entering into a role of real political and military importance on the Native ground, La Verendrye decided to relinquish the course of vengeance and fell in line with French colonial policies. Following Beauharnois’s orders, and in an attempt to prevent further bloodshed, La Verendrye harangued the war chiefs to make peace and not war because the Crees, Assiniboines, Monsonis, and Dakotas were all “children of the same Father.”51 Thereafter, the French commandant’s reputation and ability to mediate and negotiate Onontio’s terms of the French alliance seem to have diminished significantly. This might have occurred for two separate reasons. First, La Verendrye’s own personal reputation diminished because he seemed unwilling or unable to avenge the death of his own son, Jean-Baptiste, whom the Monsoni-Cree alliance had adopted as the “chief of the two nations.” La Verendrye no longer seemed to be a suitable representative or “mouth piece” of Onontio. Second, Onontio failed to provide for the needs of his children. As White argues, “The obligation of Onontio to provide for the needs of his children became the basis for trade, and this in turn obligated the Algonquians, as good and satisfied children, to obey and aid him . . . to conceptualize exchange as the means by which their father provided for their needs.”52 On the ground, the politics of the Native interior definitely superseded the interests of French colonial centers of power in the St. Lawrence Valley. In the aftermath of the massacre, the French reputation of courage and bravery had also been shattered. From 1732 to 1736, La Verendrye had taken careful measures to construct a French reputation of courage and valor. Indeed, La Verendrye understood the basic tenets of the MonsoniCree culture of warfare and sought to emulate those attributes. La Veren­ drye attempted to justify his own actions in the terms of what he perceived to be the cultural premises of his allies.S3 In giving Jean-Baptiste over to the war party, La Verendrye “gave . . . a brief account of the manner of making 50. Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois, “Affair of the Murder of Twenty-one Voyageurs at the Lake of the Woods, in the Month of June 1736,” in La Verendrye, Journals and Letters, 266. 51. La Verendrye, “Report in Journal Form,” 169. 52. White, The Middle Ground, 112. 53. Ibid, 52. 192 | Early American Studies • Winter 2016 war in France, where men did not fight behind trees but in open country, etc. I showed them the wounds I had received in the battle of Malplaquet, which astonished them . ” 34 In Cree society, storytelling and the recounting of previous battles was an essential component of a warrior’s reputation in society. The ethnohistorian John Milloy has argued that “throughout his life the warrior was given the opportunity to reinforce his status by recounting his war record.” If a man was foolish enough to falsify or exaggerate his deeds, he would cer­ tainly be challenged by anyone who had been to war with him.ss By refusing to avenge the blood of his own son and the slain Frenchmen, La Verendrye was unable to substantiate the French warrior reputation, which he had constructed through his own storytelling and bravado. La Verendrye’s con­ demnation of a vengeful war against the Dakotas denied some of the princi­ pal indigenous tenets and codes of warfare— honor, prestige, vengeance and blood feuds, and the wars of mourning . 56 La Verendrye’s role in the formation of war parties also seems to have completely dissipated. Upon the formation of a war party to attack the Dakotas, the Monsoni chief La Colle assured La Verendrye that “it is no longer you who are taking any part in it [the war]; it is I and the chiefs of the three tribes. ” 57 Despite his exclusion, La Verendrye wrote that he nevertheless spoke to the Crees and Assiniboines of the French king’s victo­ ries in the War of the Polish Succession: “I spoke of the victories which the King had gained, the towns he had taken from his enemies, etc.” Optimisti­ cally, he wrote that the Cree audience “listened with attention,” and that the news of King Louis XVs victories “seemed to give them pleasure. ” 58 54. La Verendrye, “Report in Journal Form,” 181-82. 55. John S. Milloy, The Plains Cree: Trade, Diplomacy, and War, 1790 to 1870 (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1988), 76-77. 56. For a more in-depth analysis of Native American warfare, see, for example, Wayne E. Lee, “Peace Chiefs and Blood Revenge: Patterns of Restraint in Native American Warfare, 1500—1800,” Journal of Military History 71, no. 3 (2007): 701-41; Douglas B. Bamforth, “Indigenous People, Indigenous Violence: Precon­ tact Warfare on the North American Great Plains,” Man 29 (1994): 95-115; Kath­ erine L. Reedy-Maschner and Herbert D. G. Maschner, “Marauding Middlemen: Western Expansion and Violent Conflict in the Subarctic,” Ethnohistory 46, no. 4 (1999): 703-43; Armstrong Starkey, European and Native American Warfare, 16751815 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998); Patrick Malone, The Skulking Way o f War: Technology and Tactics among the New England Indians (Lanham, Md.: Madison Books, 1991). 57. La Verendrye, “Report of the Sieur de la Verendrye,” 232. 58. Ibid., 252. Berthelette • “Freres et Enfants du meme Pere” | 193 T h e s e w e re , h o w e v er, m e re ly sto ries o f a fa r-re m o v e d w a r in a faraw ay c o u n try . T h e C re e s a n d A ss in ib o in e s w e re d issatisfie d w ith th e la c k o f su b ­ s ta n tia te d F r e n c h b rav a d o a n d w ith O n o n tio ’s failu re to p ro v id e fo r th e ir n e ed s. I n th e sp rin g o f 1741 th e w a r c h ie f o f th e M o n s o n i, L a C o lle , h a d u n d e r ­ ta k e n a d e v a sta tin g c a m p a ig n a g a in st th e D a k o ta s. L a C o lie ’s w a r p a rty k illed se ven ty D a k o ta w a rrio rs a n d c a p tu re d a b o u t tw o h u n d r e d slaves.59 B e a u h a rn o is re p o rte d th a t L a C o lle h a d lo st o n ly six m e n in th e successful c a m p a ig n a n d t h a t “th e y [th e M o n s o n is a n d C re e s] h a d a lre ad y su n g th e w a r so n g ” fo r a n e w w a r th e fo llo w in g se aso n .60 L a V e re nd ry e w ro te , “I m a d e every p o ssible e ffo rt to g e t th e m to a b a n d o n th e ir d e sig n , b u t w ith o u t success, in sp ite o f all th e p re se n ts w h ic h I gave a n d c au se d to b e g ive n for th a t p u rp o se .”61 I t seem s t h a t b y th is p o in t th e m a te ria l basis o f th e alliance c o u ld n o t d issu ad e th e C re e s a n d A ssin ib o in e s fro m fulfillin g th e im m e d ia te p o litic a l n ee ds o f th e village re g io n a l p o litic s o n th e N a tiv e g ro u n d . I n te rv il­ lag e p o litic s, d ip lo m ac y , a n d p re e x is tin g p a tte rn s o f w arfa re o v e rru le d th e im p e ria l d esires a n d a m b itio n s o f O n o n tio . N A TIV E P O L IT IC S IN T H E H E A R T O F N O R T H A M E R IC A W h e n L a V e re nd ry e first arriv ed a t th e L a k e o f th e W o o d s in 1 7 3 2 - 3 3 , he e ag erly w ro te to G o v e rn o r B e a u h a rn o is th a t th e C r e e s - M o n s o n is a n d th e F r e n c h th e n m a d e “o n e a n d th e sam e b o d y .”62 L a V e re nd rye im a g in e d th e re la tio n s h ip w ith in th e lin g u istic c o n v e n tio n s o f th e F re n c h alliance: O n o n ­ tio a n d h is c h ild re n . T h e C re e s -M o n s o n is (a n d la te r A ssin ib o in e s), h o w ­ ever, c o n c eiv e d o f th e F r e n c h n e w c o m e rs as “o n e a n d th e sam e b o d y ” in th e ir o w n ex p an sive N a tiv e social fo rm a tio n in th e h e a rt o f N o r th A m e ric a . F a ilin g to su b ju g a te his allies as o b e d ie n t c h ild re n o f O n o n tio , L a V e re nd ry e w as h im s e lf te n u o u sly in c o rp o ra te d in to th e C r e e -M o n s o n i- A s s in ib o in e c o a litio n , o n e o f th e m o st p o w e rfu l e m e rg in g social fo rm a tio n s w e st o f th e G r e a t L akes. 5 9 . B re tt R u s h fo rth , Bonds o f Alliance: Indigenous and Atlantic Slaveries in New France (C h a p e l H ill: U n iv e rs ity o f N o r th C a ro lin a P re ss, 2 0 1 2 ), 2 4 5 . 6 0. B e a u h a rn o is to M a u re p a s, Q u e b e c , S e p te m b e r 2 4 , 1 7 4 2 , in L a V e re nd rye , Journals and Letters, 3 8 0 - 8 1 . 6 1. P ie rre G a u ltie r d e L a V eren dry e , “R e p o rt o f th e S ie u r d e la V eren d ry e o n th e S u b je c t o f th e E sta b lish m e n ts M a d e b y H im w ith th e O b je c t o f E ff e c tin g th e D isc o v e ry o f th e W e s te rn S ea, u n d e r I n s tr u c tio n s fro m M o n s ie u r th e M a rq u is d e B e a u h a rn o is , G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l o f N e w F ra n c e , in th e Y ear 1 731 (1 7 4 4 ),” in L a V e re n d ry &, Journals and Letters, 4 5 4 - 5 5 . 6 2. L a V eren dry e , “R e p o rt in Jo u rn a l F o rm ,” 101. 194 | Early American Studies • Winter 2016 L a V e r e n d r y e a n d t h e F r e n c h a t t h e w e s t e r n p o s ts b e c a m e d e e p l y e n t a n ­ g le d in th e C r e e - M o n s o n i- A s s in ib o in e w a r w ith th e D a k o ta s o f th e U p p e r M i s s i s s i p p i V a lle y f r o m t h e m o m e n t h i s s o n J e a n - B a p t i s t e w a s f ir s t a d o p t e d a s “ c h i e f o f t h e t w o n a t i o n s ” a t F o r t S t. C h a r l e s i n M a y 1 7 3 4 . F o l l o w in g th e 1 7 3 6 L a k e o f th e W o o d s m a s sa c re , th e C r e e s - M o n s o n is - A s s in ib o in e s e m p l o y e d t h e e x c h a n g e o f c a p t iv e s a n d s la v e s a s a r u s e t o d r a w t h e F r e n c h f u r th e r in to th e e n d e m ic p a tte r n s o f w a rfa re in th e Petit Nord a n d N o rth e rn G r e a t P l a i n s . 63 F o r L a V e r e n d r y e t h e s la v e t r a d e a t t h e w e s t e r n p o s ts b e g a n s lo w ly i n t h e e a r l y 1 7 3 0 s , b u t i t h a d r e a c h e d e p i d e m i c p r o p o r t i o n s b y t h e 1 7 4 0 s . T h e u n b r i d l e d s la v e t r a d e w o u l d h a v e d i r e r a m i f i c a t i o n s f o r F r e n c h o f f ic e r s i n t h e i n t e r i o r . I n w in te r 1 7 3 4 L a V e re n d ry e w a s lo o k in g w e s tw a rd to f u r th e r h is d ip lo ­ m a t i c a n d f u r - t r a d e n e t w o r k s t o w a r d t h e R e d R i v e r V a lle y a n d t h e L a k e W i n n i p e g r e g i o n s . H e h a d s e n t w o r d t o t h e C r e e c h ie f s a r o u n d L a k e W i n ­ n ip e g a d v is in g th e m to c o m e v is it th e n e w F r e n c h tra d in g p o s ts in th e Nord. Petit T h e L a k e W in n ip e g C re e s , h o w e v e r, e n d e a v o re d to h a v e th e F r e n c h e s ta b lis h a tr a d in g p o s t in th e ir m id s t. I n F e b ru a ry 1 7 3 4 L a V e re n d ry e re p o rte d th a t f o u r C r e e s e n t b y o n e o f t h e L a k e W i n n i p e g c h ie f s a r r iv e d h e r e a n d p r e s e n t e d m e w i t h a s la v e a n d a c o ll a r , a s k i n g m e a s a f a v o u r to s e n d s o m e F r e n c h m e n t o e s t a b l i s h t h e m s e lv e s o n t h e i r l a n d s o n t h e s h o r e o f t h e g r e a t L a k e W i n n i p e g . ” H e b e g g e d t h e C r e e e m i s s a r ie s “ t o t h a n k t h e c h i e f f o r t h e s la v e I h a d r e c e i v e d f r o m sam e c h ie f fro m h i m . ” T h e f o ll o w i n g m o n t h , t h e L a k e W i n n i p e g s e n t “t w o g u i d e s . . . w i t h d r y m o o s e m e a t a n d b r i n g i n g [ a n o t h e r ] s la v e , c a l li n g u p o n m e t o k e e p m y w o r d . ” L a V e r e n d r y e n o t e d t h a t h e “p a i d f o r t h e s la v e as o n t h e p r e v i o u s o c c a s i o n . ”64 B y t h e m i d - 1 7 3 0 s t h e s la v e t r a d e s e e m s t o h a v e b e c o m e a m a i n s t a y a t t h e w e s t e r n p o s t s . I n a n e f f o r t t o f a c i l i t a t e f u r t h e r e x p l o r a ti o n s o f t h e w e s t ­ e r n i n t e r i o r , L a V e r e n d r y e s u g g e s t e d t o t h e g o v e r n o r “t o w i t h d r a w f r o m t h e 6 3 . I n h e r 2 0 0 9 a r t ic l e K a r le e S a p o z n i k a r g u e s t h a t s la v e r y i n t h e L a V e r e n d r y e h i s t o r i o g r a p h y h a s u n f o r t u n a t e l y h a s b e e n “g lo s s e d o v e r i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d so t h a t h i s h e r e t o f o r e r o m a n t i c i z e d le g a c y c a n r e m a i n a p l e a s a n t , u n q u e s t i o n e d p a r t o f M a n i t o b a ’s m e t a - n a r r a t i v e . ” L a V e r e n d r y e ’s p r i n c i p a l t r a d e w a s i n f u r s , b u t t h e s e c o n d a r y a s p e c t o f t h e s la v e t r a d e s h o u l d n o t b e f o r g o t t e n . L a V e r e n d r y e w o r k e d w i t h i n t h e A b o r i g i n a l t r a d e s y s t e m o f r e c i p r o c i t y , a n d t h e g i v i n g o f s la v e s c a p t u r e d in ra id s w a s a n in te g r a l a s p e c t o f th e re la tio n s h ip . U ltim a te ly , S a p o z n ik a rg u e s, “ L a V e r e n d r y e ’s i m p l i c a t i o n i n t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n [ o f s la v e r y ] m u s t b e a d d r e s s e d a n d a c k n o w l e d g e d . ” K a r le e S a p o z n i k , “ W h e r e t h e H i s t o r i o g r a p h y F a lls S h o r t : L a V e r e n ­ d r y e t h r o u g h t h e L e n s o f G e n d e r , R a c e a n d S la v e r y in E a r l y F r e n c h C a n a d a , 1 7 3 1 — 1 7 4 9 ,” Manitoba History 6 2 (2 0 0 9 ): 2 9 . 6 4 . L a V e re n d r y e , “ R e p o r t in J o u r n a l F o r m ,” 1 7 2 - 7 3 . Berthelette • “Freres et Enfants du meme Pere” | 195 hands of the Cree as many slaves as possible belonging to those two tribes [Blackfeet and Pikes], so as to form friendly relations with them, and have these slaves to accompany me on my journey and act as interpreters . ” 65 Fac­ ing the “infinity of nations” of the western interior, La Verendrye sought slaves to acquire linguistic and geographical knowledge to advance his explorations.66 The following year, departing Fort La Reine for an overland journey to the Missouri River Valley, La Verendrye noted how all the belongings “for my own personal use my servant and my slave carried. ” 67 The presence of slaves at the western posts attests to the degree in which La Verendrye had become embedded in the Cree-Monsoni-Assiniboine war machine. The exchange of slaves and war captives played a crucial role on the Native ground of the Petit Nord and Northern Great Plains. Such an exchange was a symbolically powerful gesture used by many Native peoples to define the parameters of their alliances with each other and, by extension, with European newcomers. Brett Rushforth has argued that the FrenchNative slave trade was derived from the indigenous customs of forging friendships and alliances: “Allied Indians offered captives to French colo­ nists as culturally powerful symbols of their emerging partnership.” Captives were symbolically powerful gifts because they signified the opposite of war­ fare, “the giving rather than the taking of life.” Therefore, the slave trade became a symbolically viable exchange in the consolidation of the alliance. Starting in the early eighteenth century, however, western traders, promi­ nent merchants, and colonial officials began to acquire Native slaves. These 65. La Verendrye, “Report of the Sieur de la Verendrye, Lieutenant of the Troops,” 249. 66. Pikaraminiouach (Blackfeet), Gros Ventres, Jhatche8ilini (Blackfeet), Kinonge8ilini (Brochets), Gens des Chevaux (Cheyennes), Beaux Hommes (Crows), Petits Renards, Pioya (Kiowas), Gens du Serpent (Shoshonis), Gens de l’Arc (Bow People), Gens de la Belle Riviere, and Gens de la Petite Cerise (Arikaras) were the names of just some of the multitude of “nations” identified by the French officers La Verendrye and Saint-Pierre in their journals, letters, and reports to the colonial government. Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, “Brief Report or Journal of the Expedition of Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, Captain of a Company of the Detached Troupes de la Marine in Canada, Assigned to Search for the Western Sea (1752-1753),” in Joseph L. Peyser, ed. and trans., Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre: Officer, Gentle­ man, Entrepreneur (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press), 183-84. 67. Pierre Gaultier de La Verendrye, “Journal in the form of a letter covering the period from the 20th of July 1738, when I left Michilimackinac, to May, 1739, sent to the Marquis de Beauharnois (1738-1739),” in La Verendryt, Journals and Letters, 309. 196 | Early American Studies • Winter 2016 s la v e s , o r i g i n a l l y e x c h a n g e d a s a s y m b o l i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f f le s h a n d lif e , w e re p u r c h a s e d b y v a rio u s tra d e rs a n d u rb a n ite s in M o n tr e a l a n d Q u e b e c f o r b o t h l a b o r a n d d o m e s t i c w o r k . 68 T h e m a r k e t a b i l i t y o f N a t i v e s la v e s a l t e r e d t h e s y m b o l i c p r a c t i c e o f c a p t i v e e x c h a n g e s . R u s h f o r t h a r g u e s , “A s F r e n c h c o l o n i s t s d e m a n d e d a g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f I n d i a n s la v e s f r o m t h e i r a ll ie s , N a t i v e A m e r i c a n c a p t i v e c u s t o m s a ls o e v o l v e d t o m e e t t h e n e w r e a l i t i e s o f N e w F r a n c e ’s s la v e m a r k e t . ” T h e m e a n in g s o f t h e w a rs o f c a p tu r e a n d c a p tiv e ta k i n g w e re a d ju s te d to s u it th e d e m a n d s o f t h e s la v e m a r k e t . C a p t i v e s c a m e t o b e s e e n a s c o m m o d i t i e s o f t r a d e r a t h e r t h a n s y m b o l s o f l if e a n d a l l i a n c e , a n d “ t h i s c a u s e d r i t u a l s o f h u m ili a tio n a n d t o r t u r e to d e c lin e b e c a u s e th e r e s u lti n g in ju r ie s d i m i n is h e d a c a p t i v e ’s v a l u e . ”69 D e s p i t e c o m m e r c i a l i n t e r e s t s , t h e C r e e s , M o n s o n i s , a n d A s s i n i b o i n e s a ls o s t r a t e g i c a l l y t r a d e d a n d g a v e s la v e s t o L a V e r e n d r y e t o s h a p e t h e p a r a m e t e r s o f a ll ia n c e s i n t h e n o r t h w e s t e r n i n t e r i o r . T h e N a t i v e p e o p l e s w e s t o f t h e G r e a t L a k e s m a n i p u l a t e d t h e s la v e m a r ­ k e t t o d e f i n e t h e i r o w n p o s i t i o n w i t h i n O n o n t i o ’s f a m i ly . C r e e s , M o n s o n i s , a n d A s s i n i b o i n e s w e r e a b l e t o e m p l o y s la v e r y a s a d e v i c e t o i s o l a t e t h e F re n c h fro m a n y s o rt o f re c o n c ilia tio n o r r a p p r o c h e m e n t w ith th e D a k o ta s a n d A n i s h i n a a b e g o f t h e U p p e r M i s s i s s i p p i V a lle y . T h i s t a c t i c w a s e s p e c i a l l y e v id e n t in 1 7 4 1 , w h e n th e C re e s , M o n s o n is , a n d A s s in ib o in e s m a d e a d e v ­ a s t a t i n g w a r a g a i n s t D a k o t a v i ll a g e s a n d c a p t u r e d a “ n u m b e r o f s la v e s s o g r e a t th a t, a c c o rd in g to th e r e p o r t a n d th e e x p re s sio n s o f th e sav ag es, th e y o c c u p i e d i n t h e i r m a r c h m o r e t h a n f o u r a r p e n t s . ” 70 I n h i s r e p o r t , G o v e r n o r B e a u h a r n o i s w r o t e t h a t b e c a u s e o f t h e w a r , “ t h e r e w i l l b e m o r e s la v e s t h a n p a c k a g e s . 71 C e r t a i n l y , t h e D a k o t a s w o u l d h a v e b e e n u n w i l l i n g o r u n a b l e t o b e c o m e O n o n t i o ’s c h i l d r e n , k n o w i n g a s t h e y d i d t h a t h e h e l d a g r e a t n u m ­ b e r o f th e ir o w n k in in b o n d a g e . A lth o u g h L a V e re n d ry e b e n e fite d e c o n o m ­ i c a l ly fro m th e s la v e tra d e , he w as u n a b le to d e fin e th e c o n te n tio u s p a r a m e t e r s o f O n o n t i o ’s f a m i l y i n t h e n o r t h w e s t e r n i n t e r i o r . L a V e r e n d r y e ’s s u p p o r t o f N a t i v e s la v e r y d e s t r o y e d t h e D a k o t a s ’ t r u s t i n th e F r e n c h a n d u ltim a te ly le d to a d a n g e ro u s in s ta b ility a t th e w e s te rn p o sts. L a V e r e n d r y e m u s t h a v e r e a l i z e d h o w h i s s u p p o r t o f C r e e - M o n s o n i s la v e 6 8 . B r e tt R u s h f o r th , S la v e r y in N e w F r a n c e ,” ‘A L i t d e F l e s h W e O f f e r Y o u ’: T h e O r i g i n s o f I n d i a n William and Mary Quarterly 60, n o . 4 (20 03 ): 7 7 9 , 7 8 5 , 798. 6 9 . Ib id ., 8 0 8 . 7 0 . B e a u h a rn o is to M a u r e p a s , S e p te m b e r 2 4 , 1 7 4 2 , in L a V e re n d ry e , and Letters, Journals 3 8 0 - 8 1 . I n a n c ie n re g im e N o r th A m e r ic a , a F r e n c h a r p e n t m e a s u re d 1 8 0 F r e n c h f e e t, w h ic h w a s a r o u n d 6 4 y a r d s . 71. Ib id , 381. Berthelette • “Frfres et Enfants du meme Pere” | raids was ruining D akota confidence in the French alliance, but he must have also perceived o f indigenous slavery as a means o f decreasing his daun­ ting debt o f fifty thousand livres. As Rushforth has observed, La Verendrye’s insatiable yet contradictory dem and for slaves “underm ined an alliance that would have drawn colonial settlem ent and trade deep onto the N orth Am erican Plains.”72 T h e Cree-A ssiniboine coalition o f the Petit Nord used slavery to “block” the French alliance w ith the Dakotas. Already the D akotas had been excluded from the 1701 G reat Peace o f M ontreal; the French had wished to include them , but the western Algonquian allies had refused.73 Forty years later the French were still attem pting to include the Dakotas in the French alliance, again much to the chagrin o f the Crees and Assiniboines. T hey wished to put a wedge betw een the French traders and the Dakotas and thereby reduce the quantity o f manufactured goods that their enemies would be able to use against them . T hrough the exchange o f war captives for European goods and firearms, the Crees-M onsonis-Assiniboines maneuvred the French into supporting slave raids. These raids not only sev­ ered the French alliance w ith the Dakotas, but also secured valuable goods and firearms for the Cree, M onsoni, and Assiniboine villages. Beauharnois recognized that purchasing D akota slaves from the Assini­ boines and Crees was im periling the lives o f Frenchm en in the western interior and had probably played a role in the 1736 Lake o f the W oods massacre. Following the massacre, Beauharnois rushed orders to M ichilimackinac, forbidding the purchasing o f any D akota captives: “You will posi­ tively forbid, sir, all the Frenchm en o f Your post to buy any Indian slave from the Assiniboins, it being o f Infinite consequence for the colony to prevent this trade. T hus I order you to see it consistently that does not happen, and in case you learn th at there m ight be several at your post, you will make the decision th at you D eem the m ost appropriate for having them sent back to T heir hom e.”74 La Verendrye seems to have disregarded these orders and continued to ship D akota war captives to Michilim ackinac; he even boasted in his 1744 report “o f the slaves that are obtained for the country.”75 La Verendrye’s slave trade provided a lucrative alternative for the impoverished explorer, but it threatened the very stability o f the region. 72. R ushforth, Bonds o f Alliance, 2 29-30, 237. 73. H avard, The Great Peace o f M ontreal o f 1701, 123. 74. Beauharnois to Saint-Pierre, A ugust 28, 1736, in Peyser, Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, 34-35; quoted in R ushforth, Bonds o f Alliance, 232. 75. La Verendrye, “R eport o f the Sieur de la Verendrye on the Subject o f the Establishm ents,” 451—52. 197 198 | Early American Studies • Winter 2016 La Verendrye, the mouthpiece and representative of Onontio, attempted to use mediation as an instrument of power west of the Great Lakes. La Verendrye sought to control intervillage patterns of warfare through the imposition of a general French-mediated peace strategy, the Pax Gallica. Unlike the Natives in the pays d'en haut, where the various Algonquianspeaking peoples had been weakened—embattled by warfare and ravaged by epidemic diseases—the Crees, Monsonis, Assiniboines, and Dakotas were cohesive and politically autonomous. The Pax Gallica was a French concep­ tion of alliance and was meant to subjugate the Natives to the will of their French father, the governor Onontio. By rejecting the French-mediated peace and by embracing warfare, the Crees, Monsonis, and Assiniboines acted on the Native ground and did not compromise with La Verendrye’s desire for a universal political reconcilia­ tion between all the indigenous groups of the Petit Nord and Northern Great Plains. Through warfare and captive taking, the Crees and Monsonis would use the “gift of life”—captive exchange—to shape and define the parameters of their alliance with the French. Therefore, the indigenous peo­ ples of the continental interior refused to submit to the French imperial strategy of Pax Gallica, or to acknowledge La Verendrye as the mediator and arbiter of the already firmly entrenched alliance system west of the Great Lakes. This is not to say that the Crees, Monsonis, or Assiniboines rejected the friendship of the French newcomers; rather, they welcomed La Verendrye and agreed to incorporate him into their own preexisting societal and cultural categories on the Native ground. Such a powerless role in the Native diplomatic and kinship network ultimately subverted French impe­ rial ambitions in the heart of North America. Copyright of Early American Studies, An Interdisciplinary Journal is the property of University of Pennsylvania Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.