Erasing History: The Case of Minnesota’s Father Hennepin

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Over the summer of 2019, I did a tour of the capitol building in the state where I grew up – Minnesota. Touring the hallways and the various rooms, the words Étoile du Nord are present in several places, as well as four names appearing in the Supreme Court chamber: Hennepin, Du Luth, La Salle and Perrot.

In Minnesota, you usually hear about the Scandinavian-ness of the state and people, which is true. Many people are of Swedish and Norwegian ancestry – myself included. However, one almost never hears about Minnesota's French Canadian-ness. There are dozens of lakes, rivers, towns and counties that bear French names, three of the larger cities, Saint Paul, Duluth and Saint Cloud were founded by French Canadians and the flag bears the emblem “L’étoile du nord” (The North Star).

I had caught a similar thought in the documentary, Un rêve américain, in which writer Philip Marchand highlighted what seemed to be a deliberate erasing of the French imprint in North America:

“Growing up in New England, the version of history given was that the brave English landed on the sea coast, crossed the Appalacians and made it to the Mississippi River, through what was presented as untamed wilderness. But the fact is that when the English came, there were already many French/Métis settlements and towns. The Americans have almost erased this civilization from their history.”

During the tour of the Capitol, in the Governor's Reception Room, two of the paintings were missing :  The Signing of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux and Father Hennepin Discovering St. Anthony Falls.

Father Hennepin Discovering St. Anthony Falls depicts the first time Europeans encountered the Mississippi’s only waterfall, Saint Anthony Falls. The painting also includes a group of Dakota and one European companion (Michel Accault, a fellow voyageur). Father Hennepin is blessing the waterfall, which would later power many mills and breweries in downtown Minneapolis, while the others are resting after the portage.

Some activists find the painting off-putting. Artist Andrea Carlson called it a European fantasy of faux-classical style that ends up being super propaganda (against Amerindians?) and sees “romantic fantasies of the genocide of a people.”

In a small group discussion during a public input meeting in Minneapolis, one citizen made some vague blanket statement about how it represents a “naïve, skewed vision,” while another suggested they could be moved to the basement of the Minnesota History Center in boxes marked “past misunderstandings.” Father Mike Tegeder, pastor of Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis, thinks that Amerindians should “get back to the history of things to fight discrimination and revitalize pride in their culture” and that “we have to educate ourselves because we all have blinders on.”

Alright, but does he, or any of the other critics know anything about the French aspect of Minnesota’s history and how distinctions need to be made between the English, French and Spanish on North American soil? Or are these grandious, general declarations about “education” and “history” just filler for some kind of other political agenda? Of course, none of this is considered hate against Catholics or French Canadians.

In a letter to the Capitol Preservation Commission art subcommittee, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe calls the painting of Father Hennepin “offensive” and “traumatizing”. They also find especially insulting the term “discovery” when referring to Father Hennepin’s discovery/blessing of St. Anthony Falls because Amerindian tribes had occupied the area for some 12,000 years. Anton Treuer, a Bemidji State University professor of Ojibwe descent claims that:

“there is a documented history that goes 11,000 years in Minnesota and we start the history with the arrival of the first white guy. And we celebrate the suppression of indigenous people as progress.”

I wonder how they know what was going on 11-12,000 years ago? Is Treuer referring to archaeological evidence attesting a presence going back 11,000 years in Minnesota. Or is he merely referring to oral tradition? If so, how reliable is that? I don’t know about other people, but I find the rancor in his voice particularly deplorable when Treuer lumps together all of his political adversaries as “whites”. In general, these people seem to have little to no general conception of Minnesota’s history. Everyone keeps repeating certain buzz words like “offensive,” “white,” “traumatizing” or “genocide”. Jim Bear Jacobs, from the new-agey sounding Interfaith Network initiative and Healing Minnesota Stories, is no exception:

“The way natives are portrayed in the Capitol is incredibly inaccurate and offensive, and indeed some of the work is even traumatizing and adversely affects Native Americans, […] depicting them running around half-naked and who can’t properly dress themselves.”

Jacobs seems to be one of the people who think it’s awful that the woman in the painting is topless. So, is he suggesting that Amerindians dressing in such a way is improper? Isn’t this just an example of someone judging clothing by 21st century Anglo-American standards? Did he think they dressed in tennis shoes and wore cable-knit sweaters and cotton pants in the 17th century?

However, women actually were often topless in Amerindian cultures. If it were such a taboo, why would these Witchita indians pose topless in a photograph?

Yes, maybe someone will say that these Witchita indians are not Dakota/Sioux, but why should I make distinctions between them when they themselves make no distinction between European descended people, like Anglophones, French-Canadians, Acadians, Spanish, Mexican, Norwegian...?

What’s more, French historian Gilles Havard asserts that, while the practices and dress varied greatly from one amerindian nation to another, Sioux women had been known to sing naked for hours, from their canoes, to encourage their men going into battle. The book Indian Dances of North America by Reginald and Gladys Laubin, on page 505, tells the story of an old Sioux Indian, who stood outside a government building at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in subzero weather, with only a buffalo robe wrapped around her waist.

Many traditional, non-Western cultures go topless, and even in some Western cultures. I saw a lot of breasts during my two years in West Africa. Furthermore, don’t radical feminists say nowadays that toplessness is freedom? (well, they also say that the burqa is freedom...) If we’re going to revise all history with the values of certain activists, then shouldn’t the topless woman in the aforementioned painting be considered progressive and forward thinking?

***

So what are these people really upset about? The real reasons they want to remove this painting, even though they claim to know Minnesota’s history, are the current political and social trends that place all European nations in North America as killers of the helpless Amerindian victim. Nowadays, we are spoon fed this false dialectic of “white” against “non-white.” In the case of French-Canadians (or Quebecers), they cannot be reduced to mere “whites.” The same is true for Scandinavians. Likewise, it is wrong to put all nations of European origin in the same basket, under the deceptive label of “white.” Yes, some Amerindian nations in North America were subjected to horrific crimes and genocide (usually by the English, Spanish or intertribal conflicts). However, somebody needs to rectify the history of Amerindians and their interactions with francophones, both in and outside Québec, ever since the French first set foot on this continent. But this doesn’t fit the current societal narrative.

Do any of the above critics have historical knowledge of the different approaches between the English, the French and the Spanish regarding Amerindians? The French could not have even attempted to exterminate them, simply because they did not have the means nor the population to do so. Moreover, they conducted business with them (the fur trade – voyageurs and coureurs de bois), so why would they try to wipe out their business partners? They also intermarried with them, but who in Minnesota knows about the Métis people of the Red River Valley?

All that being said, when the scales fall from one’s eyes, what is the actual history depicted in Father Hennepin Discovering St. Anthony Falls?

Late in the 17th century, the Dakota entered into an alliance with French fur-trading merchants. The first recorded encounter between the Sioux and the French occurred when Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers reached what is now Wisconsin, during the winter of 1659–60. Later visiting French traders and missionaries included Daniel Greysolon du Luth and Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (many Minnesota municipalities, counties and rivers use their names today).

According to the book North Woods River: The St. Croix River in Upper Midwest History by Eileen M. McMahon and Theodore J. Karamanski, the Dakota began to resent the Ojibwe trading with some of their hereditary enemies and, as a result of inter-ethnic battles, they lost their traditional lands around Leech Lake and Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota. They were forced south along the Mississippi and St. Croix River Valleys. These intertribal conflicts also made it dangerous for European fur traders.

For example, in 1736 a group of Sioux beheaded Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye and twenty other voyageurs and Cree traders on a Lake of the Woods island (now known as Massacre Island) for having allied with enemy tribes. The site is marked by a large wooden cross in the middle of the island. This incident sparked decades of war between the Sioux (or Dakota) and the Ojibwe, who were allied with the French and the Cree. However, trade with the French continued until the British military conquest of New France in Quebec City during the French and Indian War in 1759.

And what about Father Louis Hennepin in all of this? In 1675, at the request of Louis XIV, four missionaries were sent to New France (a territory spaning from Quebec to the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico). Father Hennepin began his work in Quebec City, frequenting the surrounding Amerindian tribes and learning their languages. In 1678, Hennepin was chosen to accompany René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle on his exploration of the Mississippi (two of the four names appearing on the walls of Minnesota’s Supreme Court chamber).

In 1680, while looking for the source of the Mississippi River, Hennepin and two of his French companions (Michel Accault, depicted in the painting, and Antoine Auguelle) were captured by a Dakota community near Mille Lacs Lake. A few months later, Hennepin and Auguelle received permission from the Dakota to canoe down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Wisconsin River. During that time, they first encountered a waterfall on the Mississippi that Hennepin named in honor of his patron saint, St. Anthony of Padua (also the saint to whom you pray when you lose something).

Meanwhile, Daniel Greysolon du Luth (the city of Duluth and the Montréal street are named after him) heard rumors that the three men were being held captive. On July 25, 1680, Greysolon arrived at the Dakota village to negotiate the release of Hennepin and the two others. By August, the three captives had begun their journey back to the Saint Lawrence Valley (Québec).

Three years later, while in France, Hennepin published an account of this time. He stated that the Dakota treated him well, noting that they were most interested in new technologies and in the sharing of knowledge across cultures. Hennepin’s writings document Dakota customs, way of life and that surrounding tribes considered Dakota warriors to be exceptionally brave and skilled in their usage of the bow and arrow. (Minnesota Historical Society)

In 1930, the city of Minneapolis raised a statue in his honor, one of the city’s major streets, Hennepin Avenue bears his name as well as the surrounding county and Father Hennepin State Park in south Minneapolis.

In Québec, it is somewhat well-known that the relationship between French Canadians and Amerindians was that of trade and generally positive (they wanted technology like fire arms and cast-iron kettles and we wanted beaver pelts and knowledge of waterway access). Anglophones are largely unaware of this and, as a result, “whites” are then all lumped together as merciless aggressors.

***

So where will the two “controversial” paintings go? According to the (recently deceased) State Representative Diane Loeffler, former tri-chair of the Minnesota Historical Society art subcommittee : “If 2 percent of the population is offended by how they are represented in the art, then that is 2 percent too many.” This minority-rule worldview seems to have won out in Minnesota, as the two paintings in question are now in a rather isolated, upper-floor room, awaiting their final judgement. How democratic.

The Religion of Luc Ferrandez

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I’ve never been a fan of the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighborhood’s mayor, Luc Ferrandez. I’ve heard all the same things as everyone else. How he has transformed the Plateau into an impassable maze for automobiles and that many businesses (which give the neighborhood its charm) have greatly suffered. Yesterday, however, he announced his resignation in a long tirade on Facebook, alluding to irreconciable differences with Montréal’s mayor, Valérie Plante. Apparently Plante is too eager to please everyone and hasn’t gone full speed ahead with some kind of totalitarian green plan. I suppose he has a point, as she needs to win elections and cannot do anything too drastic.

I’ve never been a fan of Valérie Plante either or her municipal party Projet Montréal, mostly due to their anti-nationaliste attitude, steeped in the cult of “diversity” that artificially props up “visible minorities”. I’ve always said that these “minorities” in Montréal are not really minorities. Why would a Pakistani or a Nigerian be considered a minority when there are 200 million of them in Pakistan and 200 million of them in Nigeria? In Québec, there are only about 7 million Quebecers (out of a population of 8.4 million). But hey, Valérie Plante wants to manage a global city and doesn’t see herself as the mayor of the metropolis of French America.

So when I heard the news about Luc Ferrandez, I thought good riddance.

Then I heard Ferrandez being interviewed by Patrice Roy. He said said a lot of things that I found questionable, though I couldn’t believe my ears near the end of the interview when he so casually stated:

"I look at my son and say to myself, 'He is the first generation who will not have the right to procreate'. That urgency pushed me to [resign as mayor]. » (my translation)

So, if I understand this correctly, Ferrandez is favorable for the restriction of having families. What surprised me was how matter of factly he stated this – like it was nothing. Political elites seem to be hiding less and less their outright contempt for humanity – although it has been discussed in the background for some time now.

The environmental movement’s origins come from think tanks like the Club of Rome, whose output includes The First Global Revolution. This book promotes the end of industrialization and “sustainability’’, with a jaw-dropping admission that the “green” revolution was engineered by corporate enactment:

“The common enemy of humanity is man. In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome. The real enemy then, is humanity itself.” (p. 75)

There you have it. This book admits that the agenda was invented with a clear intention of being anti-human, geared towards a new, invented religion of environmentalism with Mother-Earth-Gaia as the goal of human worship (I have previously treated this subject here). The worship of the creation and not the creator is classic paganism. The trendy hipsters that obsess over environmentalism and celebrate their new sacred holidays like “Earth Day” are merely duped tools. They love to go on about their pseudo-environmentalism, but never speak out about real environmental concerns like glyphosate, phytoestrogens, geo-engineering, GMO foods and animals, dumping thousands of gallons of untreated sewage into the Saint Lawrence, etc. Things will only worsen as families cease to exist, economies decline and culture disintegrates.

Then on Bernard Drainville's show, Ferrandez says that by 2030, Québec society would be ripe enough for a "progressive authoritarian leader". Even if Quebec as we know it today disappeared and became a huge pristine boreal forest, then what? This would affect global GHG emissions by only around 0.16%. Not even half of a city like Delhi. So calm down, dear Luc, and accept how little you matter.

Returning to his elaboration on the urgency to restrict procreation:

"The greatest joy of a human being will be deprived of our grandchildren". (my translation)

As usual, nothing on the double standard regarding the massive immigration of our day. No, it is we who must stop having families, while continuing to take more and more foreigners in such huge numbers that their integration and assimilation become impossible. We need to reduce the population, yet are also told that we need massive immigration because we’re not having babies.

So, what do our elites really want? Is this going to turn into the plot of the dystopian film Logan's Run? In order to limit overcrowdedness and protect the environment, your life is limited to the age of 30. Then you are invited to a pagan-inspired ceremony, where, under the guise of rebirth, your body is simply disintegrated. A small sacrifice for Gaia. Praise Gaia!

The Unknown History of Amerindians in Québec

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In Minnesota, as in Quebec, we often talk about the Amerindians and the injustices they experienced – paving the way to lumping all “white people” together into one group and talking about how awful they are. Nowadays, we are spoon fed this false dialectic of "white" against "non-white". Quebecers are not "whites" and it is wrong to put all nations of European origin in the same basket under the deceptive label of "white". Yes, some Amerindian nations in North America were subjected to horrific crimes and genocide. However, I would like to rectify the history of Amerindians in Québec and their interactions with francophones, ever since the French first set foot on this continent.

The Amerindian is often presented in terms of Rousseau's "nobel savage" – peaceful and in harmony with his environment until Europeans came. Nowadays, I find that Amerindians in Quebec – especially anglicized nations like the Mohawks or the Crees – are mere pawns for anti-Quebec rhetoric. We all know the narrative that gets touted around: whites committed genocide against the Amerindians and stole their land.

Yet people who repeat this have no historical knowledge of the different approaches between the English, French and Spanish regarding Amerindians. The French could not have tried to exterminate them, simply because they did not have the means nor the population to do so. Moreover, they conducted business with them (the fur trade), so why would they kill their business partners? Influenza or smallpox were benign diseases for Europeans, but deadly diseases for Amerindians, who did not have the antibodies to resist the disease. Indeed, it was a genocide, though caused by epidemics. History is full of them, such as the Black Death of 1348, which killed a third of Europeans and more than half of Italians.

***

Before the small group that was Option nationale was gobbled up by the far-left political party, Québec solidaire, they had published a small booklet: Le livre qui fait dire oui, or The Yes Book – presenting short chapters on several subjects regarding Québec independence – economy, education, the French language, anglophones, the environment, etc. In the very short chapter on Amerindians, author Josianne Grenier writes:

“Quebec's independence would represent an unprecedented opportunity to replace the Indian Act (a federal government (meaning English) law, aimed at assimilating Amerindian peoples) with a legal and cooperative framework, better addressing the realities and aspirations of Canadians and indigenous people today.” (free translation, p. 75)

Yes, I agree that the independence of Quebec would be a great opportunity to re-evaluate our relationship with the 11 Amerindian nations of Quebec. How? The author does not say much except that independence will encourage dialogue. She also said that “the history and culture of Québec are inseparable from that of the Aboriginal nations” and that “maple syrup is a fundamental contribution of Aboriginal people.”

I am reminded of that urban legend that almost all Quebecers have "native" blood. However, mixed marriages with Englishmen, Irish or Amerindians after the Conquest were few. The family trees of Quebecers today are for the most part, French. The idea that the French-Canadian or Québec nation is the result of race mixing is erroneous. Although supporters of mass immigration and globalism usually repeat this little bit of folklore.

Ms. Grenier recognizes that territorial distribution will undoubtedly be the most complex issue and will be the subject of lengthy negotiations. According to her, the Québec government must negotiate with Ottawa so that the Amerindians, while conducting their traditional activities (hunting, fishing, trapping), are able to freely cross international borders to benefit from their entire ancestral territory. (free translation, p.77)

But what about the Quebecers? Are fishing, hunting and trapping not as much French-Canadian as Amerindian traditions? Why are we not all subject to the same laws? More troubling is that Ms. Grenier suggests having a dialogue, so that we can settle territorial disputes as soon as possible. A simple “dialogue” to settle something so complex?

And what about this false affirmation (that even current Montréal mayor Valérie Plante repeats) that Montréal is an unceded Mohawk territory? She must surely know that this is false, as Professsor Luc-Normand Tellier explained in Le Devoir. It is farfetched to pretend that the Canadiens of the 17th century stole the land from the Indians. In those days, about 25,000 nomadic peoples inhabited Quebec. In other words, it was unoccupied land. They did not have the notion of land ownership. Thanks to the lucrative fur trade, there was no serious resistance to French settlement in the St. Lawrence Valley.

If the Iroquois/Mohawks fought against the French, it was not to defend Mohawk territory – which is actually located in the present state of New York and not in Quebec – but to divert the fur trade for the benefit of the Dutch and English (Le siècle de Mgr Bourget, p. 386). The time has come for Mohawks to recognize the scientific consensus that their ancestors arrived on the south shore of Montréal, in search of refuge and protection from the long-time (French) Canadian residents who lived there.

Lastly, Ms. Grenier says that “allowing aboriginal people decide which institutions they would like would be a first step towards preserving their culture, because the best way to preserve it is to institutionalize it.” Institutionalize their cultures? But… is she suggesting that we impose a “white” idea of an institution to the Amerindians? Isn’t that colonialism?!  She mentions teaching Amerindian languages and other elements of aboriginal culture (traditional or contemporary) to Québec’s population. Okay. But does she really believe that immigrants will be interested in these languages? It is already hard enough promoting French. Why would neo-Quebecers learn Amerindian languages when so many of them are barely interested in French?

In the book “Le peuple brisé”, investigative journalists, Alex Caine and François Perreault explain that:

“Mohawks claim the aboriginal right to cross the Canada-US border freely in Akwesasne. In addition, following the confiscation of several Iroquois passports by border officers, the Mohawks accused Ottawa of wanting to “destroy” their identity. (free translation, p. 86)

But why do they claim the right to cross the border so freely? To continue their beautiful “traditions” of hunting, fishing and trapping? According to Caine and Perreault, it is mainly for a more easy pursuit of criminal activities.

The book explains the reality of Amerindian criminality about which we hear so little. Mafia criminal networks like Indian Posse and Es-Pak are as bad as any other ethnic Mafia – trafficking in people, drugs, smuggled cigarettes, weapons, etc. Moreover, the book convincingly argues that one of the main causes of missing Amerindian women, heard about more and more, can be found within their own communities.

“Before integrating into Es-Pak, Indian Posse's predatory nature and rampaging violence allowed this group to quickly establish itself in drug, prostitution, gambling and organ trafficking. In the 1990s, organ trafficking became one of the most lucrative among criminal activities ... It may seem incredible that these criminal organizations are attacking their own. However, we see that aboriginal gangs are no different from other ethnic gangs.” (free translation, p. 67-68)

Often referred to as a turning point for improved Québec-Amerindian relations, the 1990 Oka crisis, in Québec’s collective memory, goes something like this: brave Amerindians (the English-speaking Mohawks, by the way) opposed Oka's plan to add nine holes to an existing golf course as well as the construction of luxury homes. A barrier was erected across the dirt road leading to the golf course. The city obtained an injunction against the barricade, but the Mohawks ignored it completely: “I do not recognize the authority of this Province on this land,” said Curtis Nelson, a Kanesatake Mohawk and participant during the Oka Crisis. (People of the Pines, p. 438). 

However, Alex Caine and François Perreault say that in reality, the thing being defended during the Oka crisis was having free reign to continue illegal activities.

“Kanesatake is a landlocked reservation in the municipality of Oka at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Lac des Deux-Montagnes. Its geography represents a considerable asset for all kinds of trafficking. The waterways offer the safest connections for those who can navigate them, by day or by night. This 670 square kilometer territory has become a transit site for smugglers. No wonder the Mohawks claim sovereignty over it. » (free translation, p. 88)

  

Let's go back to Josianne Grenier’s well-meaning words from The Yes Book. She states “the Government of Quebec must negotiate with Ottawa so that the Amerindians are able to freely cross international borders to benefit from their entire ancestral territory.” Reading that, after the revelations made by Caine and Perreault, makes her words seem like silly naïveté. Ms. Grenier proposes the free movement of Amerindians (beyond the concept of borders) to allow them to indulge freely in their traditional undertakings, but she remains silent on the issue of criminal activities.

This is a serious problem that cannot be ignored. How can we ensure that traditional Amerindian activities do not serve as a pretext for different kinds of trafficking? And most importantly, how can we protect Amerindian women who might suffer themselves, should it be allowed to continue without scrutiny? The “solution” proposed by Ms. Grenier is mere youthful optimism.

In an investigation published in the Montréal Gazette, journalist William Marsden collected numerous testimonies from police officers, recounting that regular arrests of smugglers have little impact on the tobacco black market. Mohawk criminals rarely go to jail and do not pay the fines imposed on them. As for the white police, they almost never enter the Amerindian territories without the authorization of the band council. (free translation, p. 90)

***

I came across a New Hampshire podcast (Outside/In) about the "NorthernPass" controversy – the power line project between Québec and the northeastern United States. They wanted to show that Hydro-Québec's hydroelectricity, a renewable and clean source of energy, had upset the traditions of the “ancestral lands” of some Amerindian nations in Québec and are therefore not to be thought so highly of. The subject’s treatment was rather superficial, over produced and decidedly theatrical, presenting a distorted view of Québec's history, which is typical of anglophones.

The two podcasters wanted so much to show that they were not white villains. Their “kumbaya” attitude got them the chief’s cooperation, until they ran into a problem. While they were preparing to enter a Hydro-Québec facility on Québec’s Côte-Nord they were refused access. They then learned that it was due to the negligence of chief Jean-Charles Piétacho, who did not follow the rules and ask permission for entry 48 hours in advance – as everyone must do.

Piétacho was furious – not because of the wasted car trip or a particular desire to show the site to these two Americans – he was upset because he felt “humiliated” by a common white guard who prevented him, the chief, from gaining access to his “traditional territory”. He said that, for him, this illustrated the discrimination suffered by his people, not only from Hydro-Québec, but from all whites in Québec.

Despite the podcaster’s groveling towards the chief, Piétacho ended up turning on them too, dismissing them as vulgar whites who themselves are part of the problem. It does not matter that Hydro-Québec pays millions of dollars each year to the Cree Nation as compensation for the use of their so-called ancestral lands. It does not matter if these two podcasters were more than ready to take the chief’s side. The chief saw himself as a victim of the course of history. No matter what the podcasters could have said, they are both still despised as “whites”. During the podcast, the chief even told them that he would not have talked to them at all, had he known they had also previously spoken to Hydro-Québec during their investigation. He wanted them to have only his version of the story. He then said:

“We know what whites are doing to us. We know our people, it is a great discrimination in Quebec against the First Nations, and we know it. We live here; we feel it, just by the way they look at us. It's deep.” (17:30)

Why do Native Americans think they can have carte blanche to go anywhere at anytime? Do they only need to evoke colonialism and say that all whites are bad to get what they want?

I stand by my words above: the French empire did not oppress the Amerindians. The Amerindian peoples freely made an alliance with the King of France to resist Iroquois imperialism, which threatened the entire northeast of the continent. Unfortunately, the Amerindian population has decreased by 90% because of “microbial shock” of European diseases to which Amerindians were not immune.

What about that small pox blanket story? According to this Radio-Canada text, the directive seems to have come from the General Amherst (English), following the conquest of 1759, rather than from the French Empire. One unfortunate thing on the part of the French was the trading of alcohol during the fur trade, which regrettably spread alcoholism among Amerindians (even though the bishops of Quebec City condemned the eau-de-vie trade). 

What about the 80 or so residential schools in Canada? Of that number, 11 were in Quebec and only three were Catholic (meaning French-Canadian institutions). The subject is too big to adequately deal with here, but it is worth noting that testimonies vary greatly about what happened in the French Canadian residential schools, depending on if the source was anglophone or francophone.

As for the vitality of Amerindian nations today, Québec is, not surprisingly, the place where Amerindian languages are doing the best in Canada. Just north of Trois-Rivières, we find this excellent example recently given by TVA.

In conclusion, Amerindians tend to attack the Québec nation by reducing it to a “white nation”. Not only is this ostracizing people because of the color of their skin, but it is also neglecting the fact that the Québec nation is today is composed of the descendants from all continents. Why don’t Amerindians recognize the contribution of these neo-Quebecers – who are involved in the political and economic decisions of contemporary Quebec – instead of just reducing Québec as a “white nation”?

Moreover, the fact that Quebecers are majority white does not make them guilty of the injustices committed historically by the British Empire and we are not to be blamed for crimes committed in the name of Her Majesty the Queen of England.

However, we have unfortunately forgotten much of our history.

Québec Blacks and Historical Revisionism

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The columnist Fabrice Vil from the newspaper Le Devoir, published this text, "The Power of Hip-Hop" in 2017, peddling some incredibly false information that needs some truth thrown its way. 

He even fully incorporates the words of some rap song, "Qc History X" by Ali Ndiaye going under the (rather anglophone – surprise surprise!) name Webster – a self-described hip-hop artist dabbling in history. Here is the passage cited:

“In 1629 Olivier Lejeune arrives / First slave listed in the newly founded Quebec City / At least 10 000 slaves in Canada / Until abolition in 1833 / Yo, it is crazy, after some of my sleuthing / I discovered that Lionel Groulx preached racial purity / Same thing goes for Garneau, FX-Garneau / Quebec History X, we’ve been erased from the collective memory / But there were black businessmen / we were in the regiments as well as fur-trading voyageurs / not to mention innkeepers / And they want us to believe that blacks have only been here since the 70s.” (free translation)

Mr. Vil publishes this text with zero nuance or warning and even goes as far to say that they are a "spot-on course on black history in Quebec.” However, the apparent facts stated in this song are false. If rappers are not obliged to check for accuracy on what they write, columnists like Vil should be held to a higher standard. 

First of all, to classify this text as a history lesson suggests that its content is factually true, especially when Mr. Vil does not provide any contextual element to think otherwise. Quoting “Webster” word for word, Mr. Vil does not just give his "appreciation of a cultural work" as he might well claim. He endorses the false message contained in the song "Qc History X" by calling it a "history course" and a "cultural treasure". He uses words like “enrichment” to speak about the text. In other words, he believes the text’s content is credible. 

However, when referring to the Journalistic Ethics Guide of the Quebec Press Council on Opinion Journalism, Article 10.2 states:

Opinion journalists set out the most relevant facts on which their opinion is based, unless they are already known to the public, and must explain the reasoning that justifies it.

The information presented is accurate, rigorous in its reasoning and complete, as defined in Article 9 of this Guide. (free translation)

The Guide additionally specifies in Article 9 that journalists and the news media produce, according to journalistic norms, information that has the following qualities:

Accuracy: fidelity to reality;

Intellectual rigor and accuracy;

Impartiality: absence of bias in favor of a particular point of view;

Balance in the treatment of a subject and a fair presentation from the point of view of the parties involved;

Totality: in the treatment of a subject, presentation of the essential elements for proper understanding, while respecting the editorial freedom of the media. (free translation)

Ultimately, Mr. Vil’s column puts forth completely false information. For example, the historical work, “Two Centuries of Slavery in Quebec”, arguably the most serious reference for the history of slavery in Québec, indicates that "there were nearly 4,200 slaves in the province of Quebec "(Trudel: 69, free translation). Of these, three quarters were Native Americans (Trudel: 73, free translation) and the other quarter were African (Trudel: 84, free translation). Saying that there were 10,000 slaves in the 19th century in Canada (the name under which Quebec was then known) as Mr. Vil claims, is both misleading and deceptive. The least a columnist can do when citing such a long quote is to verify its veracity and take responsibility for it. 

Vil continues with: "Webster and Muzion are just examples of an array of artists who have created a cultural treasure that can not only change teaching methods, but can also shed a different and relevant light on the contemporary social climate" (free translation). 

However, this statement is problematic. Indeed, the title of the song "Qc History X" is a reference to the well-known American movie "American History X" – featuring several Hollywood stars, hardly an obscure film with confidential distribution. In this case, Mr. Vil could not be unaware that the learned readers of Le Devoir would also link the content of the film and the history of Quebec. 

As a reminder, this film depicts racist American extremist caricatures wearing swastikas, favoring the lynching of blacks. To claim, devoid of any nuance, that a song referencing this film constitutes "a cultural treasure" that can "change teaching methods" is absurd. What is the take away from this? That Quebecers historically behaved in a similar way as the characters in this film? Not only entirely false from a factual point of view, this message cannot be defended as mere artistic freedom, but slander against the Québec nation. 

As a final point, the text of Mr. Vil omits bringing any nuance allegations conveyed by the song "Qc History X" regarding Lionel Groulx. It is well known among real historians that Groulx severely criticized French Canadians who refused to preserve and transmit their national traditions on the pretext of assimilating certain elements of Anglo-Saxon culture for survival purposes. To claim that "Lionel Groulx preached racial purity" is nothing short of intellectual dishonesty and sheer contempt for the national historian of the people who welcomed the likes of Vil and Webster. I would invite Mr. Vil to try reading Groulx, instead of just repeating empty and false catch-phrases about him. He could start with the popular political novel, "The Call of the Race.” He might even lose some of his prejudices. 

That book summarizes what was called at that time "the French spirit.” Some key themes are the materialistic nature of the Anglo-Protestant civilization, the myth of Anglo-Saxon superiority and the Anglo-mania of the French-Canadian petty bourgeoisie. Groulxian nationalism did not make race an absolute. For Groulx, the Catholic Church remained the supreme value. But the Church must be incarnated in a nationality, like the Word which became flesh. Planting national roots are what allows man to reach the universal. 

The French language dictionary, the Petit Robert, defines "race" as a natural group of men who have similar characters (physical, psychic, cultural) from a common past – ethnicity, people. It is also defined as an ethnic group, differentiated by hereditary physical characteristics (skin color, skull shape, blood types) – white, yellow and black. During Groulx time period, it was used mainly in the first sense, meaning race was more cultural. Today, it is used more in the second sense – biological. 

Groulx often spoke of the "genius of the race,” meaning the indefinable peculiarity of the French-Canadian people. He did not have a "sociobiological" view of the nation as in Nazi theories of the Aryan race, despite what folks like Esther Delisle say (the lie that Groulx was an anti-semite can be traced to her). Recall that in the time of Groulx, "race" was spoken in the sense of "nationality.” It was a cultural notion rather than a physical one. The superiority of the French spirit stems rather from the spiritual superiority of Catholicism over Protestantism, an idea that was self-evident in Catholic circles before the Second Vatican Council (Le Siècle de Mgr Bourget, 2016). If only Le Devoir hired columnists who knew their history. 

Lionel Groulx wanted the restoration of national integrity by rediscovering the authentic French-Canadian soul. It is an inner quest, the Greek Gnothi seauton: "Know thyself.” Does Mr. Vil know himself? From reading his other texts, it is clear that he draws almost all his ideas from Anglo-Americans and he probably sees himself as a kind of black American who speaks bilingual, instead of part of the Québec nation. 

For all these reasons, I think that Fabrice Vil's “The Power of hip-hop" is merely another one of these victim propaganda texts directly imported from the United States – the so-called "racialist" tendencies that are currently in vogue. His worldview prevents any honest historical reading that dissociates the history of French Canadian settlers in New France from those of the British Empire.

Eternal Fascism you say?

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A few years ago, I read Umberto Eco's "Ur Fascism" essay and recently I saw that the internet radio program "Plus on est de fous, plus on lit!" did a show on that text, from the problematic point of view of Pierre-Luc Brisson and Marie-Louise Arsenault. Goes without saying that I had to offer my two cents!

Eco’s essay takes a reactionary position based primarily on emotion. It has the appearance of logic and coherence, but only broad and empty idea categories are used such as freedom, democracy, human rights, equality, and so forth. Brisson gives a five-minute "analysis" of the text. Do not expect any familiarity with mathematical theory, continental philosophy or meta-logic. Here, Brisson offers pop philosophy and pop psychology. Academics like the late Umberto Eco (and, by extension, Brisson) just love to assert universal codes of moral and ethical standards, while simultaneously promoting total relativism. They are both representative of the modern left at universities (as seen in Eco's arguments).

Eco speaks of having loved fascist Italy as a child. Then he heard the "Voice of London" (anglophone of course) on the radio and began to change his mind. He finally gave up "fascism" thanks to chewing gum (yes, he says that), which provided the possibilities of freedom. There was also a black American (one of the Allied soldiers) whose comic books impressed him so much that, golly lolly, America is so where it’s at! (note: ultra-liberal European intellectuals like Eco normally hate America)

Eco speaks of Evola, Ezra Pound and the Grail mysticism, calling all this idiotic (even though he made a lot of money writing about such topics, as in Foucault’s Pendulum). He thinks that the idea of "corrupt art" is ridiculous. I'm sorry, but there is corrupt art. The things he mentions, such as Cubism, are degenerate (even the Frankfurt School brought this up). But for Eco, toxic culture does not exist.

He criticizes "eternal fascism" (Ur Fascism) as an "eternal war" that the left must fight. So, according to Eco’s incarnation of the progressive liberal socialist European intellectual, what should I take away from this? Quite simply, I must be against any form of tradition, because tradition rejects modernity. Eco says that the "fascists" reject the modern liberalism of the Enlightenment in favor of irrationalism, though it has never been shown that the Enlightenment was rational.

Eco says that fascists encourage the idea of heroism and that soldiers are just hero idolaters who like to play with their guns. According to Eco, this shows that they have a phallic problem. He thinks he looks smart in criticizing heroism, but I would bet Eco sees himself as a liberal hero. With all the praise heaped on him, academic awards, his books and the films based on them, I can only guess that he thought he was an exceptional being (even heroic), making his so-called dismantling of the idea of the hero seem less than credible. Earlier in the essay he described the Allies as heroes, so are the Allies also subject to the phallic obsession of their guns? Besides, are we supposed to believe that there is a sexual problem among right-wing people? Bestiality, pedophilia, BDSM whips and handcuffs are not promoted by right-wing people. Rather, it’s the folks on Eco’s side who encourage such things. People like Michel Foucault who went to the bath houses at night and then wrote books on "punishment" by day.

Eco thinks that the right is Orwellian, but nothing is more Orwellian than lefty British liberalism. Did he really think Orwell was talking about Mussolini? Orwell was actually talking about Fabian socialism, which is the version of liberalism preferred by Eco (and Brisson, I imagine). Newspeak and liberal-language are both from Eco ‘s precious liberal tradition. But whoever disagrees with them is labeled a fascist.

Eco believes that the democratic majority is sacred, but he has desacralized the entire universe with his liberal world view. Regardless, he professes that there is an inherent holiness among the democratic masses (whom he elsewhere despises). Brisson repeated the old "populism" line (another meaningless word, like fascism) about how "populism" has taken root in the American Midwest after job relocation. Well, if Brisson suddenly had no job and no income, would he not be upset too? Not everyone can be pseudo-intellectual, living on scholarships to do useless research (useless in the sense of his liberal weltanschauung). Liberalism does not respect individual rights, as the Antifas and SJWs beat up anyone they do not like. Why? Because they are possessed by their ideology (as Dostoevsky said in "Demons"). If you are a heterosexual white man, you are a fascist.

Eco says that "Ur Fascism" could come back at any time and that it is our duty to recognize it and point it out. Well, I would point my finger at Eco (and those who follow him) as his position is true fascism. His liberal fascism is the worst because he preaches tolerance, while at the same time destroying true tolerance.