The Algonquin Indian Tribe is one of many found in Canada. This particular tribe is found within the Eastern Woodlands Cultural area which is in the Ontario-Quebec region. They were mainly located in the Ottawa valley. Most of the bands are french and english spoken but, some speak their own Algonquin Language. This distinct language was a more musical language with musical sounds, either instead of or addition to articulation. It also included complicated verbs with many parts. They believed in many Gods both animate and inanimate and one Greater God who created the earth known as Gitche Manitou, identified as “Great Rabbit”. They also had spirits which included Lesser spirits who controlled the elements and the evil spirits that caused mischief, misfortune or illness. Hero spirits taught people the skills they need to survive and good spirits who helped the good and punished the bad. The Algonquin people also believed in the art of witchcraft.
While living in the Ottawa Valley, they encountered their first contact with european settlers along the Ottawa river. This encounter occurred during the exploration of Samuel De Champlain in 1608. Since the algonquin tribe was in what we now call the “Canadian Shield”, they were excellent hunters and trappers…show more content… The French showed them guns and helped them against their enemy the Iroquois. The Iroquois sided with the english while the Algonquins were sided with the french. They fought for the control over the fur trade and to claim more land. With the Algonquins having alliances with the Europeans along with the Montagnais tribe, they together fought against the Iroquois with europeans fighting and the algonquin and other tribes. Europeans ended up shooting and killing two Iroquois chiefs which caused the Iroquois to flee. This resulted in a feud between the french and Iroquois for the rest of the
