Zakheim Adam Discussion Questions The Jesuit Relations Pgs. 70-73, 81-88, & 90-106. Introduction... 1. In the second paragraph on page 70, the author describes the various treatments and medicines used by the Jesuits. How do you think these practices appeared to Indians, unfamiliar with such practices? 2. "As the Jesuits struggled to explain to their readers...they tended to focus more on the ultimate question of why, rather than on the immediate question of how, disease spread" (71). Is this a staple of Jesuit philosophy? On the accounts of disease... 1. "For the most part, [the Indians] think of nothing but their stomachs and of the means for prolonging their miserable lives..." (81). Although the commentator admits the Jesuit's desire to save souls, not cure illness, incurred the animosity of the Indians, phrases like the one quoted above indicate a lack of compassion and sympathy on the part of the Jesuits. Is this lack of compassion part of Jesuit religious policy, or does it reveal a broader cultural bias? 2. How did the Jesuits combat the "superstitious" remedies employed by the Indians? Did this strategy aid them in their ability convert to the Natives? 3. On page 91, Father Lalemant makes the astute observation that "[those Indians] who are nearest to us happened to be those most ruined by the diseases and that the towns that welcomed [the Jesuits] now appear utterly exterminated." Why does Lalemant neglect to provide a religious explanation of this phenomenon? Doesn't such an observation warrant a religious justification? On diplomacy and war... 1. The Iroquois ambassadors approach the French settlement in order "to learn the intentions of the French" and their native allies. Before negotiations begin, the French fire two cannon rounds "as a sign of rejoicing" (97). What message can be read from this symbolic gesture? In other words, how does this gesture support the French's diplomatic aims? 2. In the description of the seventeen wampum necklaces given to the French (100103), how are the Iroquois' depicted? From this exchange, can one see the difficulties of translating Christianity to indigenous peoples? 3. What do Captain Kiotseaeton final words to Monsieur, the French governor, indicate about the Native peoples' perception of the French? (page 105-106)