When going though all the optional research topics on the course outline, I found many topics that seemed interesting. The topic I had originally planned on doing was “Medicine and Epidemics” and I was going to discuss the small pox epidemic and tie in different Indigenous groups such as the Hurons and how this epidemic affected their population. In addition to this, I was also going to add in the influence of Christian/Catholic religious groups who brought this epidemic to them. However, I found it very difficult to find articles and books pertaining to my topic in the Canadian Pre-Confederation time, so I had to change my topic slightly, but still with the same concepts in mind.
I changed my topic to; “The Jesuit Relations among the Hurons”. This topic incorporated my original ideas, however, in a different way of thinking. My topic consisted of the Jesuit relations among the Huron population in the 1630s. This topic included many other aspects such as: how the Jesuits effected the Huron population with their religions and beliefs, the Hurons way of living, the Huron’s customs and morals, and in addition, the small pox epidemic and how this affected the Huron population as well as the relationship between the Hurons and the Jesuits.
The reasons why I chose this topic is because I find it interesting to learn about different Indigenous groups like the Hurons and how they were effected by other groups such as the Jesuits, in terms of their overall way of life. I like to learn about their interpretations of what happened in the time, how they felt at this time, and what they did to protect their population. I also find it interesting learning about cultures, religions, beliefs, and different ways of thinking such as of the Hurons and the Jesuits. Everyone has their own way of thinking and this is true with the Hurons and the Jesuits because they had many conflicting religious beliefs and their proper way to live.