Sainte Marie among the Iroquois facts for kids
| Sainte Marie de Ganentaa | |
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| Established | 1656 (Mission), 1930s (French "Fort"), 1990s (Mission Recreation) |
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| Location | Liverpool, New York, United States |
| Type | park/living museum |
Sainte Marie among the Iroquois was a French Jesuit mission built in the 1600s. It was located in the land of the Onondaga nation, who are part of the Iroquois people. The mission was near Onondaga Lake in what is now Syracuse, New York. The first mission only lasted a short time, from 1656 to 1658.
Today, there is a modern copy of the mission that works as a museum. It is open from May to October. You can visit and see "living history" displays, where people in costumes act out what life was like back then. This museum is part of the Onondaga County parks system. Volunteers help run the site and create the programs.
Contents
Exploring the Museum
The museum is a two-story building. Inside, you can see many interesting items from the past. These items are part of Onondaga County Park's collection. Visitors can look at different exhibits and even book tours. There is also a gift shop on the first floor where you can find souvenirs.
The Mission Site
The mission itself is located behind the museum building. You can reach it from the second floor of the museum. Between the museum and the mission, there is a small camp with reed huts. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people and the French used camps like these when they traveled. They were usually set up about a day's walk from each other along travel paths.
The main mission area is surrounded by a tall wooden fence called a palisade. Inside, you will find several buildings. These include a chapel for worship, a refectory (a dining hall), a dormitory (where people slept), and workshops for things like carpentry and blacksmithing. There were also pens for animals. Outside the palisade, you can see gardens where vegetables and herbs were grown, and a large oven for baking.
Mission History
Building the Mission
The Jesuits, who were a group of Catholic priests, built the mission. They were invited by the Onondaga nation of the Iroquois. At that time, there was fighting between the Mohawks and the French in New France (which is now Quebec). The Onondagas wanted to help make peace between them.
The French built a strong wooden fence and some buildings overlooking Onondaga Lake. Besides the Jesuit missionaries, there were also French "Coureur des bois" (which means "Runners of the Wood"). These were French woodsmen and traders who helped defend the mission.
Leaving the Mission
After two years, the mission faced problems. The Mohawks threatened to attack it, and the new French Governor was no longer interested in the project. Because of these dangers, the entire group of French people left the mission safely in 1658. After this, the French did not try to build any more missions in Iroquois territory.
Rebuilding the Mission and Museum
The First "Fort"
In the 1930s, a copy of Sainte Marie de Ganentaa was built near Onondaga Lake. This was part of a program called the WPA. However, instead of a real French mission, they built a "wild west" style fort. People think this happened because of an old story about a "French fort" built in 1696. That "fort" was actually just a camp of tents with a small fence, and it only lasted about two weeks. The new "French fort" was built close to where the original mission was. From the 1970s, Onondaga County Parks ran the site. People dressed in costumes acted as French and Haudenosaunee people.
Making the Museum Better
In the early 1990s, the "Fort" was rebuilt to look more like the original French mission. Money was raised and grants were used to fund this big project. The new design was based on old writings from the Jesuits and other first-hand stories. They also looked at the design of a similar mission called Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. The new, more accurate mission site was smaller than the old "French Fort." A new museum was also built. This allowed Sainte Marie to show many different displays about Native American and French cultures from around the 1650s.
Reopening the Museum
Around the early 2000s, Sainte Marie closed down. This was because fewer people were visiting, and there were budget cuts. But a group of people who cared about the site started a movement to reopen it. They formed a group called the Friends of Historic Onondaga Lake (FoHOL). This group was made of volunteers who offered to run the site for the county.
In 2004, Onondaga County Parks made a deal with FoHOL. The volunteers would run the site, create programs, and raise money. In return, the County would let them use the facility, access the museum's collection, and help with utilities and maintenance. The volunteers worked hard to replace the displays and change the layout. This allowed them to offer new and changing programs and to make tours special for different groups of visitors.
Temporary Closure
In 2011, the museum and mission site were temporarily closed to the public. This was due to a plan to turn part of the museum's display area into offices. However, the land where the facility is located is protected. It was meant only for park and recreation use because of the money used to build it. This caused a disagreement about whether the offices could be built there. Because of the closure, many planned events, like "Christmas Around the World," had to be canceled.
Skä•noñh - Great Law of Peace Center
On January 1, 2013, the Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) took over managing the site. It used to be known as "Sainte Marie among the Iroquois." On November 2, 2015, the facility reopened with a new name: the Skä•noñh Center – Great Law of Peace Center. Skä•noñh is an Onondaga greeting that means "Peace and Wellness." This center now focuses on the heritage and education of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people.
Images for kids
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An Onondaga man spears one of the once-plentiful eels from an elm-bark canoe in a display at the Sainte Marie Mission Interpretive Center
