When Wisconsin Was New France
More than a century after Christopher Columbus's voyage to North America, it was the French who first came to Wisconsin. Explore the relationships between French missionaries, voyageurs and indigenous people. 60 minutes (cc)
buy VHS

View streaming video clips with RealPlayer.

Intro/French Maps (8:15)
The claiming of Wisconsin took place, in part, through mapmaking. The renderings were inaccurate, but gorgeous, and said as much about the French who created them as those represented.

Ojibwe (8:28)
The French maps were a window to the indigenous people of Wisconsin. Ojibwe prophesies, lifestyles, mobility and spiritual explorations are further explained.

Jean Nicolet (8:33)
The first Caucasian to enter Wisconsin, Jean Nicolet, led the way for a torrent of change to the region, for Ojibwe, fur traders and missionaries alike.

Coureur de Bois (8:54)
Early French fur traders plunge into what became Wisconsin, facing starvation, a lack of shelter and other hardships. This forged a reliance, based on an economic model, on the indigenous people. Relationships also evolved into emotional and spiritual bonds.

Jesuits (9:18)
Jesuit missionaries explored and mapped the Great Lakes Region. That's one reason why the French government required a Jesuit priest on every exploration. Jesuits exerted other influences, or at least attempted them.

Métis (11:23)
"Within 60 years, you maybe had three generations that were all intertwined culturally between French Canadians and Ojibwe or Cree or Huron peoples. After awhile you get a brand-new culture that is part European and part Indian. It's part Catholic and it’s part traditional Ojibwe beliefs," says a historian in the documentary. The Métis ran Wisconsin's fur trade culture for 100 years after the first explorers.