The Petun people originally lived east of Georgian Bay, but were driven by the Iroquois into what is now Wisconsin.[3] In the 1660s, the Petun were again displaced by the Sioux, and settled in what is now St. Ignace around 1670.[4] By this time, the reduction in numbers of Petun, due to disease and war, was so severe that some experts believe they were no longer culturally viable.[5]
Père Jacques Marquette established his mission near the village a few years later.[4][6] The village was home to 500-800 people.[4] The Petun remained in this location until 1701, when Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac persuaded them to move south when he founded Detroit.[5]
Excavations
The site of the Petun village in St. Ignace was excavated in the 1970s,[3] and again in 1983-86, 1996–97, and 2001.[4] Excavations have shown evidence of Petun longhouses and hearths, and acculturation from exposure to nearby European settlers.[4] In particular, the Petun reused European glass and metal fragments to fashion weapons and ornaments,[4] and incorporated elements of Christian worship into their own rituals.[5] However, the Petun cultural identity remained despite their repeated displacement, reduction in numbers, and exposure to European culture and goods.[5]
^The NRIS gives the location of the Marquette Street Archaeological District as "Address Restricted"; however, multiple sources indicate the Petun village was near the St. Ignace Mission on the (three-block-long) Marquette Street. The geo-coordinates given are approximate.
Susan M Branstner, "Tionontate Huron Occupation at the Marquette Mission", Calumet Fleur-de-Lys: Archaeology of Indian and French Contact in the Mid-continent, Smithsonian Press: 177–201