The Attawandaron Discoveries
by Marjorie Clark
(Part 3 of a 3 part series)
This article, part 3 of this history series, was previously published in the Puslinch Pioneer, 2015 and re-printed here with permission from the author, Marjorie Clark, and PuslinchToday
The Huron First Nation called their southern neighbours “Attawandaron”, meaning “People of a slightly different language.” The French labelled those same people “Neutrals,” as they remained neutral between the Huron and Iroquois.
The Attawandaron or Neutrals inhabited dozens of villages in Southwestern Ontario, stretching along the north shore of Lake Erie from the Niagara Peninsula to the Detroit River, perhaps as far north as Toronto in the east and Goderich in the west.
A semi-nomadic society, the Neutrals lived in villages, which would usually be abandoned after about twenty years. When the game, the soil and the wood in an area became depleted, the area would be left to regenerate and the village would relocate to a new spot. The largest Neutral village site in Wellington County and perhaps in Ontario, covering thirteen acres, was in the Badenoch section of Puslinch, on the east side of Morriston, lot 32, concession 8. The other one situated within the Badenoch area was on lot 28, rear of concession 8, the former McPhee farm.
In 1615-1623, some of Samuel de Champlain’s men travelled south from Midland to meet the Neutrals and in 1625-1626, Etienne Brulé spent the winter among them. A Récollet priest, Father Joseph de la Roche Daillon, described them in a letter dated July 18, 1627. At the time, there were approximately 40,000 Neutrals Read more