The Many Jobs of Jean Nicolet: Using Textbook Entries to Critically Analyze Sources in the Elementary School Classroom

Introduction

Textbooks provide valuable source material for primary school students studying historical research processes. Fourth graders studied multiple retellings of the experiences of Jean Nicolet, a French diplomat, when he landed in Wisconsin in 1634. By studying changes of the same event in multiple textbooks, students developed an understanding of how historical research and scholarship change over time. After reading the most up-to-date information, students were able to identify the flaws in past textbooks and popular artwork depicting the event. Using their new knowledge, students wrote letters and drew reinterpretations of Nicolet’s journey that advocated for a broader teaching of the new information.

In Defense of Textbooks

Textbooks often have a notorious reputation among students and history teachers. The groans of students lugging a heavy textbook of dull information around all year are the focus of many jokes. Many teachers have a similar reaction when they think of the lack of perspectives and outdated information in books required to be used by district administration. However, biographies of textbook authors reveal they are often highly qualified scholars and educators. Textbook writers must juggle multiple sets of state standards and design material appropriate for diverse learners (Sternberg, 2017).

   In defense of textbook authors, textbooks should never be treated as the only source of infinite knowledge. Textbooks should be analyzed the same as any other source of information. The sooner the school community understands this, the sooner a more effective study of history can begin. The following lesson provides examples of how fourth-grade students used textbooks and research to enhance their knowledge of European explorers' relationships with Indigenous peoples in the 17th-century Fur Trade. Students learned how interpretations of primary sources and how focusing on multiple perspectives could provide unique insights into historical events and people.

The Many Interpretations of Jean Nicolet

Many Wisconsin elementary students learn about Jean Nicolet, one of the first Frenchmen to enter the state. Professional and amateur historians agree that Quebec Governor Samuel de Champlain sent him on his mission. In his book, The Mission of Jean Nicolet: Uncovering the Story of the 1634 Journey, Patrick Jung details the common story retold in social studies textbooks. He states, “In 1634, Nicolet arrived in Green Bay believing he had discovered the Northwest Passage, the elusive waterway through North America that would provide a route to Asiatic riches in the Kingdom of Cathay, or China” (Malone, Oberle, O'Leary, & Griesemer,2016 , p.1).

He continues, "After traveling hundreds of miles by canoe across Lake Huron and Michigan, Nicolet donned a rich embroidered Chinese robe for the occasion of his arrival, but of course, he did not meet the powerful Mandarins who represented the Ming emperor, he met American Indians” (p. 1).

This story is often reinforced with secondary visual images created hundreds of years after Nicolet’s encounter with the Puan Nation, the ancestors of the modern-day Ho-Chunk. The most popular image used in textbooks is the painting The Landfall of Jean Nicolet in Wisconsin, completed by E. W. Deming in 1907. A mural by Franz Edward Rohbeck (1907 ) that perpetuates the same myth is still prominently displayed in the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The paintings feature an elaborately robed Nicolet firing two pistols in the air. Numerous historical markers and statues are also placed in the locations shown in the painting.

Fortunately, there are some primary sources available for historians.Jung (2018) points out that two contemporary Jesuit priests recorded important facts about Nicolet’s journey. Jung’s scholarship and research into the Jesuit priests’ journals help provide a more accurate and believable narrative of Nicolet’s journey. Jung has discovered that “Vimont and LeJeune, despite the brevity of their narrative, paint a far more accurate picture of the man” (p. 123).

A more recent analysis of the primary sources has led to a better understanding of the complex relationships between Europeans and Indigenous peoples in 17th century North America. Many scholars agree that Wisconsin’s “First Known European” was a Frenchman named Étienne Brulé. Brulé was another young, adventurous Frenchman working for Champlain (Hollway, 2015). Champlain sent Nicolet to create treaties between the Puans and their neighbors. Champlain understood that safe trading routes and peaceful relations between Native peoples were necessary before the French could extend the Fur Trade. Trading Posts were more lucrative than attempts to find unknown passages to the Orient.

Nicolet was qualified for this mission because he had spent years living with the Huron and learning the cultures and languages of the indigenous peoples around Quebec.Jung (2018) states, “His only objective was to negotiate peace between New France’s allies and the Puans at Green Bay. Any other duties he performed were subordinated to this overreaching task. This meant that Nicolet was not an explorer. He was, on the other hand, a great diplomat during his years of service to New France” (p. 3), Instead of portraying Nicolet as an inappropriately dressed explorer who thinks it wise to introduce himself to a large crowd by firing two single-shot pistols in the air as depicted in paintings, modern scholars view Nicolet as a qualified and skilled politician. Champlain’s desire to negotiate with the Puans reveals that they were a nation well respected by the Europeans.

Rethinking the Narrative in the Classroom

Older versions of the textbooks reflect the out-of-date scholarship. Wisconsin textbooks through the early 2000s still taught students that Nicolet was the first European in Wisconsin. The stories of his attempts to find the Northwest Passage and his mistaking of Native peoples as Chinese were prominently featured. As research improved, so did student resources. The Wisconsin Historical Society’s newest textbook emphasizes Nicolet’s role as a diplomat, and the American Indians feature prominently in the story. However, the Demming painting is still featured on the page with limited explanation. Instead of ignoring the older textbooks, these entries allow students to explore how historical interpretation and understanding can change.

Lesson Plan Steps and Activities

1. Students began the lesson by discussing where they have heard the name Nicolet before. Students often suggest banks, higher education institutions, and parks. This activity help students see that Nicolet is important enough to be commemorated in multiple ways.

2. Next, students read the entry from the most recent edition of their textbook and studied the modern painting and murals of Nicolet’s arrival. Both entries allowed students to ask questions for further exploration. Students also analyzed entries from different textbook editions. They noted similarities that existed in multiple entries. Students wanted to know why Nicolet looked like a priest in his fancy robe and why he fired one-shot pistols if he was attempting to restore peace.

3. After completing step #2, students analyzed Jung’s recent research and his interpretations of the work of the Jesuit missionaries. Due to the reading level, inaccessibility of the original sources, and language barrier, students used sections of Jung’s book.

According to Jung’s interpretation of the primary sources, students were correct in assuming that a knowledgeable ambassador was unlikely to approach a powerful nation in such a flamboyant style. According to the primary sources, “Nicolet and his crew fastened two sticks in the earth, and hung gifts thereon”, so as to relieve these tribes from the notion of mistaking them for enemies to be massacred” (Jung, 2018, p. 127).

According to Jung, a peace offering makes more sense than firing pistols into the air. Jung also points out that Nicolet only sent one member of his party on scouting missions before entering the Puan village. The sources also revealed the answers to student questions about Nicolet’s robe. Most scholars believe that Nicolet likely wore a green cape of high-quality Chinese fabric. This was an expensive piece of clothing but appropriate for a French ambassador on official business in the wilderness (Jung, 2018, p. 134). Jung points out that the green robe was imagined because of a poor translation of the original French and a lack of understanding of 17th-century fashion.

4. After learning about more recent scholarship, students compared and contrasted the information they learned from the different sources, by completing Venn Diagrams. Many students commented that Jung’s use of the primary sources focused on the role of the native nations. After completing Venn Diagrams, students recreated the famous secondary images reflect the updated narrative more accurately. Students also wrote a letter to the Brown County Courthouse advocating changes to the current mural or wrote an entry for an updated textbook edition.

Advocating for Changes in Stories

Textbooks can be valuable tools for students to learn how scholars have viewed history over time. For example,Jung (2018) states, “The reason Nicolet’s journey looms so large today is rooted in the mythology we have built around it. Much of it is pure Eurocentric bias” (p.151). Few modern retellings in textbooks or other accounts note that “Nicolet’s so-called accomplishment was one many Ottawa (and probably Hurons, Nipissings, and Algonquins) had achieved long before he did” (p.154). Changing murals and rewriting textbook entries offer meaningful assessments in classrooms, but students need to understand that making changes to memorials is not an easy task in the real world.

If society demands that public commemorations accurately reflect the historical record, citizens need to know how to search for and think critically about the variety of different sources available. Understanding the biases and limitations of all source creators is an essential skill for achieving this goal. These skills can and should be implemented in an elementary school setting. Students can be taught that thinking critically about historical sources in and outside the classroom is a natural component of studying history. Analyzing the benefits and limitations of textbooks and their authors can help students develop a deeper understanding of the evolving field of historical study.

Q & A with Kate Van Haren