Duncan Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
Fair address: Yukon/Stikine Regional Heritage Fair
Project: Jacques Cartier
A French explorer sails over to the New World (Canada) to explore. His goal is to find new land for France to settle. In the process, he finds some natives and they lead him up the St. Lawrence River.
What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?
The most interesting thing I learned is that Jacques Cartier had three trips to Canada. Every time he met up with First Nations, he treated them poorly. So much so that, he lied to them, and even kidnapped them and took them far away to Europe.
What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?
I want to tell other Canadians that France might have taken over Canada if more explorers were sent. We might all be speaking French, if Jacques Cartier had not settled Canada. Jacques Cartier left the New World before Canada was truly settled, so he compromised the mission. Because of this, the French didn’t settle Canada until later, and the English gained control of this new land.
How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?
Today nearly all of the world has been discovered so explorers can't claim something for their country. Also, people don't get as poorly treated as they used to in the old days. We travel by plane and trains now that are not uncomfortable like an explorer's ship would have been.