Laurentian Iroquoia

In Saint-Anicet, located in the Haut Saint-Laurent, meanders a small water way: the La Guerre River. Flowing to the St-Lawrence River, the La Guerre's banks were home to the Iroquoians. Much before the arrival of the French, the Iroquoians came here to establish their villages at the end of the Late Woodland period (between 1000 & 1534 A.D.)

Archaeologists have traced the artifacts of the village to a population identified as the St.Lawrence iroquoians. This term is also assigned to the Amerindians of the linguistic and cultural family encountered by Jacques Cartier. These recent archaeological researches have revealed the presence of a number of sites and longhouses dating between 1300 and 1534.

The most important historical event that masked the East of Canada before the arrival of Samuel de Champlain in 1603 was the disappearance of the St.Lawrence iroquoians. What was the cause? There are numerous hypotheses, but the disappearance of these populations remains puzzling for archaeological and historians.

These nations may well have disappeared, however they have left indelible traces which witness their time in the St-Lawrence valley.