Ossossane

Ossossane was a principal town of the Bear nation of the Wendat, near the southern shore of Georgian Bay. Its longhouses sheltered families of farmers, while its councils brought together leaders from across the Wendat country. Like other Wendat villages, the town moved as its fields and supply of firewood were exhausted, though its successive sites remained close together.

In 1636 people from neighbouring villages gathered at Ossossane for a Feast of the Dead. They brought the remains of relatives for reburial in a common grave, an occasion for mourning, gifts and the renewal of ties between communities. The Jesuit Jean de Brébeuf witnessed the ceremony. A mission was established in the town the following year, while epidemics brought heavy losses to the Wendat. In 1638 hundreds of Wenro refugees reached Ossossane after leaving their homeland to the south.