Tsiionhiakwatha/Droulers archaeological site interpretation centre
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Go back 600 years in time and experience true cultural immersion in a reconstructed Iroquois village at Saint-Anicet in the Montérégie. The Tsiionhiakwatha/Droulers archaeological site interpretation centre, in operation since the spring of 2001, is the result of a happy collaboration between whites and Mohawks. To whet your appetite, Quebecvacances.com interviewed the director of this venture, Pascal Perron.
Quebecgetaways.com – The Tsiionhiakwatha/Droulers archaeological site welcomes 15,000 individuals and several school groups each year. Tell us about the history of this place.
Pascal Perron – We are situated on the remains of a major Iroquoian village which was inhabited by approximately 500 people around 1450. More than 60 years ago, a farmer named François Droulers happened to discover an axe called an adze dating from the 15th century. Then, further archaeological excavation uncovered more than 150,000 artifacts and made it possible to reconstruct the village on its original location.
QG - What is the experience you offer to visitors?
PP – When you enter the site, you have the impression that the village inhabitants have gone to collect berries. That's how the visit starts. All your senses come into play. You smell food cooking in kettles on the fire. You can even taste it! You can handle all the objects because they are replicas. In short, you experience complete immersion in the past of an Amerindian nation.
QG - What do we know about the lives of the Iroquoian peoples?
PP – You have to take part in a one and a half hour visit and go through the five stations to understand better. But to whet your appetite, I will tell you that they were a sedentary people who cultivated corn and gathered berries. Women took care of almost everything while men went to chop wood. Are you surprised? Our guides have lots more information of the same kind to share with you.
Right : Pascal Perron, directeur CISA Droulers/Tsiionhiakwatha
Left : Michel Cadieux, archéologue-muséologue-ethnologue
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QG - What makes you the most proud?
PP – I am very proud of the extraordinary collaboration with the Mohawk community. We shared a common desire to spread this great cultural heritage. We have taken this relationship further by offering, for example, Tentsitewaiena, which means: Working together again. It is a cultural ecotourism project which includes an overnight stay in the long house and an outing to Mohawk territory on Thompson Island. You get there by kayak or rabaska to experience immersion in the traditions and lifestyle of the Mohawk nation.
In Short
Name of the attraction : The Tsiionhiakwatha/Droulers archaeological site interpretation centre
Director : Pascal Perron
Dates open : From mid-May to Labour Day 2012
Visitors each year : Approximately 15,000
The Tsiionhiakwatha/Droulers archaeological site interpretation centre won the prize in the Prix Coup d’Éclat! 2012 category Nouveauté ou Activité originale (new or original activity) awarded by the Société des Attractions Touristiques du Québec.
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