Sainte-Marie among the Hurons archaeological collection

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was a settlement of French Jesuits who established a mission among the indigenous Wyandot people in 1639. Their settlement was located by the present-day town of Midland in Ontario, Canada. The Jesuits were friendly with the Wyandot people, but the Wyandot had a rivalry with another indigenous group known as the Iroquois. The Wyandot's close relations with the French did, however, negatively impact them when the influx of diseases introduced by the French decimated the Wyandot population.

Conflict between the Wyandot and Iroquois continued througout the life of the settlement. Jesuit missionaries Isaac Jogues and Jean Brebreuf were killed by the Iroquois during these battles, and later canonized as saints by the Catholic Church in 1930. As the Iroquois began defeating the Wyandot, the Jesuits decided to retreat to a nearby island in 1649 to continue their mission. In the process of moving, the Jesuits burned Sainte-Marie to the ground. It was not until the late 1940s that this site's location was fully excavated by a team of archaeologists including Wilfrid Jury, along with a group of Jesuit priests. Among those priests was Loyola's then-president, Father Francis X. Talbot.

Source: https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=834

Father Francis Xavier Talbot was Loyola's president from 1947-1950. During his first semester as president he took leave to attend an archaeological dig in Canada. Father Talbot was already famous for his research into the Jesuit missions in Canada and wrote a book called, Saint Among Savages which followed the life of Saint Isaac Jogues, a Jesuit preist. The archaeological dig right outside of Midland Canada confirmed that the settlement of Sainte-Marie, which was a Jesuit Mission, was there. This aided Father Talbot in his research and he was able to write a second book titled "Saint Among the Hurons." This book followed the life of St. Jean Brebeuf. This was another Jesuit missionary that was martyred in Canada. Father Talbot was acquaintances with Wilfrid Jury. Wilfrid Jury was the head archaeologist of this dig and in 1949 he decided to give Father Talbot some artifacts. This occurred towards the end of his presidency. While there is no official record on how the collection came into the archives it is clear they were either given directly by Father Talbot or remained here when he departed Loyola.

Sources:

Baltimore Sun: August 13, 1947

https://jesuitonlinelibrary.bc.edu/?a=d&d=wlet19560701-01.2.5&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------