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Audio Transcript of Jean Nicollet de Belleborne (of Cherbourg, France; for France) 1634
Audio Transcript: Nicollet came to Canada in 1618. Soon after his arrival, he was sent to the Kichesepirini on the Ottawa River to learn Algonquian. In 1620 he went to the Nipissing where he lived for nine years. From 1629 to 1633 he appears to have lived with the Huron and acquired their language. About 1634, he was asked to undertake a journey of exploration to the Gens de Mer, (Winnebago) also called Puants, in order to promote peace between them and the Ottawa of the Lake Huron-Georgian Bay area. A second aim of the journey was to determine if rumours were correct that this was a route to the China Sea. How far west Nicollet got is a matter for speculation since his papers were lost. It is certain that he penetrated into Lake Michigan, probably as far as Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the Winnebago then resided.
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Photograph of the Statue of Jean Nicollet, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Source: Voiceovers by Kyle Rawn, Christian Wyss and LeeAnn McLellan, Algonquin College, Ottawa. Assistance provided by Don Crockford, Coordinator, Broadcasting Radio and Media Design Sector, Algonquin College.
![[D]](http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/exploration/nicolet.jpg/image_longdesc_view){kind=link}
