Francis Chabot & Manon Kirouac

At École des Pionniers in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Francis Chabot and Manon Kirouac have transformed a nearly five-century-old mystery into a rigorous classroom project. Through Arbor Vitae, their Grade 9 students investigate Annedda, the remedy that the St. Lawrence Iroquoians provided Jacques Cartier and his crew to save them from scurvy in 1535, although its botanical identity remains uncertain to this day.

After analyzing Cartier’s travel accounts and delving into this mystery, students move into the laboratory to test the vitamin C content of various conifer species. Next, they create a written piece or podcast that refines or critiques the account presented in their history textbook.

Conducted just a few kilometres from the Site archéologique Cartier-Roberval, the project draws on the collaboration of archaeologists from the Institut de recherche Cartier-Roberval and on consultation with members of Indigenous communities. More than 140 students took part in the project during its first year, and it has since been presented to teachers across the province at two subject-specific conferences. By bringing history and science together around a genuine unsolved mystery, Francis Chabot and Manon Kirouac have given their students a meaningful introduction into what it truly means to seek the truth about the past.