Jean Nicolet

Jean Nicolet was recruited by Samuel de Champlain in 1618 to live among the First Nations of New France to learn their languages and customs. For over a decade, Nicolet lived with the Allumette Island Algonquin and Nipissing peoples around Lake Huron, fully adopting their forest survival skills and becoming a respected interpreter.

In 1634, Champlain dispatched Nicolet west to negotiate peace between the Huron and the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk). Navigating the Straits of Mackinac into Lake Michigan, Nicolet landed at Green Bay, Wisconsin, stepping ashore in an embroidered Chinese damask robe and firing two pistols in the air, expecting to meet Mandarins of the Chinese court. He served as clerk of New France until his drowning in 1642.