Spreading Wealth Around

Imagine a society where you are considered wealthy not by how much money you keep, but by how much you give away.In 1623, French missionary Gabriel Sagard lived with the Huron Wendat, an Indigenous people in today’s southern Ontario.Sagard observed that the Wendat assisted one another so completely that their towns had no indigent beggars. When the Wendat learned that France had crowds of destitute people begging in the street, they condemned the French and said it was because they lacked charity. But the word charity was not an Iroquoian word, and it did not mean charity as defined by Christians.What he witnessed was a form of kinship that extended to whoever was present, including him. He wrote that his host shared the single bearskin that covered him when rain came at night, prepared his sleeping place, carried his pack over the portages and released him from the paddle. He said where two households shared a shelter, each cooked its own kettle, and everyone ate from both without dispute.Sagard’s host instructed him to call the household’s mother, my mother, and its men, my brother. Villagers called him son, nephew, uncle or cousin according to their age. The day after he arrived, a small household gave up its portion of the longhouse so he would have room.Another missionary, Jean de Brébeuf arrived in 1634. He lived with one of the richest men in his village. Wealth was determined by how much you gave away, not how much you accumulated.For example, a fire burned the village down, but the house where Brébeuf was staying survived. The owner of the house hung a great cauldron, feasted everyone and gave away one of his two bins of corn, which held over a hundred bushels. Brébeuf wrote that the Wendat believed in spreading wealth around.Raised Catholic, I was taught that love and charity are the highest virtues. This is how the Wendat lived, but nobody was performing a virtue. It was an obligation to help those in need. Whoever was providing this season might become a dependent next season.The difference is that French charity addressed what to do about the poor. But the Wendat practice meant that the condition of poverty just wasn’t a thing.Obviously before European contact, the Wendat were not Christians. What do you think. Is right action without faith sufficient for salvation? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe