In Etzer Cantave's voice Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable's original settlement comes alive and conjures up images of a farmstead with crops, such as corn and potatoes, fruit orchards, the inevitable onions and garlic, and fresh meat.
The DuSable Heritage Association in Chicago conducts and promotes research on the pioneer who became the founder of the Windy City.
Everything and everybody from around the world came through the area that would become today's Chicago. And quite a few languages would have been spoken. French was the predominant language of communication at the time. A multitude of indigenous languages could be heard as well, especially Pottowatomie, the language of the tribe by the same name whose homeland DuSable's settlement was located in. Other Native languages would include Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Sauk covering an area between Southern Illinois, Indiana, upstate New York, Ontario, and Quebec. And there would be stimulating talk and cultural exchange as part of which people accepted one another. Cultural diversity was not unique or exceptional, it was the norm and part of daily routine.
Etzer Cantave is the president of the Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable Heritage Association. Its mission is to inform the general public about the so-called founder of Chicago. In addition to that, the idea is to educate people on the vision of a man who has been ignored for a long time and is still being underestimated as an intellectual.
The following narrative includes excerpts from a collection of testimonies in English entitled "'Wild Onion Soup': 'Sampling & Savoring in Chicago, Illinois, United States'", and from a podcast aired on Radio Aula Mundi entitled "Let's Talk About It Anywhere In The World...", where it is all about people's voices, accents and speech patterns, hand in hand with my own personal anecdotes and observations.
In addition to that, locals and travelers will be allowed to introduce themselves in their respective, often indigenous, languages and dialects, and to speak their minds freely, without any paraphrases or expectations.
So, let the story go on from there ...
https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQXxyB2jRic&t=12s
https: //radioaulamundi.bandcamp.com/album/lets-talk-about-it-anywhere-in-the-world-1-etzer-cantave-about-jean-baptiste-pointe-dusable
