Monsignor Fournie Mini Camp Village Unit Names

With all of the recent excitement regarding the new Monsignor Fournie Mini Camp Village, public outcry for the names of the units has steadily mounted. Wait no longer. The boy mini campers will be housed in the unit of…drum roll…Chiwatenhwa… and the girls will be staying in… drum roll again…Aonnetta.

Marie Aonnetta and Joeseph Chiwatenhwa were both Huron citizens living in the Great Lakes region during the 1600’s. They were early converts to Christianity, with the spiritual guidance of St. Jean de Brebeuf. At the time, hostilities toward Catholic evangelists made conversion a very risky decision for Native Americans, making their spiritual choice all the more courageous. Chiwatenhwa and Aonnetta were the first Native Americans to celebrate a Catholic marriage. In 1984 in Midland, Ontario, Pope John Paul II spoke of Chiwatenhwa and Aonnetta saying that they “…witnessed to their faith in a heroic manner” and serve as “eloquent models for lay ministry.” Considering their connection to the North American Martyrs and their brave commitment to their beliefs, Chiwatenhwa and Aonnetta’s names and legacies will certainly prove to enrich the narrative landscape of Camp Ondessonk.

But the real question: How do you say that?

Chiwatenhwa is pronounced [shi-WA-ten-wa]

[shi] like in “SHImmer”

[WA] lie in “Water”

[ten] like the number ten

And [wa] as above

Also, the first “wa” is the stressed sylable.

Aonnetta is pronounced [AE-ohn-et-uh]

[AE] as in “A+”

[ohn] like “own”

[et] as in “bET”

And [uh] as in “Asleep”

So have fun practicing the new names while you wait for the New Monsignor Fournie Mini Camp Village to open this summer!

Heepwah!

By Patrick Moseley