Fur Trade In Western Canada

Native American Trade refers to the trade between Europeans and their North American descendants and the Indigenous people of North America, it really began before the colonial period and continued through the nineteenth century. The products traded involved a vast variety of goods and varied by region and era. Canada was a major trader with the native people. In most of Canada the term “Native American Trade” is synonymous with the fur trade; fur for making beaver hats was by far the most valuable product of the trade, from the European point of view. Native Americans had the skills and tools for hunting and skinning the animals used for fur clothing and Canadian settlers had the needs and funding for it. This made for a thriving exchange between the two societies.

Over time, the power that Native women held with in their tribe has unfortunately digressed. During the age of exploration Native women have played key roles in the western fur trade. Native women assisted the fur traders by being liaison between the Europeans and Natives. This role was fundamental in strengthening trade increasing the economic stability of the post. They acted as guides for the European traders who often found themselves in dangerous and unfamiliar territory. Finally, they provided an intimate relationship for the European traders, and played a pragmatic role as a domesticated wife. However in order to fully understand the magnitude of the

Aboriginal women had occupied an essential position in the fur trade of the North American region from its birth during the 17th and 18th centuries. Even though this is true, the role of women, especially those of the Native American society, has been ignored a great deal in the entire history of fur trade. Contrary to the belief that the whole fur trade activity was only male-dominated, it very much depended upon Native women and their participation and labor in order to ensure survival as well as economic success. This paper will attempt to illuminate how Native women played the role as important producers when it comes to fur trade of the American Plains and, of course, the Canadian region. This paper will also deal with the two

The Hudson Bay Company was created in the late 17th century, decades before Canada became a country ("Our History"). Despite the success of the Hudson Bay Company, French and American interests did not back them ("Our History"). The main operations of the HBC was centred on trading with the Natives ("Our History"). The Natives brought furs to the forts and posts of the Hudson Bay Company, located around the shores of James and Hudson Bays, to barter for manufactured goods like knives, kettles, beads, needles, and blankets ("Our History"). These posts and forts along the west of Canada influenced where modern, major cities would grow ("Our History").

The fur trade was the major economic source for New France. Women played a role in the fur trade and aided it in becoming successful for both French and Aboriginal. The European women’s main job was to prepare their husbands by making

The fur trade was a significant part of Canadian history. With the founding of the Hudson's Bay and Northwest Company during the1670's, the fur trade managed growth and development all the way into Western Canada until 1870. The fur trade was unique, for it was the only industry that was based on an exchange of goods between two very different groups of people (namely, the Indians and the Europeans). Although most people think of the fur trade as being a male dominated industry, Indian women also played very important roles in the industry's development. However, the women's experiences differed in relation to

This new trading company was primarily made up of French Canadians and its creation was a direct threat to the Hudson's Bay Company, which held an absolute monopoly on the fur trade. In the middle of this conflict were the Metis, who held important positions as traders, labourers and clerks within both trading companies. By the end of the 18th century, many Metis people had begun to congregate around the trading posts at Red River . Many of the clerks working for either trading company were Metis and so the conflict grew in significance. Eventually the harsh methods of the Hudson's Bay Company caused the Metis to become disillusioned and so many joined with the Northwest Company.

Fur trade between the French and Indians began with the exchange of small items the Indians didn’t have, though it became an important trade source for all of Europe, especially by Samuel de Champlain

The British were interested in the production and circulation of fur as a commodity in the world market and were in need of labor. The Indians were the only available source of skilled labor, so they became part of the production process.

The economic and cultural influences of the 19th century Hudson Bay Company had a significant impact on the diet and food practices of the Northern First Nations Peoples, which impact created a dependency on the government. From this dependency Northern Canada emerged as a welfare state. Prior to European contact, the First Nations exercised regular hunting and gathering practices, relying on game animals as a key meat source. These Peoples, such as the Barren Ground caribou hunters and the Ojibwa fishing villagers, were considered affluent as they had stable food resources which supplied a surplus to their needs (Coates 1989). Resource management strategies, such as hunting multiple species, had been established and were practiced by the hunters to avoid food shortages or scarcities (Coates 1989). Most tribes which based their food supply on a primary large animal – such as the barren ground caribou – would also hunt secondary prey sources, like the beaver (Coates 1989). However, modifications were made to these management strategies as the First Nations responded to the demands created by the open market of the 19th century Hudson Bay Company. The Peoples developed as commercial

Images of rough faced, Grizzly Bear fighting, firewater drinking, yarn spinning, frontiersmen form in the minds eye. Wild men for wild times! To a degree this image is true, but the fur trade was more than wild men. The fur trade was a business, conducted by businessmen. The wilder men living on the frontier chose trapping. Fashion created the fur trade as businessmen sought to satisfy the tastes of designers and customers back east and in Europe, where furs and hides were necessities for fashionable clothing and accessories. Fashions also affected the Indians who sought, silver, vermillion, glass beads, and clothe from traders. Each group depended on the other to supply the resources.

France pushed westward in pursuit of its one valuable resource, the beaver. European fashion setters valued beaver fur hats for their warmth and luxurious appearance. Demands for the fur grew. French voyageurs even recruited Indians into the fur business in order to help with the hunt. French fur-trappers and their Indian partners ranged from all over North America in pursuit of the beaver. They hiked, rode, snow shoed, sailed, and paddled

The center of the fur trade thus shifted northward to the colder regions along the St. Lawrence River, controlled by the Hurons, who were the close trading partners of the French in New France. The Iroquois, who considered themselves to be the most civilized and advanced people of the region, found themselves displaced in the fur trade by other tribes in the region. Threatened by disease and with a declining population, the Iroquois began an aggressive campaign to expand their area of control.” The Iroquois were known for their fur trading and they were enemies with the Huron because of the fur trading business. There was a shortage of beaver in the region that the Iroquois controlled so then the colonizers had to trade with the Huron. The Iroquois were enemies with the Huron so they did not appreciate this. This war lasted for 56 years until the “Great Peace” was finally signed in 1701. The Iroquois agreed to stop fighting and ambushing the

Chapter two of Atlantic Canada A History covers the life of Aboriginal people in the Atlantic region from 1500-1860. The aboriginal people needed to be very resourceful; they had to use everything they could from the animals that they killed in order to survive. They used bones, skin, brains and even tendons from moose, caribou, deer and other animals to craft tools and make clothing. Before the Europeans arrived the Aboriginals relied solely on the environment to survive. During the 1500’s when Europeans started to arrive the Mi’kmaq people traded fur with them in exchange for tools and weapons; this tactical advantage allowed the Mi’kmaq to expand their control over other regions.

“What did Bridger leave behind?”, you may ask, let me tell you. To start out, all Mountain Men left the legacy of exploring most of the west in search of fur (beavers), while they were searching for fur they found new routes to Oregon and California. Their trading posts also became supply stations for settlers moving West. Jim was a trapper, hunter, Indian fighter, and one of the few mountain men to stay in the Rockies after the fur trade was over. Jim was selected in 1824 to explore Bear River, and settle the dispute of where it went. During this exploration he found Great Salt Lake, but more recent evidence states that he wasn't the first white man to see it, Etienne Provost was. Bridger thought that Great Salt Lake was an arm of the Pacific