The Role of Native and Métis Women in the Western Fur Trade

In early 16th century, European countries send out sailors to explore the world to obtain more resources, such as gold, territories, and food. Christopher Columbus is probably the most famous person when the discovery of America is being brought out. He and Cabeza de Vaca both sail to America ─called Cathay or Indies in the documents because they think they were sailing to Asia─ and meet the local people, Indian, in person. According to their diary and letters, they have some different perspectives and some similar thoughts about Native American. These literatures hold drastic impact in learning about Native American for future generations. (specifics)

Canada is known for the vast landscape diverse in natural resources that are found with in its boarders stretching from coast to coast. The fur trade in Canada has a unique and colorful evolving history. The geography of Canada with its thousands of lakes and wide spread landscape began as a pristine environment to harvest furs. Early shore-based fishing exploitations off the Grand Banks could have been causes for the initiation of the North American fur trade. Europeans were attracted by the superb quality of the furs in the possession of the natives they encountered and saw the potential for marketing such furs in Europe where stock of good quality fur was becoming increasingly limited. Native people in what is now Canada, were interested in trading their furs for European goods not accessible or known by the Native people. Foreign items that the Natives sought out were metal implements, clothing, blankets and horses. Across the ocean a change in men’s headwear fashion in western Europe in the late 16th century motivated and drove the North American fur trade as a major business opportunity for European nations. As part of their uniform Swedish military officers fashioned a wide brimmed felt hat that inspired European men to wear a similar style of hat, this type of hat became a big demand in

Interestingly, part of this reading relates to a novel I chose from the two novels we had options for called "Indian Women and French Men." The Chicago Treaty, which is mentioned in "Land Too Good For Indians" was a treaty that allowed Catholic Indians to be free from forced government removal. “Only forced removal threatened the future of the Potawatomi Indians, and, even then, kinship became an effective means of combating removal and ensuring persistence” (Smith 95). Unfortunately the Indians did not know they were going to be exempted and the upcoming treaty was a source of great stress. Another reference to Indian Women and French men related to the fur trade, which women were heavily involved in through kinship. "Once the tribes drained

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.

Immediately following their troubles they realized they were not alone. In fact they had only just arrived and had took land from the native inhabitants. There were huge Indian settlements all around them controlled by the Powhatan Indians. Relations were terrible at first but as the need arouse, they started to trade for food or supplies, and even information about the land. At the start of the 17th century men seemed to outnumber the women.

The fur trade contributed to the development of British and French empires in North America. During the 1600’s, the prospect of wealth from the fur trade attracted many Europeans to the New World. The Indians of North America began trading furs with

The first Métis people were born in Eastern Canada as early as the 1600s, and they were the children born to European men and their Aboriginal wives, (Sprague, 1998). When the fur trade moved west, in the 1700s and 1800s, many French-Canadian fur traders found the Aboriginal wives and had children, and there are about 350,000-400,000 Métis in Canada alone. The Métis played a vital role in the success of the Fur Trade. Not only were the Métis skilled buffalo hunters, but they were also raised to appreciate both their Aboriginal and European cultures. Over time, the Métis became valuable employees of both fur trade companies: The North-West Company and even the Hudson's Bay Company because the Métis were skilled voyageurs, buffalo hunters, traders, and interpreters, (Sprague, 1998).

Throughout the course of history there have been numerous accounts regarding Native American and European interaction. From first contact to Indian removal, the interaction was somewhat of a roller coaster ride, leading from times of peace to mini wars and rebellions staged by the Native American tribes. The first part of this essay will briefly discuss the pre-Columbian Indian civilizations in North America and provide simple awareness of their cultures, while the second part of this essay will explore all major Native American contact leading up to, and through, the American Revolution while emphasizing the impact of Spanish, French, and English explorers and colonies on Native American culture and vice versa. The third, and final, part of this essay will explore Native American interaction after the American Revolution with emphasis on westward expansion and the Jacksonian Era leading into Indian removal. Furthermore, this essay will attempt to provide insight into aspects of Native American/European interaction that are often ignored such as: gender relations between European men and Native American women, slavery and captivity of native peoples, trade between Native Americans and European colonists, and the effects of religion on Native American tribes.

The French relationship with First Nations has been a dominate factor in Canadian history. Their successful means in establishing such relations led them to great achievements and downfalls. This relationship was successfully earned by the French for a variety of reasons. One, the First Nations, already in awe of European culture, were eager to trade due to their further fascination of European items (232). More specifically, they desired basic European goods such as “…knives, hatchets, kettles, beads, cloth and, eventually, the firearms of the French (5). Unlike the English, the French seized greater advantage of First Nations cooperation by demonstrating acts of tolerance and respect (8). The efforts of Samuel de Champlain, who formed “The Order of Good Cheer” to increase friendly relations, highlights this sentiment (1.3). To further impress them, the French utilized the practice of gift giving, a tradition they discovered in Brazil (1.3). One other essential factor in establishing relations was partly due to intermarriages between both

It is clear from the abstract of the article that Native women played an important role in evolving the fur trade as well as women’s involvement expanded. The author beings by setting a frame of reference, referring to Richard White’s interpretation of the evolution of fur trade, which he labeled the “middle ground”. Which provided a good basis for Sleeper-Smith to integrate her stance of how the native women influenced the evolution of fur trade in their role as cultural mediators. The term “cultural mediators” is seldom used, despite it being mentioned as part of the abstract. However, “mediators” on its own is used throughout the article to describe to role and influence of native women. In regards to the use of “cultural mediators” at the

Unlike the European’s tradition, the women gender was not just considered as a fragile human being who was supposed to be protected from the aggressiveness of the world. Instead, the Cherokee women were

Native Americans easily engaged in trade with Europeans. They wished to include new glass and metal items in their society. European and Native Americans viewed trade as a means for economic development. Native Americans viewed trade, also, as a way for communicating with individuals and maintaining interdependence. This is evident in the elaborate gift giving celebrations that occurred before exchanging of goods occurred. For Europeans, however, these social and spiritual functions of trade were limited a great deal more.

Throughout history, colonization has affected many societies. European colonization and colonialism greatly impacted the Canadian First Nations’ style of living. Alfred (2009) described European colonization as “the invasion and eventual domination of North America by European empires” (p. 45). However, colonialism is more complex. Alfred (2009) inferred that “colonialism is the development of institutions and policies by European imperial and Euroamerican settler governments towards Indigenous peoples” (p. 45).

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

Firstly, intermarriages which also can be called a la facon du pays between First Nation women and males who were French Canadians, British, American and Indian employees of the fur trade companies was crucial in the fur trade. The traders from various trade companies usually stayed with Aboriginal ladies for a long time in a “visiting” and “guiding” relationship at the beginning of the fur trade. Since there were only very limited number of white ladies in the colonies, the male European traders started to marry with Indian girls because these men needed women for both sexual and spiritual requirements. However, their marriages served to bring huge