Some vocabulary rivals – when a person or group is competing with another, they are rivals –The North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company were rivals for furs Coureur de bois – runners of the woods, who went off to trap or trade furs Voyageurs – same as Coureur de bois – European or Aboriginal people who transferred furs to and from Forts

Some vocabulary Economy – the production, distribution and consumption of goods Guide – someone who helps people find their way through a territory Route – a way to get from one place to another Scurvy- a disease caused by not eating enough vitamin C Contribution – when someone gives their help, knowledge, and helps something to happen, they are making a contribution –First Nations contributed a great deal to the Europeans and the fur trade

The Roles of Aboriginal People in the Fur Trade 1600s-1800s Social Studies 10 Ms. Inden

Aboriginal peoples were in many ways the founders of the new nation that would one day be Canada Why? Because without their help, the Europeans would not have been successful During this period of history, First Nations performed many important jobs and were equal partners in the new fur trading economy

Aboriginal people were equal partners in the fur trade Aboriginal people trapped and prepared the hides for trade Aboriginal people wanted to trade for many goods –Iron tools, pots, guns were important to them, as they did not have the technology to make iron Trading took over much of the daily life of Aboriginal peoples –The lifestyles of the First Nations changed as less time was spent on traditional activities and they become more dependent upon European goods

First Nations Contributions First Nations taught the Europeans: –The best canoe routes and trails for the fur trade –The foods needed to avoid diseases like scurvy –How to survive the harsh winter climate

According to Father Le Jeune, Aboriginal people”… say the beaver is the animal well-beloved by the Europeans. I heard my Native host say one day jokingly, 'Missi picoutau amiscou. The Beaver does everything perfectly well: it makes kettles, hatchets, swords, knives, bread. In short it makes everything.' He was making sport of us Europeans." The Aboriginal man remarked, "The English have no sense; they give us twenty knives like this for one Beaver skin." First Nations trading with the French in the early 17th Century

Technology from the First Nations Snowshoes Birch bark Canoes Toboggans Housing Moccasins, mittens, leggings Food sources While Aboriginal people wanted European technology, so too did Europeans need the technology of the Aboriginal people

Aboriginal Women in the Fur Trade

At home Labour Force – that is, women worked hard during the fur trade –Perhaps even harder than they had before –The men left communities behind to trap furs for the fur trade –Women picked up the slack at home –Women tanned the hides that were sold

Country Wives Women who married French, English, Scottish, American traders and trappers were known as Country Wives These women –Helped the men learn the language and customs of the First Nations –Provided a home for them –Provided them with knowledge about the plants, animals, which to eat, which to use as medicine –Acted as guides and interpreters, repaired birch bark canoes, carried heavy packs

Moccasins and Snow Shoes European men did not dress like First Nations people (mostly) However, they did adopt the shoe style - moccasins and snow shoes Aboriginal women tanned the hides and made the moccasins –At York Factory in the 1800s, women prepared 650 pairs of moccasins for just the summer season –Imagine… the hard work necessary just to tan the hides! Women prepared the sinews and netted the snow shoes

The Métis People People of European and Aboriginal descent The children of these marriages carried on to be traders and trappers and important in the development of Canada

Day-to-day hard work is not usually noticed as important, so you won’t always find this kind of thing in a history book. But, these women made all of this amazing history possible. They also gave birth to a new nation of people. Sadly, as Canada became populated and settled, and the fur trade ended, these women and their contributions will be forgotten and they were pushed aside.

First Nations benefited from the fur trade Big Idea: –The Fur Trade was business between equals –The First Nations benefited from the trade European goods made life easier Some Nations gained in wealth and power by having Forts in their territory –First Nations maintained control over their territories as very few settlers had arrived –First Nations encouraged trade alliances with the traders, especially through marriage –Some First Nations pushed other Nations out and gained more power and wealth

How did the fur trade hurt First Nations? BIG IDEA War and competition between First Nations caused some nations to be eliminated or pushed out of traditional territory –For example, in the 1600s, the Iroquois wiped out their main rivals - the Huron, the Susquehanne and the Seneca - and became the most powerful First Nations people in the east Death from diseases like small pox –Up to 70% of some communities died from the diseases Europeans had that they had no immunity for Loss of traditional knowledge, culture and a reliance on European goods Trading in alcohol The destruction of the buffalo and other fur bearing animals totally changed the ways of life of many First Nations