Indigenous Canada: The History and Impact of the Fur Trade

Module 2 Introduction

• North America was comprised of a complex and vibrant network of various nations and communities long before European arrival.

• Indigenous ways of being and ways of knowing emphasize diversity across the continent.

• Relationships across North America were facilitated through kinship ties and trading networks.

• The fur trade was an incredibly dynamic period involving a mix of cultural, economic, and social interactions that contributed to the foundation of Canada.

• The fur trade fundamentally changed the relationships among First Nations and led to the birth of the M tis Nation.

Section One: Pre-Contact North American Networking

Population and Demographics

• The size of the Indigenous population prior to $1492$ is an ongoing matter of academic debate.

• Historical demographers (Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Report $1996$; Thornton $2000$) estimate the population (excluding Mexico and Central America) at the turn of the fifteenth century reached between $1.2 \times 10^{6}$ and $2.6 \times 10^{6}$ people.

• Researchers have recently overturned low initial estimates, suggesting much higher numbers. For example, the northwest coast may have supported up to $200,000$ people.

• The Wyandot (also known as the Huron) were agriculturalists living in villages in present-day southern Ontario with estimated inhabitants between $20,000$ and $33,000$, representing some of the highest population densities in Canada.

• Contact and colonization resulted in a tragic and massive loss of population for Indigenous peoples throughout the western hemisphere.

Pre-Contact Trade and Diplomacy

• Trading networks existed long before European contact, primarily focusing on luxury items rather than just basic necessities (Trigger $1987$).

• Commonly traded materials often travelled far distances and included:

  • Copper.

  • Various shells used for making beads.

  • Obsidian (a hard, brittle volcanic rock used for tool making).

  • Flints.

  • Oolichan oil (also known as eulachon oil, made from candlefish).

• Routes used by coastal First Nations to trade oolichan oil for thousands of years are referred to as “grease trails.”

• Examples of necessity-based trade: The Mandan and Arikara tribes traded surplus corn to the Assiniboine in exchange for furs and meat.

• Diplomacy was a key element of trade events to ensure positive relationships and alliances. Agreements were formalized through indigenous gift exchange, or gift diplomacy.

• Gifts were required to formalize and periodically renew agreements and were integral to ceremony. Generosity and giving were qualities that caused individuals to be held in high esteem.

Section Two: Colonization and Trade

Understanding Colonization

• Colonization is defined as an ongoing process where one group of people takes control of another group, involving the takeover of land and resources, often damaging or destroying the way of life of the colonized.

• The process includes four main aspects (Frideres $2012$):

  1. Serious modification of Indigenous ways of life (political, economic, social, and spiritual systems).

  2. Establishment of external political control.

  3. Forced economic dependency of the Indigenous population on the colonizer.

  4. Provision of poor quality social services, including education and healthcare.

• The cumulative effect of colonization promotes institutional racism and social divisions determined by race.

Mercantilism and European Objectives

• European nations used colonies to extract large quantities of raw materials cheaply to be manufactured and sold in home markets.

• Mercantilism is the economic theory of commercialism driven by the belief that profitable trade creates benefits. This theory drove European policy from the $1500s$ into the $1700s$.

• This era of globalization saw Europe creating networks that directly and indirectly dominated distant lands and peoples.

First Encounters and Settlements

• Norse Settlement ($1,000$ CE): The Norse established a small settlement near L’Anse aux Meadows in present-day Newfoundland. Norse sagas recount meeting people they called “Skraelings” (likely Dorset Culture, Beothuk, or early Inuit). These encounters turned violent, and the Norse were eventually driven away.

• Indigenous Longevity: Indigenous peoples have lived in North America for more than $40,000$ years. The arrival of Europeans was not a “discovery” for the inhabitants who already knew the land.

• Key Explorers:

  • Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) in $1497$.

  • Jacques Cartier in $1534$.

  • Martin Frobisher in $1576$.

• The Ojibwe Prophet: The prophet described Europeans coming across the water in “wonderfully large canoes which have great white wings like those of a giant bird.” The prophet noted their white skin, facial hair, long sharp knives, and “long black tubes” (guns) that made smoke, fire, and “terrific noise.”

• Atlantic Fisheries: Following the Norse, the next encounters were with Basque and French whalers and fishermen in the late $1400s$ and $16th$ century. A sideline trade in furs emerged from these casual contacts.

Jacques Cartier and the First Colony

• Jacques Cartier attempted to establish a sustained colony in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in $1534$.

• Cartier reached the Iroquois village of Stadacona (near present-day Quebec City), led by Chief Donnacona.

• Errors in Diplomacy:

  • Cartier erected a cross claiming the land for the King of France. Chief Donnacona protested, asserting the region belonged to him.

  • Cartier kidnapped Donnacona’s sons, Dom Agaya and Taignoagny (also spelled Taigniagny), to serve as guides. This would only have been acceptable if Cartier had left two of his own men in exchange.

  • On his second voyage, Cartier travelled to Hochelaga against Donnacona’s wishes and later kidnapped the Chief himself, along with six to ten others. Donnacona and the others died in France in $1539$.

• The Final Voyage ($1541$): Cartier attempted colonization again, but the settlement was plagued by bad relationships with local people and poor supplies. The colony was disbanded in $1543$.

Samuel de Champlain

• In $1603$, Samuel de Champlain arrived at Tadoussac and formalized an alliance with the Innu (Montagnais) following Indigenous customs.

• In $1608$, he founded Quebec City in New France. By this time, the Stadaconans and Hochelagans were no longer present along the St. Lawrence, possibly driven out by Kanein’kehka Mohawk groups or merged with the Wendat.

Section Three: The Fur Trade

Nature of the Beaver Trade

• Trade was a partnership that shared economic and geographical infrastructure. It motivated Europeans to move into the interior and established trading posts that became settlements.

• Value of Fur: Initially, fur was not seen as inherently valuable by Indigenous peoples whose economies were based on sharing. Over time, the fur trade introduced the concept of material wealth accumulation.

• The Beaver Pelt: The most valuable commodity. Europeans desired beaver fur for felt hat making.

• Castor Gras: These were “greasy beaver” pelts that had been worn by First Nations for a year or more. The process of wearing the pelts caused the stiff guard hairs to fall off, leaving the soft downy undercoat preferred by hat makers.

• Trading Disparity: Indigenous peoples often felt they were getting a great deal; an Innu trading captain noted that the English gave “twenty knives for this one beaver skin.”

• Technology and Knowledge Exchange: The trade provided access to metal technologies (needles, pots, kettles, axes, ice chisels, knives, and projectile points) and other goods (guns, bullets, beads, linens, mirrors). In exchange, Indigenous peoples provided hunting skills and extensive knowledge of land and ecosystems.

Phases of the Fur Trade

• Phase 1: Indigenous peoples have a great deal of agency and advantage.

• Phase 2: Increasing Indigenous dependency on the fur trade.

• Phase 3: Europeans gain control, and negative impacts (economic dependency, population loss) begin to overtake benefits.

Trade Alliances and the Shift of Power

• In the $1600s$, the Algonquins (Anishinaabeg) and Wendats acted as powerful middlemen, controlling French access to northern and western furs. They traded north with the Anishinaabe and Nehiyawak.

• The arrival of the Dutch provided weapons to the Haudenosaunee, who formed the powerful Five Nations Confederacy (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca).

• Systemic Collapse: The Wendat Confederacy fell apart due to crushing defeats by the League of Haudenosaunee and diseases like smallpox. This created a trade gap, allowing French and later English traders to move further west and north.

Corporate Control and The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC)

• The HBC Charter ($1670$): King Charles II granted the HBC title to “Rupert’s Land,” a massive tract of land encompassing all rivers flowing into Hudson’s Bay (approximately $\frac{1}{3}$ of present-day Canada).

• Land Ownership: The Crown initially ignored Indigenous residents but later instructed John Nixon ($1680$) to make “compacts” with native captains to imply the land had been purchased.

• North West Company (NWC): Founded in $1779$ by Montreal traders (the “Nor’Westers”), the NWC became a fierce rival to the HBC. By $1784$, it was a powerful partnership of nine trading groups.

• Competitive Era ($1783-1821$): Intense competition between the NWC and HBC led to over-trapping of beaver and the high-volume trade of alcohol to Indigenous producers.

The Emerging M tis Nation

• Trading practices led to the marriage of European men and Indigenous women, known as “mariage la faon du pays” (marriage according to the custom of the country).

• These unions secured economic bonds and kinship ties. The offspring were called “half-breeds” or “mixed-bloods” by the HBC, and “bois-brls” or M tis by the French.

• The M tis eventually emerged as a distinct nation with a unique culture.

The Pemmican Economy and Conflict

• Energy Bars: First Nations and M tis produced pemmican (dried fat, meat, and berries), which provided concentrated nutrition ($2,000-3,000$ calories per pound). This fueled the trade expansion into the Athabasca region.

• The Selkirk Settlement ($1811$): Lord Selkirk established a settlement for Scottish highlanders on $74,000,000$ acres in the Red River Valley. This created tension with the established M tis and Nor’Westers.

• Chief Peguis (William King): Expressed in $1857$ that while traders “rob us and keep us poor,” farmers taught them how to raise cattle and farm.

• The Pemmican Proclamation ($1814$): Governor Miles MacDonnell banned the export of pemmican and later banned the use of horses for buffalo hunts to ensure the survival of his colonists. This was deeply resisted by the M tis and NWC.

• Battle of Seven Oaks ($1816$): Escalating tension led to a conflict where M tis forces killed $21$ Selkirk colonists. This success catalyzed M tis nationalism.

Restructuring and the End of the Fur Trade

• The Merger ($1821$): Economic costs of conflict forced the HBC and NWC to merge. Sir George Simpson became governor-in-chief.

• Technological Shifts: Simpson streamlined transport, replacing the birch bark canoe with the York Boat. The York Boat was sturdier, locally built, and could carry larger amounts of cargo with less manpower.

• Otipemisiwak: These were “freemen” (M tis and others) who lived outside band authority and worked as independent agents.

• Bison Extinction: The plains buffalo economy crashed by $1879$. Estimated population dropped from $30,000,000$ bison to only $1,000$ by the early $1900s$.

• Health and Disease: Smallpox, introduced by the French in the early $1600s$, caused catastrophic losses. On the west coast, an epidemic killed approximately $20,000$ people, or $\frac{1}{3}$ of the total population.

• Conclusion: In $1863$, the International Financial Society took over the HBC, signaling the transition from a fur economy to an agricultural one. The desperate economic state of Indigenous peoples at the end of the fur trade created the context for negotiating treaties as a means of community survival.