SOCIAL |
January Treaties |
TREATIES
The treaties in Saskatchewan are formal agreements between the _______________ (____________________________________)
and First Nations, that states both groups expectations (____________________________________________________________________________)
and obligations (________________________
______________________________________).
Their creation began after confederation (___________________________________)
and between _____________ and _____________ there were ____________ Numbered Treaties were negotiated covering the territories from present-day Ontario to Alberta as well as portions of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
Treaties are beneficial to all people in ___________________________________ as they are considered to be mutually beneficial (____________________________________) arrangements that guarantee a co-existence between the treaty parties.
Today there are misconceptions that only First Nations peoples are part of the treaties, but that’s not the case. As the phrase “we are all treaty people,” implies, both _____________________________ and _____________________________Ingenious people in Saskatchewan are part of the treaty. There is benefit from the wealth generated from the land and the foundational rights provided in the treaties.
Treaty 6
The negotiation of this treaty took place during a difficult period for the Plains Cree, who were suffering from the rapid decline of the buffalo. The documents indicate that their concerns included medical care and relief in case of need.
A treaty is ______________________________
_______________________________________
Benefits of Treaty
The treaties in Saskatchewan are formal agreements between the _______________ (____________________________________)
and First Nations, that states both groups expectations (____________________________________________________________________________)
and obligations (________________________
______________________________________).
Their creation began after confederation (___________________________________)
and between _____________ and _____________ there were ____________ Numbered Treaties were negotiated covering the territories from present-day Ontario to Alberta as well as portions of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
Treaties are beneficial to all people in ___________________________________ as they are considered to be mutually beneficial (____________________________________) arrangements that guarantee a co-existence between the treaty parties.
Today there are misconceptions that only First Nations peoples are part of the treaties, but that’s not the case. As the phrase “we are all treaty people,” implies, both _____________________________ and _____________________________Ingenious people in Saskatchewan are part of the treaty. There is benefit from the wealth generated from the land and the foundational rights provided in the treaties.
Treaty 6
The negotiation of this treaty took place during a difficult period for the Plains Cree, who were suffering from the rapid decline of the buffalo. The documents indicate that their concerns included medical care and relief in case of need.
A treaty is ______________________________
_______________________________________
Benefits of Treaty
|
First Nations
hunting and fishing and trapping education healthcare farming assistance |
Newcomers
The land of Saskatchewan Resources- trees, oil, potash |
Treaty 6 was signed by Crown representatives and Cree, Assiniboine and Ojibwa leaders on
_________________________________
at __________________________________________________________________, and
on _________________________________ at ____________________________________. The treaty boundaries extend across central portions of present-day _____________________________ and ________________________________.
Historical Context
When Canada acquired the lands of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1869 (see Rupert’s Land), the Plains Indigenous peoples of present-day central Saskatchewan, including the Cree, Ojibwa and Assiniboine, became concerned about the federal government’s intentions with this land and with the Indigenous peoples who lived on it. As early as 1871, Plains Indigenous peoples expressed interest in negotiating a treaty with the Crown that would protect them from the settlement of outsiders on their lands, including the Métis, white settlers and surveyors. They were also concerned about
__________________ due to the diminishing supply of
_______________________and other large game on which their economy depended.
The federal government was not interested in negotiating a treaty at this time, believing that it was not essential, even though local missionaries and government agents tried to convince them otherwise. In order to attract the government’s attention, in July 1875, the Cree stopped members of the Geological Survey in North Saskatchewan from moving any farther through their territory. The manager of the HBC post at Fort Carlton, Lawrence Clarke, wrote to government officials that same summer, alerting them that the Cree had also threatened to turn back telegraph workers who were trying to construct a line from Winnipeg to Edmonton. The Cree made it clear that they would not tolerate any trespassers on their lands. A force of North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was sent to the area to maintain order.
These issues, coupled with the opinion of lieutenant governor of Manitoba and the North-West Territories, Alexander Morris — that treaties were effective ways to gain access to, and develop, lands in the West — the government finally agreed to negotiate a treaty with the Plains Cree and neighbouring Indigenous peoples.
On 27 July 1876, Morris left for Fort Carlton to negotiate a treaty with the Plains Indigenous peoples of Saskatchewan. Other members of the negotiating team included treaty commissioners William Joseph Christie (an HBC officer) and James McKay (Métis fur trader and politician), as well as translators, assistants and NWMP escorts.
On arrival at Fort Carlton on 15 August, Morris met with the head chiefs of the Carlton Cree: Mistawasis (Big Child) and Ahtahkakoop (Star Blanket). The rest of the Cree assembled there three days later. Before negotiations began, the Cree performed a sacred pipe ceremony, in which the commissioners participated. Historians Arthur J. Ray, Jim Miller and Frank Tough have argued that this ceremony was significant to the Cree because it invited the Creator to provide guidance to the negotiators and to witness the treaty discussions. By participating, the leaders also took an oath to be truthful during the proceedings.
After the ceremony, Morris explained that the government sent him to Fort Carlton to create an agreement with the Cree that would endure “as long as that sun shines and yonder river flows.” In order to do so, however, he required all of the chiefs and community leaders in the area to be present.
On 19 August, Morris was presented with chiefs, but he noticed the absence of the Duck Lake band leaders. The band had instead sent a messenger to attend the negotiations. Morris then explained to the group that the Crown would create reserves for their people and would assist them in farming initiatives, without “interfering with their present mode of living.” Morris never explicitly discussed the concept of land cession. This might be because he thought it was obvious that signing the treaty relinquished Indigenous title to the land, or because he did not think that he and his translators could convey the message to them clearly.
Morris’ statement about reserves was immediately met with resistance by Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker), a local leader who became a great chief in the 1880s. He resented the notion completely — how could the government give them land that they already possessed? Pitikwahanapiwiyin stated: “This is our land, it isn’t a piece of pemmican to be cut off and given in little pieces back to us. It is ours and we will take what we want.” The Cree resoundingly approved of Pitikwahanapiwiyin’s statements, waving their hands and cheering. Métis observer and translator, Peter Erasmus noted that Morris was shaken by the incident. However, Morris told the Cree that they would find themselves crowded by settlers unless they settled on reserves. The talks then adjourned, and the Indigenous leaders spoke in council for the next two days.
According to Erasmus, Mistawasis and Ahtukukoop essentially silenced Pitikwahanapiwiyin and other dissenters. They believed that their people would suffer if they did not negotiate a treaty with the federal government. The days of bison hunting were coming to an end, and the Cree needed help adjusting to new modes of life; the treaty provided them with that opportunity. Mistawasis asked Pitikwahanapiwiyin, “Have you anything better to offer our people?” Pitikwahanapiwiyin did not respond to that question directly, but held firm in his beliefs that the treaty terms were unfair and inadequate. Chiefs Ahtukukoop and Mistawasis held more influence in Cree political and social circles than Pitikwahanapiwiyin and, as a result, the other chiefs and leaders agreed that entering into a treaty with the Crown was the best option.
On 23 August, the chiefs and commissioners negotiated the terms of the treaty. In addition to rights and provisions similarly enshrined in Treaties 1 to 5, Morris agreed to three terms brought forward by the chiefs that are not found in previous Numbered Treaties. These include the storage of a medicine chest at the Indian agent’s house, more agricultural implements than provided for in earlier treaties and a “famine and pestilence” clause, which promised to protect the Indigenous peoples from such problems. Morris knew that he was offering more than the government would have wanted, but he felt it necessary to finalize the deal.
Once the amendments were made to the treaty text, negotiations came to a close. Treaty 6 was signed by the commissioners and the head chiefs of the Carlton bands on 23 August 1876.
Four days later, Morris met with the Duck Lake band. After explaining the treaty terms, the Duck Lake chiefs and headmen also signed the treaty.
_________________________________
at __________________________________________________________________, and
on _________________________________ at ____________________________________. The treaty boundaries extend across central portions of present-day _____________________________ and ________________________________.
Historical Context
When Canada acquired the lands of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1869 (see Rupert’s Land), the Plains Indigenous peoples of present-day central Saskatchewan, including the Cree, Ojibwa and Assiniboine, became concerned about the federal government’s intentions with this land and with the Indigenous peoples who lived on it. As early as 1871, Plains Indigenous peoples expressed interest in negotiating a treaty with the Crown that would protect them from the settlement of outsiders on their lands, including the Métis, white settlers and surveyors. They were also concerned about
__________________ due to the diminishing supply of
_______________________and other large game on which their economy depended.
The federal government was not interested in negotiating a treaty at this time, believing that it was not essential, even though local missionaries and government agents tried to convince them otherwise. In order to attract the government’s attention, in July 1875, the Cree stopped members of the Geological Survey in North Saskatchewan from moving any farther through their territory. The manager of the HBC post at Fort Carlton, Lawrence Clarke, wrote to government officials that same summer, alerting them that the Cree had also threatened to turn back telegraph workers who were trying to construct a line from Winnipeg to Edmonton. The Cree made it clear that they would not tolerate any trespassers on their lands. A force of North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was sent to the area to maintain order.
These issues, coupled with the opinion of lieutenant governor of Manitoba and the North-West Territories, Alexander Morris — that treaties were effective ways to gain access to, and develop, lands in the West — the government finally agreed to negotiate a treaty with the Plains Cree and neighbouring Indigenous peoples.
On 27 July 1876, Morris left for Fort Carlton to negotiate a treaty with the Plains Indigenous peoples of Saskatchewan. Other members of the negotiating team included treaty commissioners William Joseph Christie (an HBC officer) and James McKay (Métis fur trader and politician), as well as translators, assistants and NWMP escorts.
On arrival at Fort Carlton on 15 August, Morris met with the head chiefs of the Carlton Cree: Mistawasis (Big Child) and Ahtahkakoop (Star Blanket). The rest of the Cree assembled there three days later. Before negotiations began, the Cree performed a sacred pipe ceremony, in which the commissioners participated. Historians Arthur J. Ray, Jim Miller and Frank Tough have argued that this ceremony was significant to the Cree because it invited the Creator to provide guidance to the negotiators and to witness the treaty discussions. By participating, the leaders also took an oath to be truthful during the proceedings.
After the ceremony, Morris explained that the government sent him to Fort Carlton to create an agreement with the Cree that would endure “as long as that sun shines and yonder river flows.” In order to do so, however, he required all of the chiefs and community leaders in the area to be present.
On 19 August, Morris was presented with chiefs, but he noticed the absence of the Duck Lake band leaders. The band had instead sent a messenger to attend the negotiations. Morris then explained to the group that the Crown would create reserves for their people and would assist them in farming initiatives, without “interfering with their present mode of living.” Morris never explicitly discussed the concept of land cession. This might be because he thought it was obvious that signing the treaty relinquished Indigenous title to the land, or because he did not think that he and his translators could convey the message to them clearly.
Morris’ statement about reserves was immediately met with resistance by Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker), a local leader who became a great chief in the 1880s. He resented the notion completely — how could the government give them land that they already possessed? Pitikwahanapiwiyin stated: “This is our land, it isn’t a piece of pemmican to be cut off and given in little pieces back to us. It is ours and we will take what we want.” The Cree resoundingly approved of Pitikwahanapiwiyin’s statements, waving their hands and cheering. Métis observer and translator, Peter Erasmus noted that Morris was shaken by the incident. However, Morris told the Cree that they would find themselves crowded by settlers unless they settled on reserves. The talks then adjourned, and the Indigenous leaders spoke in council for the next two days.
According to Erasmus, Mistawasis and Ahtukukoop essentially silenced Pitikwahanapiwiyin and other dissenters. They believed that their people would suffer if they did not negotiate a treaty with the federal government. The days of bison hunting were coming to an end, and the Cree needed help adjusting to new modes of life; the treaty provided them with that opportunity. Mistawasis asked Pitikwahanapiwiyin, “Have you anything better to offer our people?” Pitikwahanapiwiyin did not respond to that question directly, but held firm in his beliefs that the treaty terms were unfair and inadequate. Chiefs Ahtukukoop and Mistawasis held more influence in Cree political and social circles than Pitikwahanapiwiyin and, as a result, the other chiefs and leaders agreed that entering into a treaty with the Crown was the best option.
On 23 August, the chiefs and commissioners negotiated the terms of the treaty. In addition to rights and provisions similarly enshrined in Treaties 1 to 5, Morris agreed to three terms brought forward by the chiefs that are not found in previous Numbered Treaties. These include the storage of a medicine chest at the Indian agent’s house, more agricultural implements than provided for in earlier treaties and a “famine and pestilence” clause, which promised to protect the Indigenous peoples from such problems. Morris knew that he was offering more than the government would have wanted, but he felt it necessary to finalize the deal.
Once the amendments were made to the treaty text, negotiations came to a close. Treaty 6 was signed by the commissioners and the head chiefs of the Carlton bands on 23 August 1876.
Four days later, Morris met with the Duck Lake band. After explaining the treaty terms, the Duck Lake chiefs and headmen also signed the treaty.
Fur Trade in Canada |
Fur Traders
Shortly after Europeans began sailing to Canada to explore and to fish, they found out that Canada was a land with many _____fur-bearing_________ animals. When explorers and fishers began trading with Aboriginal Peoples for fresh food, they learned that the Aboriginal Peoples had furs from the animals they hunted. The fur trade in Canada began because many __European____ wanted these furs. Both the French and the English used furs, especially ____beaver__ fur, to make ____________________ and to trim other clothing. They became partners in the fur trade with the __________________________________ Peoples.
The French built trading posts on the ______________________________________ and traded with Aboriginal Peoples who came to their posts with furs. Later on, the French traveled _____________________ to find more furs.
The English traded with the __________________________of Newfoundland and on the Atlantic coast south of the French settlements. The English formed the ___________________________________________________________ in _______________________ and built trading posts around Hudson Bay.
The French and English competed with each other to get more furs from the Aboriginal Peoples. The fur trade caused many changes in the lives of the Europeans and the Aboriginal Peoples.
The fur traders continued the exploration of Canada as they traveled to new areas to find more fur. The Aboriginal Peoples they met helped them survive in the new areas.
The Beginning of the Fur Trade
The fur trade in Canada began _________________. At first, Europeans thought the new land was only a good source of ________________. Many European fishers arrived each summer to fish the Grand Banks. Some of them also sailed up the St. Lawrence River to fish.
Fishers met Aboriginal Peoples who lived near the ______________________. They began to trade __________________ and __________________ goods for ______________ and fresh ___________________. Explorers also met Aboriginal Peoples on their voyages. As Cartier sailed past the coast of New Brunswick in ____________________, he met Mi’kmaq people who were eager to trade with him.
The Aboriginal Peoples liked the goods from Europe. More and more of them began to travel to the coast and the St. Lawrence River each ______________________ to trade. They traded their furs for ________________, _____________________, _______________ and other goods.
The Europeans began to realize that great _________________________ could be made by selling furs from Canada. Furs from Canada were easy to sell in ____________________________.
Ships began sailing to Canada just to trade for furs. Some fishers stopped fishing and became fur traders instead. The ____________________ traders began sailing farther up the St. Lawrence River looking for Aboriginal people with furs to trade. The French claimed this area for France, so only they could trade for the furs in the region. The _________________ claimed Newfoundland and the Atlantic coast of what is now the United States.
The fur trade grew. Merchants in France started companies to collect the furs in Canada. In 1600, one of the French companies built a trading post at Tadoussac so it could trade there all hear. The post did not last very long. The French did not know how to survive the cold, showy Canadian ________________________.
In 1603, the French tried again to build a lasting trading post. __________________ started a trading-post settlement on the east coast. It was a little warmer there, and there were fewer traders competing for furs.
As the fur trade grew, the ________________________ wanted to trade more furs with their English partners. There were no longer many furs in the Iroquois and Huron lands. Both groups wanted to trade for furs with other Aboriginal groups farther west, but the Huron controlled the water-routes to the West.
The Hudson’s Bay Company
The English who worked for the _______________________________________________built trading posts on the shores of Hudson Bay. They were called factories because the person in charge was called a __________________________________. The factories were built where rivers flowed into the bay, so it was easy for ________________________________Peoples to bring their furs to the posts.
Many people worked at the company factories. The chief factor, the clerk, and sometimes a junior clerk did the trading. Other people, such as ___________________, ________________, and tailors, also lived at the posts.
The English and the French had ________________________ ways of trading with the Aboriginal Peoples. Instead of traveling to trade with them as the ______________________ did, the English company traders _______________________ in their trading posts. They waited for the Aboriginal Peoples to bring their furs to the posts.
The English fur traders did not try to build lasting settlements as the French did. The English who came to Hudson Bay were interested only in trading for furs. The French and the English competed with each other for furs from the Aboriginal Peoples.
Henry Kelsey
___________________________________________ joined the Hudson’s Bay Company as a clerk when he was only seventeen years old. He went to York Factory to work at the trading post. Kelsey worked for the company for __________________ years. The Cree who came to trade their furs at York Factory became Kelsey’s __________________________. He learned to speak their language and made several trips with them along the coast of Hudson Bay.
In 1690, the Hudson’s Bay Company sent Kelsey ________ on a trip. He was sent to invite the Assiniboine people to trade at Hudson Bay. He traveled with a group of __________________ returning to their homeland toward the southwest. On the long journey by canoe, the men and women in the group shared the work.
When Kelsey reached the ___________________ grasslands, he left his Cree guides and went farther west to find the Assiniboine. He met the ______________________ and spent _______________ years hunting with them before returning home to York Factory. Kelsey had opened up a new trading area for the _____________________________________.
Aboriginal Women in the Fur Trade
Aboriginal women played an ________________________ role in the fur trade. Without their skills and hard work, the fur trade would not have been possible. Many of the fur traders _____________________ Aboriginal women. These women did a lot of the work at the posts.
Aboriginal women often went on fur-trading trips with their husbands. Many acted as ____________________. They worked with the men to paddle the canoes and carried heavy loads across portages. They set up camp when they stopped, and prepared meals.
Aboriginal women had many _________ important to the fur traders. They prepared food such as ______________________. Pemmican is light to carry and keeps a long time without spoiling. Aboriginal women also knew how to make ___________________________ from plants.
Women made or helped make many items of value. They made _____________________ and clothing, including _______________________. They helped make snowshoes. The men made the frames of snowshoes and the women made the ____________________________for them. They gathered and split spruce roots used to make birch bark canoes. They also collected spruce gum, which was used to make the canoes waterproof. Sometimes Aboriginal women trapped smaller animals for meat and fur. The women were skilled at cleaning and preparing ___________________________________________________________.
The fur traders learned many skills from their Aboriginal wives. They learned the _____________________ and ______________________________ of their wives’ people. If a woman from an Aboriginal group married a trader, she often acted as an ________________________ and ________________________ among her people and the traders. The women helped their husbands communicate with Aboriginal Peoples. This improved their trading relationships.
The North West Company
While the English traded at their posts on Hudson Bay, the French continued to trade furs along the St. Lawrence River and west of the Great Lakes.
In the 1750s, The Seven Years’ War broke out ___________________________________________________. When the war ended, England had won control of the French settlements. Some Scottish fur traders in New York decided to move to Montreal to run the fur trade there. The St. Lawrence River was the best route to the fur country, and they believed they could make more money.
The _____________________ and French made good partners. The Scots had money to pay for fur-trading trips. They knew people in Europe who wanted to buy furs.
The Scots used the French trading posts and took over the French fur-trading companies. The Scots hired many expert French traders called ________________________ to trade with the Aboriginal Peoples. Some of the voyageurs had learned to speak Aboriginal languages and married ___________________________ women. The voyageurs transported the furs back to the merchants. They knew the routes inland to the best fur country. Some voyageurs traveled thousands of kilometers by _____________________________to explore and trade in areas of Canada were no Europeans had ever been before. The French had learned the value of canoes from the Aboriginal Peoples.
By the 1780s, there were many small fur-trading companies in ______________________. They competed with one another. Some of the merchants decided to join together to improve their business. In __________________, they formed the ____________________________. Many Nor’Westers, as the traders came to be called, spent the winter collecting furs form the Aboriginal Peoples.
The Montreal merchants had problems getting supplies and goods to their trading posts in the West. Canoe travel was _______________________ and took a long time. To solve this problem, the Nor’Westers built a large trading centre on Lake Superior called __________________________________m. Each summer, merchants from Montreal took supplies and trading goods to Fort William. There they met their wintering partners, who came with canoes filled with furs from the inland posts.
The North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company became _________________________________. The North West Company was soon getting ___________________ as many furs as the Hudson’s Bay Company. After a hundred years of the Aboriginal Peoples coming to its trading posts on the bay, the Hudson’s Bay Company had to change. It began to build inland trading posts, too.
Changes Caused by the Fur Trade
The Aboriginal Peoples of eastern Canada were the first to meet explorers and traders from Europe. The explorers returned to Europe with stories about the new people and lands they had seen. They brought back new ______________ that Europeans had never eaten before. _____________,_______________________,______________, and tobacco were plants from North America. The Aboriginal Peoples acted as ____________ for the explorers. They taught the Europeans what they knew about the land. They showed them how to use ______________________, ___________________, _____________________, and _________________________________.
Traders came to get furs from the new lands. They built trading posts where Aboriginal Peoples could bring their furs. When the fur trade began, it fit well into Aboriginal ways of life. The Aboriginal Peoples had always hunted and traded for what they needed. The fur trade brought them _______________________ and _______________________ that replaced those of stone and bone. Iron cooking pots and copper kettles replaced those made of clay, skin, bark, or wood. Guns replaced bows and arrows. Hunting for food became quicker and easier.
As the fur trade grew, Aboriginal ways of life began to __________________________. For some groups, such as the Mi’kmaq, hunting and trapping for furs to trade replaced summer food gathering and other activities. Aboriginal groups that changed in this way became dependent on trade goods such as clothing from Europe. The European clothing was ______________________________ or well-suited to Canada’s climate as the clothing the Aboriginal Peoples had made themselves from furs and hides.
The ____________________________ brought from Europe were new to the Aboriginal Peoples. Many Aboriginal people became ill and ____________________ from European diseases such as measles. ______________________________ was introduced to the Aboriginal Peoples as part of trade agreements. This had a ________________________ affect on them
The fur trade caused changes in Aboriginal Peoples’ ________________________. New beliefs changed the special bond the Aboriginal Peoples had with the animals they hunted.
The fur trade also changed some Aboriginal ways of ______________________________. Instead of picking their leaders because of their _______________________________, some chiefs were chosen because of their skill as fur traders.
Competition between the rival fur-trading companies caused ________________________ between the Huron and the Iroquois. The English made a partnership with the Iroquois, and the French made a partnership with the Huron. As the English and French fought, so did their Aboriginal partners.
Shortly after Europeans began sailing to Canada to explore and to fish, they found out that Canada was a land with many _____fur-bearing_________ animals. When explorers and fishers began trading with Aboriginal Peoples for fresh food, they learned that the Aboriginal Peoples had furs from the animals they hunted. The fur trade in Canada began because many __European____ wanted these furs. Both the French and the English used furs, especially ____beaver__ fur, to make ____________________ and to trim other clothing. They became partners in the fur trade with the __________________________________ Peoples.
The French built trading posts on the ______________________________________ and traded with Aboriginal Peoples who came to their posts with furs. Later on, the French traveled _____________________ to find more furs.
The English traded with the __________________________of Newfoundland and on the Atlantic coast south of the French settlements. The English formed the ___________________________________________________________ in _______________________ and built trading posts around Hudson Bay.
The French and English competed with each other to get more furs from the Aboriginal Peoples. The fur trade caused many changes in the lives of the Europeans and the Aboriginal Peoples.
The fur traders continued the exploration of Canada as they traveled to new areas to find more fur. The Aboriginal Peoples they met helped them survive in the new areas.
The Beginning of the Fur Trade
The fur trade in Canada began _________________. At first, Europeans thought the new land was only a good source of ________________. Many European fishers arrived each summer to fish the Grand Banks. Some of them also sailed up the St. Lawrence River to fish.
Fishers met Aboriginal Peoples who lived near the ______________________. They began to trade __________________ and __________________ goods for ______________ and fresh ___________________. Explorers also met Aboriginal Peoples on their voyages. As Cartier sailed past the coast of New Brunswick in ____________________, he met Mi’kmaq people who were eager to trade with him.
The Aboriginal Peoples liked the goods from Europe. More and more of them began to travel to the coast and the St. Lawrence River each ______________________ to trade. They traded their furs for ________________, _____________________, _______________ and other goods.
The Europeans began to realize that great _________________________ could be made by selling furs from Canada. Furs from Canada were easy to sell in ____________________________.
Ships began sailing to Canada just to trade for furs. Some fishers stopped fishing and became fur traders instead. The ____________________ traders began sailing farther up the St. Lawrence River looking for Aboriginal people with furs to trade. The French claimed this area for France, so only they could trade for the furs in the region. The _________________ claimed Newfoundland and the Atlantic coast of what is now the United States.
The fur trade grew. Merchants in France started companies to collect the furs in Canada. In 1600, one of the French companies built a trading post at Tadoussac so it could trade there all hear. The post did not last very long. The French did not know how to survive the cold, showy Canadian ________________________.
In 1603, the French tried again to build a lasting trading post. __________________ started a trading-post settlement on the east coast. It was a little warmer there, and there were fewer traders competing for furs.
As the fur trade grew, the ________________________ wanted to trade more furs with their English partners. There were no longer many furs in the Iroquois and Huron lands. Both groups wanted to trade for furs with other Aboriginal groups farther west, but the Huron controlled the water-routes to the West.
The Hudson’s Bay Company
The English who worked for the _______________________________________________built trading posts on the shores of Hudson Bay. They were called factories because the person in charge was called a __________________________________. The factories were built where rivers flowed into the bay, so it was easy for ________________________________Peoples to bring their furs to the posts.
Many people worked at the company factories. The chief factor, the clerk, and sometimes a junior clerk did the trading. Other people, such as ___________________, ________________, and tailors, also lived at the posts.
The English and the French had ________________________ ways of trading with the Aboriginal Peoples. Instead of traveling to trade with them as the ______________________ did, the English company traders _______________________ in their trading posts. They waited for the Aboriginal Peoples to bring their furs to the posts.
The English fur traders did not try to build lasting settlements as the French did. The English who came to Hudson Bay were interested only in trading for furs. The French and the English competed with each other for furs from the Aboriginal Peoples.
Henry Kelsey
___________________________________________ joined the Hudson’s Bay Company as a clerk when he was only seventeen years old. He went to York Factory to work at the trading post. Kelsey worked for the company for __________________ years. The Cree who came to trade their furs at York Factory became Kelsey’s __________________________. He learned to speak their language and made several trips with them along the coast of Hudson Bay.
In 1690, the Hudson’s Bay Company sent Kelsey ________ on a trip. He was sent to invite the Assiniboine people to trade at Hudson Bay. He traveled with a group of __________________ returning to their homeland toward the southwest. On the long journey by canoe, the men and women in the group shared the work.
When Kelsey reached the ___________________ grasslands, he left his Cree guides and went farther west to find the Assiniboine. He met the ______________________ and spent _______________ years hunting with them before returning home to York Factory. Kelsey had opened up a new trading area for the _____________________________________.
Aboriginal Women in the Fur Trade
Aboriginal women played an ________________________ role in the fur trade. Without their skills and hard work, the fur trade would not have been possible. Many of the fur traders _____________________ Aboriginal women. These women did a lot of the work at the posts.
Aboriginal women often went on fur-trading trips with their husbands. Many acted as ____________________. They worked with the men to paddle the canoes and carried heavy loads across portages. They set up camp when they stopped, and prepared meals.
Aboriginal women had many _________ important to the fur traders. They prepared food such as ______________________. Pemmican is light to carry and keeps a long time without spoiling. Aboriginal women also knew how to make ___________________________ from plants.
Women made or helped make many items of value. They made _____________________ and clothing, including _______________________. They helped make snowshoes. The men made the frames of snowshoes and the women made the ____________________________for them. They gathered and split spruce roots used to make birch bark canoes. They also collected spruce gum, which was used to make the canoes waterproof. Sometimes Aboriginal women trapped smaller animals for meat and fur. The women were skilled at cleaning and preparing ___________________________________________________________.
The fur traders learned many skills from their Aboriginal wives. They learned the _____________________ and ______________________________ of their wives’ people. If a woman from an Aboriginal group married a trader, she often acted as an ________________________ and ________________________ among her people and the traders. The women helped their husbands communicate with Aboriginal Peoples. This improved their trading relationships.
The North West Company
While the English traded at their posts on Hudson Bay, the French continued to trade furs along the St. Lawrence River and west of the Great Lakes.
In the 1750s, The Seven Years’ War broke out ___________________________________________________. When the war ended, England had won control of the French settlements. Some Scottish fur traders in New York decided to move to Montreal to run the fur trade there. The St. Lawrence River was the best route to the fur country, and they believed they could make more money.
The _____________________ and French made good partners. The Scots had money to pay for fur-trading trips. They knew people in Europe who wanted to buy furs.
The Scots used the French trading posts and took over the French fur-trading companies. The Scots hired many expert French traders called ________________________ to trade with the Aboriginal Peoples. Some of the voyageurs had learned to speak Aboriginal languages and married ___________________________ women. The voyageurs transported the furs back to the merchants. They knew the routes inland to the best fur country. Some voyageurs traveled thousands of kilometers by _____________________________to explore and trade in areas of Canada were no Europeans had ever been before. The French had learned the value of canoes from the Aboriginal Peoples.
By the 1780s, there were many small fur-trading companies in ______________________. They competed with one another. Some of the merchants decided to join together to improve their business. In __________________, they formed the ____________________________. Many Nor’Westers, as the traders came to be called, spent the winter collecting furs form the Aboriginal Peoples.
The Montreal merchants had problems getting supplies and goods to their trading posts in the West. Canoe travel was _______________________ and took a long time. To solve this problem, the Nor’Westers built a large trading centre on Lake Superior called __________________________________m. Each summer, merchants from Montreal took supplies and trading goods to Fort William. There they met their wintering partners, who came with canoes filled with furs from the inland posts.
The North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company became _________________________________. The North West Company was soon getting ___________________ as many furs as the Hudson’s Bay Company. After a hundred years of the Aboriginal Peoples coming to its trading posts on the bay, the Hudson’s Bay Company had to change. It began to build inland trading posts, too.
Changes Caused by the Fur Trade
The Aboriginal Peoples of eastern Canada were the first to meet explorers and traders from Europe. The explorers returned to Europe with stories about the new people and lands they had seen. They brought back new ______________ that Europeans had never eaten before. _____________,_______________________,______________, and tobacco were plants from North America. The Aboriginal Peoples acted as ____________ for the explorers. They taught the Europeans what they knew about the land. They showed them how to use ______________________, ___________________, _____________________, and _________________________________.
Traders came to get furs from the new lands. They built trading posts where Aboriginal Peoples could bring their furs. When the fur trade began, it fit well into Aboriginal ways of life. The Aboriginal Peoples had always hunted and traded for what they needed. The fur trade brought them _______________________ and _______________________ that replaced those of stone and bone. Iron cooking pots and copper kettles replaced those made of clay, skin, bark, or wood. Guns replaced bows and arrows. Hunting for food became quicker and easier.
As the fur trade grew, Aboriginal ways of life began to __________________________. For some groups, such as the Mi’kmaq, hunting and trapping for furs to trade replaced summer food gathering and other activities. Aboriginal groups that changed in this way became dependent on trade goods such as clothing from Europe. The European clothing was ______________________________ or well-suited to Canada’s climate as the clothing the Aboriginal Peoples had made themselves from furs and hides.
The ____________________________ brought from Europe were new to the Aboriginal Peoples. Many Aboriginal people became ill and ____________________ from European diseases such as measles. ______________________________ was introduced to the Aboriginal Peoples as part of trade agreements. This had a ________________________ affect on them
The fur trade caused changes in Aboriginal Peoples’ ________________________. New beliefs changed the special bond the Aboriginal Peoples had with the animals they hunted.
The fur trade also changed some Aboriginal ways of ______________________________. Instead of picking their leaders because of their _______________________________, some chiefs were chosen because of their skill as fur traders.
Competition between the rival fur-trading companies caused ________________________ between the Huron and the Iroquois. The English made a partnership with the Iroquois, and the French made a partnership with the Huron. As the English and French fought, so did their Aboriginal partners.
