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Figure 3-15 This painting, by A. J.

Miller in the early 1840s, shows a
marriage ceremony in the custom of the
country. What aspects of this painting
do you think are historically accurate?
Which aspects might be a European
interpretation of the custom
of the country?

U The Northwest Fur Trade U


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guard at an HBC fort. What impression
does it give you of the lives of the home
guard? How realistic do you think this
portrayal is?

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One of them [women] can carry, or
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mend our clothing, keep us warm
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thing as travelling any considerable
distance, or for any length of
time, in this country, without their
assistance.
Matonabbee, Dene guide to Samuel
Hearne, criticizing Hearnes reluctance to
take women on his exploration

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Figure 3-17 Trade Goods at York Factory

What does this information tell you about

changes in the lives of First Nations people
during this period?

1720

Arms
Cloth
Blankets
Metal
Tobacco
Brandy
Other

1780

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As fur traders moved west, they carried diseases such as smallpox,
influenza, measles, and scarlet fever. First Nations on the Atlantic coast
and around the Great Lakes had been devastated by these diseases.
Western First Nations, however, had had few direct contacts with
Europeans until the fur trade expanded. With expansion, however, the
diseases spread inland. From 1780 to 1784, a major smallpox epidemic
spread throughout First Nations in the West. Entire communities were
wiped out. Others were so weakened by the illnesses that they were unable
to care for themselves.
As it had near the eastern Great Lakes, the uneven distribution
of firearms among First Nations resulted in deadly conflicts between
communities. For example, Ininew (Cree) and Nakota (Assiniboine)
traders were among the first communities in the Northwest to receive
firearms from the HBC. Using these guns, they pushed back other
communities and expanded their territories to keep their position in
the fur trade. In particular, Ininew home guard used guns to secure
their position as middlemen between the HBC and Dene communities
to the north. In 1717, soon after the peace agreement negotiated by
Thanadelthur, the HBC built Fort Churchill, which was in Dene
territory. Thereafter, the Dene had their own supply of firearms, and
conflicts with the Ininew did not resume.

Source: Historical Atlas of Canada

Figure 3-18 Shifting Territories During the Fur Trade, 16701780

Over time, the fur trade depleted fur stocks in some regions and First Nations moved from their traditional territories.
What problems do you think these movements caused?
N
W

Dene

Nakota (Assiniboine)

Ininew (Cree)

Anishinaabe (Ojibwe/Saulteaux)

E
S

Hudson
Bay

Hudson
Bay

Hudson
Bay

500

kilometres

1670*

1720

1780

* Dene territory not recorded

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3FTQPOE
1. In which ways did the cultures of First Nations
C&C people of the Northwest adapt to change as the
fur trade expanded west? In what ways did their
cultures stay the same? How did European cultures
change and stay the same?

92

2. How were these cultural changes historically

HS significant?

CLUSTER 1 U The First Peoples and Nouvelle-France (to 1763) U

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