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Fur Trades and Métis
 Commercial
trade between Aboriginal and European people began
almost with their first encounter in the sixteenth
century. The Fur Trade Era, which lasted approximately
250 years, had a great impact on both groups of people.
Europeans introduced manufactured products: metal knives, pots, tools, glass
beads, wool cloth, and other products for trade which were of interest to
Native Peoples. The medium of exchange was furs, especially beaver, the pelt of which
provided a superior felt for fashionable men's hats in Europe.
The Métis people are neither First Nations nor Inuit. The Métis nation is
unique to the cultural map of Canada in the way they emerged with the very first
arrival of the Europeans and the intermarriage of English or French Canadians
with Aboriginal, predominantly Cree, women. The children born of these marriages
were called "Métis" which is the French term for "mixed blood." The Métis
developed their own language and culture.
With the fur trade and the expansion into the west, the
Métis became instrumental in the
relationship and communication between the European settlers and the First
Nations. The Métis people, with their
knowledge and command of English and, in many cases, several
First Nations languages, were a natural choice to serve as interpreters and guides.
Unlike the First Nations groups, the Métis and the families of former fur
trade employees were expected to integrate themselves into the new settlement
society.
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Heritage Community Foundation Presents
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