- In the last decades of the 18th century, the NWC traders began pushing deeper into the Northwest.
- They began wintering in their trading areas and staying with local groups of Native peoples.
- Both the NWC and the Native peoples encouraged marriage between the fur trader and Native daughters.
- The NWC thought this would help ensure trading loyalty and the Native elders thought it advantageous to have.
- Wives of fur traders enjoyed an improved standard of living and their lives were generally easier than those of most women.
PAGE 140
· The marriages were important social events.
- Traders would ask the father of the intended bride for permission to marry and would pay the young woman’s father a sum of money.
- In contrast to the NWC, the HBC forbade its employees to marry.
- The HBC was concerned about supporting too many
dependents.
- The HBC attempted to enforce a policy of celibacy, which is abstinence from sexual relationships (definition of term).
- Isolation in the remote northern environment, however, led to several marriages.
Page 140, Second Paragraph
- By the early 19th century, a lot of people living in the Northwest were of European-Native ancestry.
- A new culture gradually evolved and later generations began to think of themselves as a distinct people.
- By about 1810, they began using the term Métis, which is from the French word meaning mixed.
- “Country-born” were people with Native and Scottish or Native and British ancestry.
- The Métis spoke French and Algonkian, or a dialect that combined the two languages.
- Their religion was usually Roman Catholic (same as most Europeans at the time).
- Most Métis lived in the Red River Valley.
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- The Métis used a long-standing French custom for their farms called seigneurial pattern.
- The definition of this term is: long-lot patterns of the seigneuries of New France
- By the 1820s, this had become a seasonal event: bison hunt. This took place in the early summer and autumn
- It provided the Métis with: 1. meat, 2. Bison hides, and 3. pemmican(made of meat and fat)
- This was a spectacular event that involved the whole community.
- Métis women, men, and children set out across the prairie in Red River carts, which were a two-wheeled cart used on the prairie. (definition)
- The Métis used two types of horses: saddle horses and buffalo runners.
- The first type pulled the carts until the herd was spotted.
- The second type were fast, responsive horses that had been trained exclusively to hunt bison.
- The riders guided the horses by knee pressure, since both hands would be busy loading muzzle loaders with gunpowder and shot. These were any firearm loaded through the muzzle (definition of the term)
PAGE 141 – RULES OF THE BISON HUNT
- The hunt was something like a military expedition.
- The captain of the hunt, who was elected by the hunters before the party left, was in command.
- The captain would often organize different troops of hunters, each having its own captain.
- Read all of the rules and choose one of interest.
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- The hunt was extremely dangerous because: 1. Guns could explode, 2. Horses could trip and fall because of gopher holes, 3. Pointed horns of bison could swing unexpectedly
- In 1851, a small Métis hunting party was attacked by 1000 to 2000 Sioux warriors.
- For 3 days, 64 Métis fighters held off charge after charge, and the Sioux retreated.
- The bison hunt fostered in them a strong sense of community, pride, and discipline.
- This would have profound implications for the Métis in the later 19th century.
