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Fur Trade:

Firstly, we will explore the origin of the term marriage ‘á la façon du pays’ by highlighting what it meant and who was involved in it. For instance, the best English translation is marriage according to the custom of the country, which refers to a type of common law marriage.[1] Additionally, we will highlight how these relationships where formed between aboriginal women and fur traders for economic and social reasons. [2] Overall, the origin of this term will help us provide a general context for this article that will help introduce the reader into the topic.

Purpose:

The purpose of a marriage “à la façon du pays” was, ultimately, to provide the European husband with an advantage over his competitor in the fur trade business. This was obtained through his Indigenous wife, who acted as a middleman between her people and the European fur traders. These marriages were frequently mutually beneficial, with the Indigenous woman’s social status and lifestyle being improved as a result of her valuable ability to mediate between the two cultures.[3] There is a debate, however, as to the extent of Indigenous women’s influence over the fur trade. While some scholars, such as Sylvia Van Kirk, state that Indigenous women benefitted from the marriages “à la façon du pays”, others such as Richard White are doubtful about the limited role that Indigenous women may have played in the fur trade.[4]

Decline:

Marriages between fur traders and Indigenous women declined after the turn of the nineteenth century. This was partially caused by an influx of European and mixed-race (Metis) women in Canada and the West, who were deemed more desirable wives by the traders. The increase in the number of traders and expansion into the West also made intermarriage less politically and economically necessary on both sides. Growing missionary presence also condemned marriage by ‘Indian rules.’ Van Kirk has argued as well that prolonged exposure to European men brewed animosity amongst the Indigenous women and communities, which discouraged women from forming partnerships.[5] The North West Company eventually banned the practice of intermarriage for some employees in 1806, and marriages à la façon du pays would continue to decrease over the following decades.[6]

Metis:

In a discussion of the Metis people we will aim to discuss their roots, which is intricately tied with marriage ‘á la façon du pays’ as well as the role and impact, which they played upon the entire Fur Trade throughout Canada. We shall look at articles by Susan Sleper-Smith, Brenda McDougall and Patrick C. Douaud and their ethnographic studies of the Metis people as a whole.

The Metis people were derived from these initial relationships between Aboriginal women and French men who had moved to the West. The Metis communities that developed in areas such as Red River and the Great Lakes are based upon the connections between Aboriginal women and French men as they grew fur trade posts throughout the West.[7] Mainly the Aboriginal women who were chosen to be the mothers to the Metis community were from the Cree and Ojibwa tribes.[8] It was the Metis communities that became one of the most influential ties between the Aboriginal peoples and the Europeans. It is discussed by McDougall that the Metis people were not only influential to the running of the fur trade but that they were one of the major determining factors in the way in which the fur trade came to be.[9]

Bibliography

Brown, Jennifer SH. Strangers in Blood: Fur Trade Company Families in Indian Country. UBC Press, 1980.

Douaud, Patrick. "Canadian Metis Identity: A Pattern of Evolution." Anthropos 78, no. 1 (1983): 71-88.

Fitzgerald, Sharron A. “Hybrid Identities in Canada’s Red River Colony.” The Canadian Geographer 51, no. 2 (2007): 186-201.

Friesen, Gerald. The Canadian Prairies: A History. University of Toronto Press, 1987.

Jackson, John C. Children of the fur trade: Forgotten Metis of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State University, 2007.

McDougall, Brenda. "'The Comforts of Married Life': Metis Family Life, Labour, and the Hudson's Bay Company." Labour / Le Travail 61 (2008): 9-39.

Peterson, Jacqueline. "Prelude to Red River: A Social Portrait of the Great Lakes Metis." The American Society of Ethnohistory 25, no. 1 (1978): 41-67.

Sleeper-Smith, S. "Women, Kin, And Catholicism: New Perspectives On The Fur Trade."Ethnohistory, 2000, 423-52.

Van Kirk, Sylvia. Many Tender Ties: Women in Fur-Trade Society, 1670-1870. University of Oklahoma Press, 1983.

Van Kirk, Sylvia. "“Women in Between”: Indian Women in Fur Trade Society in Western Canada." Historical Papers/Communications historiques 12, no. 1 (1977): 30-46.

White, Bruce M. "The Woman Who Married a Beaver: Trade Patterns and Gender Roles in the Ojibwa Fur Trade". Ethnohistory 46, no. 1(1999): 130–138.

Wright, Mary C. “Economic Development and Native American Women in the Early 19th Century” American Quarterly 33, no. 5 (1981): 525-536.

1 Van Kirk, Sylvia (1983). Many Tender Ties: Women in Fur-Trade Society, 1670-1870. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 4.

2 Wright, Mary (1981). "Economic Development and Native American Women in the Early 19th Century". American Quarterly 33 (5): 528.

3 Sleeper-Smith, Susan (2000). ""Women, Kin, And Catholicism: New Perspectives On The Fur Trade". Ethnohistory 47 (2): 424.

4 White, Bruce (1999). "The Woman Who Married a Beaver: Trade Patterns and Gender Roles in the Ojibwa Fur Trade". Ethnohistory 46 (1): 112–113.

5 Van Kirk, Sylvia (1977). "“Women in Between”: Indian Women in Fur Trade Society in Western Canada.". Historical Papers 12 (1): 130–138.

6 Friesen, Gerald (1987). The Canadian Prairies. Toronto: The University of Toronto Press. p. 69.

7 Sleeper-Smith, Susan (2000). "Women, Kin, And Catholicism: New Perspectives On The Fur Trade". Ethnohistory 47 (2): 432.

8 Douaud, Patrick (1983). "Canadian Metis Identity: A Pattern of Evolution". Anthropos 78 (1): 73.

9 McDougall, Brenda (2008). "The Comforts of Married Life': Metis Family Life, Labour, and the Hudson's Bay Company". Labour / Le Travail 61: 13.