Many Tender Ties: Intro & Chap #1

The fur trade in Western Canada created a new way of life for Indian, mixed-blood, and white women. Despite the good generated from fur trading, the role of women was brought into question and their identities exposed. Many Indian women married fur traders to help form a bond between trade relations and various tribes. Through marriage, Indian women were offered a new way of life that was “easier physically and richer in materials,” (6).

The relationship between whites and Indians was characterized by equality and the ability to act civilized towards one another. The reliance on each other was significant enough to keep the fur traders from imposing or trying to control the Indian people. Instead, they all connected on a social level and made the effort to get to know one another’s culture. The two main trading companies’ were Hudson’s Bay and North West trading company. The North West Company saw the advantage of establishing a relationship and the possible benefits and knowledge that could be obtained.

The treatment of Indian women was surprising and downright appalling to the fur traders. Instead of performing the feminine tasks, most women participated in carrying and hauling various materials and collecting animals that hunters had killed. One observer, Alexander Mackenzie commented, “They are…subject to every kind of domestic drudgery, “(18). Mackenzie goes into detail about how most Indian women make the clothes, collect wood, weave nets, etc. The unfortunate consequences of daily life for Indian women forced them to practice infanticide. The ability of a woman in an Indian society, including strength and economic skills, contributed to how Indians made money and were able to live. European society portrays women as delicate and feminine, but these characteristics would not benefit the fur trading industry and contribute to the clan. This observation made European men realize that perhaps they women in their country are too pampered.