In the Voyageurs' Footsteps (Grades 5-9)

Introduction

The fur trade created a connection between Aboriginal peoples and European trade almost from the time contact began about 1500. Fine furs were growing scarce in Europe, and fishermen and explorers around the Gulf of St. Lawrence found people eager to trade furs for imported, manufactured goods. The historic Canadian fur trade does not belong to a particular time or region of the country: it was a pattern of relations between peoples, their environment, and international luxury markets, which created a moving frontier that stretched from the Maritimes to Victoria, from 1500 to the 1950s. This activity focuses on why some of the major places and participants in the fur trade have national significance. The story of the fur trade in Canada is told at numerous national historic sites across the country, from Fort La Tour (New Brunswick), to Fort St. Pierre (Ontario), to York Factory (Manitoba) and Fort Langley (British Columbia).