Guiding questions for aboriginal fur trade

1) How were Aboriginal people depicted in early accounts of the fur trade?
They were depicted as very hopeless and dependant on European supplies and technology.
2) What does newer evidence show to be more accurate about Aboriginals in the fur trade?
That the fur trade was much more than a business enterprise, and that it was a socio-cultural complex that lasted 200 years.
3) In what ways did Europeans adapt to Aboriginal economic traditions?
They had to improve the quality of their goods, and had to develop the concept of “made beaver”.
4) Why did Europeans have to adapt to Aboriginal commerce?
The Aboriginals had better geological trading connections.
5) How would you characterize Cree and Assiniboine economic ability and methods?
Ecologically fexible.
6) After 1670, how did the Cree and Assiniboine show their economic flexibility?
They pushed their trapping and trading area northwest.
7) How would you describe the Cree and Assiniboine inland trade strategies?
They had almost a monopoly on all trading.
8) How and why did the Aboriginal middlemens role change in the late 18th century?
It changed because the HBC started to establish inland posts. This meant that the two groups were just outnumbered by the abundance of connections the HBC had.
9) How did the Cree and Assiniboine retain independence from European technologies?
They changed to a grassland economy and started to buffalo hunt.