Many Tender Ties (Chapter 2, 3)

Fur trade was still big business for the economy. Men of the Hudson’s Bay Company and Nor’Westers practiced in marriage “after the custom of the country” which was an indigenous marriage rite which evolved to meet the needs of the fur-trade society. The Indians actually initiated and encouraged the formation of marriage alliances between their women and the European traders. The Indians viewed marriage as a marital alliance creating a social bond which served to consolidate the economic relationship with a stranger. When a European trader marries an Indian the trader is drawn into the Indian’s kinship circle. The marriage between and trader and an Indian was beneficial to the trade ties and the Indian women brought success to their business. On the Pacific coast, marriage alliances played a significant role in the traders relations with the Chinook nation. Marital alliances were also factors in trade competition. Because Indian woman brought success to their fur trader husbands, feelings of affection were not playing a role in their marriages. However, when a child was born parenthood was good for strengthening their husband and wife bond. There were no exchange of vows between the couple but there were other rituals they followed.
The economic role played by Indian women in fur-trade society reflected the extent to which the European traders were compelled to adapt to the native way of life. The Nor’Westers learned from the French what they used their Indian wives for. The Indian women had performed a wide range of domestic tasks, they ground the corn to make the staple food known as sagamite, they made moccasins and leather garments, and they also washed and shopped firewood for the cabins. The most important domestic task performed by the women at the fur-trade posts was to provide the men with a steady supply of moccasins because the men of both companies adopted the moccasin as the most practical footwear for the wilderness. Pemmican became the staple food of the fur trade, and Indian women performed most of the steps required in its preparation. Pemmican was a mixture of pounded buffalo meat and fat. Indian Women were also responsible for collecting auxiliary food supplies which, besides adding variety to the diet, could sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Indian women played an important part in preserving and procuring country provisions, they did not take over the official role of cooking at the fur-trade posts. The Indian women also were involved in specific fur-trade operations such as dressing furs. They also assisted in making canoes and paddling during voyages. The assistance of Indian women on journeys was always an importance to the Hudson Bay Company. They were also important interpreters and teachers of language, also served as diplomatic agents for the traders. In this reading you really realize how much the Indian women were significant to the society of the fur trade. The Indian women did so much work for the men and were never paid; it was cheap labor for the companies.