Fur Trade

Class Description:

Students will meet three characters from the fur trade era of 1793, including Alexander Mackenzie, a voyageur and an Ojibwe Indian. In order to explain the important roles of each character in the business of fashion, transport, and trade, students will be invited to join the Northwest Company as a clerk, voyageur and an Ojibwe trader, and to participate in a Paddle Dance.

Total time: 50 minutes
Audience: 4th grade through adult
Activity level: easy
Travel: none
Total uphill travel: none

Outcomes

Upon completion of the Fur Trade evening program students will be able to:

Trace the flow of trade goods and beaver pelts across the North American continent.

Describe the role of Native Americans, businessmen and voyageurs during the fur trade era.

Evaluate the symbiotic relationship of the early European explorers with the Native Americans.

Minnesota Graduation Standards

The Fur Trade evening program will provide students with guided practice, in an authentic setting, to support the following Graduations Standards. We have chosen one to three “major focus” standards per grade level. Due to the holistic nature of environmental education, several other standards, not listed here, are addressed as well.

H.S. Inquiry: History Through Culture (A, B)
H.S. People and Cultures: Human Geography (A, C, E)

6-8th People and Cultures: Geography and Culture (1-5))
6-8th People and Cultures: History and Citizenship (1-2)

4-5th People and Cultures: Historical Events (3)
4-5th People and Cultures: Geography and Citizenship (3c)

(April 1998 GS edition)

Wolf Ridge Curriculum Concepts

• The natural environment has many obvious and subtle impacts upon human history and culture.
• Understanding and respecting other enables us to work together effectively as a community.
• Harmony comes from recognizing that similarities are greater than differences.

Classroom Connections*

• Journal page download
• Pre-visit activities
• Post-visit activities
• Links to fur trade information and activities on the web

*requires Wolf Ridge password