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 The northern fur trade began in 1670 when the British Crown granted a
charter to the "Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading
into Hudson's Bay," better known as the Hudson's Bay Company. The
company was given ownership of all land draining into Hudson Bay (called
Rupert's Land). For 100 years, it limited its trading posts to the shores of
Hudson and James Bays. Chipewyan and Cree Indians were encouraged
to bring their furs to the posts and act as middlemen for more distant
tribes.
In 1778, Peter Pond, who was working for rival fur traders from Montreal,
set up a trading post near Lake Athabasca. In 1784, the North West
Company was formed by a number of Montreal merchants. Under Peter
Pond, now a partner, the first trading post in the present NWT was
established in 1786. Fort Resolution was located near the mouth of the
Slave River on Great Slave Lake. In 1787, Alexander Mackenzie replaced
Pond, and two years later set out to explore the river flowing out of Great
Slave Lake, convinced it would lead him to the Pacific Ocean. Though his
expedition was a personal disappointment, it succeeded in opening a vast
new area and allowed rapid expansion of the North West Company's trade
along the river.
 While Mackenzie traveled north, a colleague set up trade at Lac La Martre.
The Dogribs and other Athapaskan tribes no longer had to send their furs
through Chipewyan middlemen or travel long distances to Hudson Bay to
trade.
(Photo: Hudson's Bay Company flintlock trade gun or "Northwest gun ". A
large trigger and trigger guard are characteristic features.)
"Muzzleloaders had about a 30-inch barrel. They used to pile beaver skins
flat on the ground. When they came level with the top of the barrel, then
you could buy the gun. Joe Blondin, We Remember
Indian middlemen had been taking advantage of other tribes by marking up
trade goods such as guns, knives and axes by several hundred percent.
With the help of European guns, the Cree and Chipewyan also were able
to expand their territories by pushing other tribes farther north and west in
the late 1700s. Fighting among tribes ceased as trading posts were built,
and middlemen were no longer necessary.
Adapted from "A Way of Life", pp 8-18, by Marianne Bromley, Department
of Renewable Resources, (RWED) Government of the Northwest Territories,
Yellowknife, NT Copyright 1986 ISBN 0-7708-7146-1
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