Gr 4-5 A Voyage into the Past: The Fur Trade in the Early 19th Century-FREE for the Month of September

Students will join voyageurs and fur traders in the year 1804 as they travel to what is now Minnesota to trade their goods with the Ojibwe American Indians in exchange for furs.Students will examine the traditional Ojibwe way of life; analyze historical paintings and artifacts from the fur trade to discover how European fashion fueled global trade networks.

Program Format:
1. Introduction of the fur trade, the North West Fur Company, and 1800’s fur trader John Sayer.
2. We then discuss the European fashion of beaver fur hats and the system of global trade that supported it.
3. Then students then explore the process of traveling in canoes to what is now Minnesota, and building a fur trade post.
4. Students then learn about the Ojibwe American Indian tradition of following the resources available in each season.
5. Concluding with a comparison of American Indian and European contributions to the Great Lakes Fur Trade.

his program will be FREE for the month of September!

Minnesota Historical Society

Margaret Nimocks
ivc@mnhs.org
345 Kellogg Blvd. West
St. Paul, MN  55102
United States
Phone: (651) 259-3412
Fax: (651) 282-2484