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Website
Other

Kitikmeot Heritage Society: Angulalik Fur Trade: Stephen Angulalik

For Students 9th - 10th
This website profiles a fur trader in the 20th Century, over a century after the merger of the North West and Hudson's Bay Companies in 1821. But this website is interesting for assessing the impact of the fur trade on First Nations...
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Article
Other

Mountains of Stone: David Thompson Canadian Fur Trader and Mapmaker

For Students 9th - 10th
Historical novelist O. Ned Eddins shares his knowledge of explorer and mapmaker David Thompson.
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Handout
Other

Utah History to Go: Traders, Trappers, and Mountain Men

For Students 9th - 10th
Utah History to Go is an online course divided into eight chapters. This is one section of the third chapter that looks at the different groups of traders in Utah in the 1800s, and the types of goods they traded. It also describes the...
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Handout
Gabriel Dumont Institute

Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture: Fur Trade Companies Photos

For Students 9th - 10th
A large collection of historical photos related to the fur trade and the Metis.
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Activity
Other

Mountain Men, Trappers, and Fur Traders: John Jacob Astor

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a very brief site on the man who came to monopolize the fur trade, John Jacob Astor. Hyperlinks for additional information.
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Graphic
University of Virginia

University of Virginia: George Caleb Bingham

For Students 9th - 10th
View an image of Bingham's famous "Fur Traders Descending the Missouri."
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Unit Plan
Wisconsin Historical Society

Wisconsin Historical Society: Pierre Esprit Radisson, 1640? 1710

For Students 9th - 10th
Pierre-Esprit Radisson arrived in Wisconsin in the mid-1600s as one of the first French fur traders to reach there. Radisson led a colorful life and traveled widely across the continent, although he is reputed to have exaggerated some of...
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Website
Royal British Colombia Museum (Canada)

Sir James Douglas

For Students 9th - 10th
Sir James Douglas was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trader who became the second Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island and the first Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. A synopsis of his life and family tree is provided here.
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Primary
Other

Library of Western Fur Trade Historical Source Documents: Journal of John Work

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a diary of two and a half months of travels by John Work as he went from one fur trading post to another in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1800s.
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Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Fur Trade Rivalries (1795 1821)

For Students 9th - 10th
"Fur Trade Rivalries" from the Alberta Encyclopedia Online explains why the merger in 1821 between the Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company took place. It discusses the fur trade before the merger and expansion of new posts, the...
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Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Competitive Fur Trade (1850 1900)

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article explains that competition in the fur trade did not end after the 1821 merger of the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company. The Metis and other private traders were active with American trade companies....
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Handout
Merna A Forster

Heroines: Amelia Douglas, Fur Trade Pioneer

For Students 9th - 10th
Although there are many women entrepreneurs today, its useful to look at examples of women who led the way. Lots of great books ideas here for further study.
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Website
Wisconsin Historical Society

Wisconsin Historical Society: Nicolas Perrot

For Students 9th - 10th
Nicolas Perrot arrived in Wisconsin in the 1600s as a fur trader and an explorer, claiming much of the land for France. He established trading posts along the Mississippi and strengthened the French position against the Iroquois. A link...
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Graphic
Curated OER

Web Gallery of Art: Fur Traders Descending the Missouri

For Students 11th - 12th
An image of "Fur Traders Descending the Missouri", created by George Caleb Bingham, c. 1845 (Oil on canvas, 74 x 92 cm).
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Handout
Other

The Bridger Trail: Biography of Jim Bridger

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Jim Bridger's exploits as fur trader, mountain man, entrepreneur, and military guide. His knowledge of the Rocky Mountains was invaluable. (From Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office)
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Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Peter Pond

For Students 9th - 10th
Peter Pond (1739-1807) was a great explorer and map maker during the expansion of the fur trade. He was an American and military officer before becoming a partner in the North West Company. Alberta Encyclopedia Online is an excellent...
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Article
Discovering Lewis & Clark

Discovering Lewis & Clark: Thompson, Lewis, Clark, Jefferson

For Students 9th - 10th
Resource tells the story of the connections between Canadian fur trader David Thompson, Thomas Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark. Follow their journey as they travel across the great Northwest.
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Handout
Discovering Lewis & Clark

Discovering Lewis & Clark: Meet the Corps

For Students 9th - 10th
Meet some of the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They were fur traders, interpreters, hunters, guides, and enlisted men.
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Website
Other

American Mountain Men: Mountain Men and the Fur Trade

For Students 9th - 10th
On-line research center features numerous resources dedicated to the history of the Mountain Men in the American West. This project includes primary sources, images, maps, artwork, newspaper articles, artifacts, and links to related...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Mountain Men

For Students 9th - 10th
The life of the fur trappers and traders was harsh, and fur, as a valuable commodity, was short-lived. Read about the effect the traders had on life in the West.
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Website
Discovering Lewis & Clark

Discovering Lewis & Clark: America After 1806

For Students 9th - 10th
This section of the larger Discovering Lewis & Clark website explores in detail America after the Lewis and Clark expedition.
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Website
Virtual Museum of Canada

Virtual Museum of Canada: Community Stories: Lytton, Transformed by Transportation

For Students 9th - 10th
The community of Lytton, British Columbia and the effects of increased access to it are profiled. Initially a town where Aboriginal peoples traded, the coming of fur traders and settlers and the railway all contributed to the growth of...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Empire of the Bay: Alexander Mackenzie

For Teachers 9th - 10th
One-page biographical note of explorer and fur trader Alexander Mackenzie.
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Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Methodist Missionaries in Alberta

For Students 9th - 10th
Following the arrival of European fur traders and explorers, Christianity and religion soon followed to convert the aboriginal peoples. churches and missionaries spread throughout the prairies.

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