+
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...
+
Website
Historica Canada

Canada's National History Society: Fur Trade Stories: From 1600 1867

For Students 9th - 10th
The main site is huge with interactive links to different time periods, archival documents, photos, and artifacts. This section focuses on the time period 1600-1867 which included the first interactions between First Nations and...
+
Website
Other

Northwest Journal: Women of the Fur Trade, 1774 1821

For Students 9th - 10th
This article is useful in discussing the role of women in the fur trade, as well as the attitudes and policies of the trading companies towards family life. As this comes from an organization dedicated to historical re-enactments of...
+
Website
Other

Festival Du Voyageur

For Students 9th - 10th
Voyageurs are remembered each year in Manitoba's Festival du Voyageur. It is a special recognition and reinforcement of the province's deep Franco-Manitoban history and roots. This winter celebration is proof that the voyageurs' courage...
+
Handout
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools

Loon Lake Elementary School: Henry Hudson

For Students 3rd - 5th
A biography of Henry Hudson (1565-1611), an English explorer and sea captain. He made four voyages in an attempt to discover a northern route between Europe and Asia. Hudson never found such a passage, but he sailed farther north than...
+
Handout
Oregon Secretary of State

Oregon Blue Book: Oregon History: Land Based Fur Trade and Exploration

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed overview of Oregon's early history, including the Lewis and Clark expedition and what it accomplished, and the development and decline of the fur trade industry.
+
Website
University of Alberta

Atlas of Alberta Railways: Before the Railway: Trails, Canoes and York Boats

For Students 3rd - 8th
Presented by the University of Alberta, this resource contains information on the early trade routes used in western Canada before the construction of the railway. The site also provides digital maps showing the locations of the land and...
+
Website
Other

The Road to Nunavut

For Students 9th - 10th
This web page sources the creation of Nunavut to the land claims made by aboriginals as it traces the evolution of people and communities in the Northwest Territories. The ultimate establishment of Nunavut is accounted for by the...
+
Handout
Gabriel Dumont Institute

Metis Cultural Museum: Cumberland House

For Students 9th - 10th
Links to a Adobe Reader PDF document that outlines the history associated with Cumberland House in Saskatchewan, with a slight focus on Metis peoples. Extremely detailed, the thirty pages include excellent maps and charts easily...
+
Website
Other

History of the Russian Settlement at Ft. Ross,california

For Students 9th - 10th
Details Russian expansion across Asia, over the Bering Strait to Alaska, and then down the coast to California. Their settlement, relations with the Spanish, life in Ft. Ross, and departure are chronicled here.
+
Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: The Fur Trade & Mission Sites

For Students 9th - 10th
This Alberta Online Encyclopedia offers a website devoted to fur trading and mission sites in Rupert's Land, the area that would become part of Alberta. Listing nine separate sites, there are pictures, and an audio link to the "Heritage...
+
Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: How the West Was Young

For Students 9th - 10th
Alberta's early history is presented for students in this website covering pre-contact native people's history and fur trade exploration. Teachers looking to incorporate audio in organized lesson plans will like this website prepared by...
+
Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: The Metis in Alberta

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the Metis Peoples in Alberta--their beginnings, the people and their communities and their culture and lifestyle. Listen to content, view pictures, read text and follow the timeline of this Aboriginal peoples of Alberta.
+
Article
Other

Samuel Hearne: Explorer and Naturalist

For Students 9th - 10th
Though he "has not always been thought well of," Samuel Hearne is the first--and one of the best--naturalists in Canadian history. This article lists some of the reasons he has been perceived as a failure and highlights the first-class...
+
Handout
Glenbow Museum

Glenbow Museum: Blackfoot Culture and History

For Students 9th - 10th
A good description of the culture of the Blackfoot from pre-contact to present time. Read about the importance of the buffalo and the treaties which took away the Blackfoot land.
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Photograph: Hudson's Bay Company Post, Dog Head Point, Lake Winnipeg, 1884

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from the National Library of Canada's presentation on Canadian Confederation, looks at the 1870 inclusion of Manitoba. Built from the North-Western Territory, the province was founded by Metis, Francophones from Lower Canada,...
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Photograph: Inside the Hudson's Bay Company Post, Norway House, 1878

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from the National Library of Canada's presentation on Canadian Confederation, looks at the 1870 inclusion of Manitoba. Built from the North-Western Territory, the province was founded by Metis, Francophones from Lower Canada,...
+
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.
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: North America, 1800

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of North America and Central America showing territorial claims and possessions in 1800. The map is color-coded to show the territories of the United States, British, Spanish, French, and Russians, and indicates areas of disputed...
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Oregon Trail and Other Routes, 1832 1842

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of western North America between the opening of the Oregon Trail in 1832 to 1842, prior to the establishment of the Provisional Government of Oregon by American settlers in 1843. The map shows the boundary of the Oregon Country,...
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Intercolonial Wars, 1689 1713

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of eastern colonial North America showing the struggle for supremacy between England, France, and Spain in the region, from the King William's War (1689-1692) to Queen Anne's War (1702-1713), a period also known as the...
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Saskatchewan, 1922

For Students 9th - 10th
A map from 1922 of the province of Saskatchewan, showing the provincial capital of Regina, major cities and towns, existing and proposed railways, Hudson Bay Company outposts, terrain features, lakes, and rivers.
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 1906

For Students 9th - 10th
A map from 1906 of the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan showing the province capitals of Winnipeg and Regina, major cities and towns, existing and proposed railways, lakes and rivers, Hudson Bay Company posts, and Indian...
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Maps Etc: Alberta and British Columbia, 1906

For Students 9th - 10th
A map from 1906 of the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia showing the province capitals of Edmonton and Victoria, major cities and towns, railways, lakes and rivers, mountains, coastal features, forts, Hudson Bay Company posts,...