FUR TRADE PROJECT-40 POINTS *Due Tues. Nov. 27, 2012

Name Period Ms. Krawetz & Mrs. Busch – 6th Gr. S.S.
FUR TRADE PROJECT-40 POINTS *Due Tues. Nov. 27, 2012
You have a month to complete this project; NO late work will be accepted unless you are sick!
I. PROJECT GOAL
Complete a Fur Trade project from the list below and compile a bibliography listing the resources you
used. You will visit the pubic library soon to borrow books for your project for your research. In class
we’ll go over how to compile an annotated bibliography for listing photographs, books and websites.
You will receive a few days in class to work on this, but plan on spending a SIGNIFICANT amount of
time at home to complete this project.
RESOUCES
• Northern Lights textbook
• Library books
• MNHS or PBS Videos
• Website resources.
• Art Supplies: Paper, pencil, markers, fabric, felt,
glue, scissors, etc.
• Minnesota Historical Society
• Refer to the bibliography of a Wikipedia article
II.
PROJECT OPTIONS
A. SCRAPBOOK: THE LIFE OF GEORGE BONGA OR GEORGE NELSON
Make a scrapbook chronicling the life of either George Bonga, an African American fur trade worker, OR
George Nelson, a fur trade clerk. Decorate a cover, find (5) mementos reflecting important events in
either George’s life, and compose a 4-5-sentence explanation for EACH memento describing its history and
significance. Download a pdf biography on George Bonga or George Nelson on 6 th Gr HW downloads page.
George Nelson Resources
1. www.mnhs.org/school/historyplayers/core/nelson.htm
2. www.mnhs.org/school/historyplayers/bios/george_bio.htm
3. Book: My first years in the fur trade: The journals of 1802-1804, By George Nelson
George Bonga Resources
1. See Ms. Krawetz for PDF of George Bonga *Look on 6 th Grade HW downloads.
2. www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/george-bonga-early-settler-minnesota
3. Video: mnvideovault.org/search_results.php?q=bonga&search-go.x=0&search-go.y=0#
4. MNHS Photo: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/details.cfm?imageid=172662
B. NORTH WEST OR HUDSON BAY FUR TRADE BROCHURE
Make a tri-fold brochure about the North West or Hudson Bay Fur Trade Company. Explain the history of
the company, the items traded, trading routes and maps, trading post locations, types of canoes, countries
involved and about the positions the workers held. Write in bullet or list format instead of writing
paragraphs. Insert pictures, maps and visuals on each page; this is a brochure NOT a report so have fun and
make this creative. FYI: MSW has a brochure format.
Web Resources on the Northwest Company:
1. North West Company Fur Post: www.mnhs.org/places/sites/nwcfp/index.htm
2. MHS Fur Trade Collection: www.mnhs.org/collections/museum/furtrade/furtrade.htm
3. MHS North West Company Fur Post Background:
http://events.mnhs.org/media/Kits/Sites/nwcfp/addBackground.htm
4. Hudson Bay Company: http://www.canadiana.ca/hbc/intro_e.html
5. Powell County Museum--Hudson Bay Company: http://www.pcmaf.org/hudson.htm

C. FUR TRADE NEWSPAPER
Write a fur trade newspaper! Title your newspaper and write four articles set in the fur trade period.
Article ideas to include: A story on a summer “rendezvous” at Grand Portage, figures such as George
Bonga or George Nelson, European fur hats styles, types of canoes, an interview with a voyageur, job ads,
pictures of items traded, etc. - Use the Web Resources listed in this packet!
D. FUR TRADE PAPER BAG DRAMATICS
Make or find FIVE of the items below, and then create a 3 character a, 3-4 page play to go with your bag of
artifacts from the Fur Trade era. Items to select from: Beads, traps, earrings, gunflints, knives, beaver hat,
kettles, pipes, sashes, wild rice, pelts, etc.
MHS Fur Trade Collection: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/results.php?keywords=fur+trade
Use Chapter 5 of Northern Lights too!
E. CREATE A SHOEBOX DIORAMA AND WRITE A PLAY
Create a Fur Trade era shoebox diorama of a trading post or voyageurs traveling by canoe. In the diorama,
show an “interaction” between the fur traders and the Native Americans and compose a 3 character, 3-4
page play showing the people in your diorama interacting and discussing something that could have really
occurred during the fur trade.
F. ABC BOOKLET OR POWERPOINT
Create an ABC booklet or PowerPoint on the Fur Trade period. Your booklet or PPT should include a
cover, a word and sentence for each letter, and a picture for each letter.
Ex: B: Beaver, “In the 18-century, hats made of beaver fur were the fashion rage in Europe.”
G. THE OJIBWE’S PERSPECTIVE --- IN PICTURE BOOK FORMAT!
Tell the story of the Fur Trade from the “perspective” of the Ojibwe people, like in the book, Night Flying
Woman. Tell your story in the “voice” of a Native American, using phrases such as “animal brothers” and
“si-si-gwad.” Your book should have a creative cover, and be 6-8 pages long; each page should contain both
text and an illustration. It may be helpful to take Night Flying Woman home.
III.
GENERAL FUR TEADE RESOURCES & WEBSITES
1. MNHS Fur Trade Collection Database: www.mnhs.org/collections/museum/furtrade/furtrade.htm
2. MNHS Visual Images of the Fur Trade:
http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/Results.cfm?Page=1&Keywords=fur%20trade&SearchType=B
asic&CFID=7915942&CFTOKEN=66482603
3. MNHS -- Minnesota Fur Trade: http://www.historicfortsnelling.org/history/fur-trade
4. Canadiana.org: www.canadiana.org/hbc/intro_e.html
5. White Oak Society: http://www.whiteoak.org/historical-library/fur-trade/fur-trade/
6. Fur Trade at Fort Snelling: http://www.historicfortsnelling.org/history/fur-trade
7. Northern Lights, Chapter 5: The Fur Trade
8. Wisconsin Historical Society: Fur Trade History:
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/topics/shorthistory/furtrade.asp
9. Economic History of the Fur Trade: http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/carlos.lewis.furtrade

IV. COMPILING AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
*Try an online bibliography maker: www.easybib.com
• A bibliography lists the sources used when writing a report. These include encyclopedias,
textbooks, magazine or newspaper articles, reference books, interviews and Internet sites.
• The purpose of a bibliography is to enable the people who are reading your report to check the
facts, and to see if your conclusions are correct.
• Each source in a bibliography includes a citation that includes the author’s name, title, and publication
details of the source.
• Each source in an annotated bibliography includes an additional annotation (a 1-2 sentence description)
that comes after each citation. Sentence #1: What is the book/source about? #2: How did this
source/book help you with your research?
• The bibliography usually comes at the end of your report or essay. Here are some examples
BOOK: SINGLE AUTHOR
Citation (List in this order): The Author’s Last Name, First Name and Middle Initial. Title of Book. City:
Publishing Company. Year Published.
Annotation: Write 1-2 sentences summarizing the book, explaining how it helped you on your project.
EXAMPLE
Broker, Ignatia. Night Flying Woman. St. Paul, MN: Borealis Books, 1983.
This book recounts the life of the author’s ancestor, “Night Flying Woman” who
was born in the 1800’s during a time of great change for the Ojibwe people. This
book helped me understand the impact of the Fur Trade on the Ojibwe people.
!Citation
Citation
!Annotation
BOOK: MULTIPLE AUTHORS
List in this order: The authors’ last names alphabetically, the first author’s name is listed the same as a
single author. The order of the second name starts with their first name and then last name. **Make
sure to type “and” between the two names. The rest is the same as for one author.
EXAMPLE
Braun, Judy and Nancy Gilmore. Amazing Women in U.S. History. Chicago, IL: Bear Press, 1999.
This book tells the overlooked stories of interesting women in U.S. history. I found a chapter on Alice
Paul in this book that provided me with information for my project.

GENERAL ONLINE SITE
List in this order: Title of Web Page. Year First Published. Institution. Date Accessed From the Internet
. *The date the site was first published is at the bottom of the home page.
EXAMPLE
North West Fur Trade Company. 2000. Minnesota Historical Society. 24 Nov. 2008
.
The MHS site provided information on the North West Fur Company. The page helped me better
understand why beavers were so much in demand and about the history of the hats.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE
List in this order: The Author’s Last Name, First Name and Middle Initial. “Title of Article.” Tiitle of
Ecyclopedia. Year Published.
EXAMPLE
Jones, Sylvia. "The Great Inca Civilization." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1990.
This encyclopedia entry provided information on the Inca Civilization. This article was important to my
project because it described in detail about the Inca sacred site, Macchu Pitchu.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE ONLINE
List in this order: Title of Page, Name of Online Encyclopedia (*underlined). Date Accessed From the
Internet .
EXAMPLE
"Stock Market Crash of 1929." Britannica Online. 24 Nov. 2008 .
This article provided information about the various causes of the 1929 Stock Market Crash. I used facts
and pictures from this article in my report.
NEWSPAPERS ONLINE
List in this order: The Author’s Last Name And First Name. “Title of Article.” Tiitle of Newspaper
(*underlined). Date First Pubblished. Date Accessed From the Internet .
EXAMPLE
Kole William." Alps Glaciers Will Melt by 2050." The New York Times. 22 Jan. 2007. 21 Feb. 2007
.
This article explains how ice on the Swiss Alps is melting, and may disappear from the Alps within 30-50
years. This article gave direct evidence for my thesis that global warming is actually caused by human
mistreating the environment.

Name Period *Turn this rubric in with your project on Nov. 27th
V. FUR TRADE PROJECT RUBRIC -45 Points *You & a parent will fill out the rubric together!
PROJECT TITLE:
Paren
t
Student Teacher
KEY 8=Excellent 7=Very Good 6 =Average 5= Needs Work 4=Missing/Incomplete: Redo
1. RESEARCH: A significant amount of time was devoted to background reading &
researching your topic. Your work reflects rich and in-depth content information.
2. CREATIVITY: This project demonstrates creativity and originality that is “true” to
the history of the Fur Trade era.
3. WRITING: The written parts of your project demonstrate proper grammar, spelling,
punctuation and neatness. Your writing is detailed and you elaborate on your ideas.
4. ANNPTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY: The annotated bibliography follows the format
introduced in class. You have at least (2) books in your bibliography. -See
easybib.com
5. TIME USAGE & ORANIZATION: Evaluate your use of time at home and at school.
*Parents evaluate time spent on this at home.
8 … 7 … 6 … 5 … 4
6. RUBRIC COMPLETED: Return filled out & signed by Nov. 27! *5 points 5 points Y or N: __
Total Points:
Comments: Address in what went well and what could have gone even better, research, creativity and
organization. Ask a parent and a peer to evaluate your project and write a comment.
A. Parent Comments:
Parent’s signature:
B. Student Comments:
Student’s signature:
C. Teacher Comments:
Teacher’s signature:

MINNESOTA FUR TRADE BACKGROUND – MNHS
AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS traded along the
Mississippi River for centuries before the arrival of
Europeans in the mid-1600s. For nearly 200 years
afterward, European traders exchanged
manufactured goods with American Indian nations
for valuable furs. Following the American
Revolution, the U.S. competed fiercely with Great
Britain for dominance of the North American fur
trade. After the War of 1812 there were three
main parties involved in the Northwest
Territory's fur trade: American Indians (primarily
the Dakota and Ojibwe), the fur trading companies,
and the U.S. government. These parties worked
together and each had something to gain from a
stable trading environment. Both Fort Snelling and
the Indian Agency were established at the river
junction to help maintain stability of the region's fur
trade.
The DAKOTA AND OJIBWE were the primary
trappers of fur-bearing animals in the Northwest
Territory. They harvested a wide variety of furs
(beaver the most valuable) in the region's woodlands
and waterways. In exchange for these furs,
French, British and U.S. traders provided goods
such as blankets, firearms and ammunition, cloth,
metal tools and brass kettles. The Dakota and
Ojibwe had existed for thousands of years using
tools made from readily available materials, but by
the 1800s trade goods had become a part of daily
life for many American Indian communities. Still,
these trade goods often represented a trade-off:
for example, metal trade knives may be more
durable than traditional flint knives, but they were
not as sharp. The main advantage of these trade
goods lay in their availability. By the 1820s,
however, some Dakota and Ojibwe communities
had become dependent on trade goods for a
certain level of prosperity and efficiency in their
everyday lives. The fur trade had a tremendous
effect on their cultures and influenced U.S.-
American Indian economic and political relations
and events in the 19th c.
VOYAGEURS ("travelers" in French) were men hired
to work for the fur traders to transport trade
goods throughout the vast territory to rendezvous
posts. At the rendezvous points these goods were
exchanged for furs, which were then sent to larger
cities for shipment to the east coast. Many traders
and voyageurs married into American Indian
communities, taking advantage of kinship networks,
often trading exclusively within their particular
community. As a result, large communities of
individuals of diverse heritage developed, often called
"mixed-bloods" or Métis during the period, and
many of these individuals maintained ties to both fur
trade and American Indian communities.
SLAVERY also played a part in the fur trade, as some
traders (including Henry H. Sibley and Jean-Baptiste
Faribault) utilized slave labor. In some cases
these enslaved people were freed by their masters,
but often they remained part of the trade business.
George Bonga was the son of a former slave and an
Ojibwe woman and was active in the fur trade
during the first half of the 1800s. Bonga was
educated in Montreal and was well-known for his
physical stature and strength. Often sought out for
his skills as an interpreter, Bonga could speak
French, English and Ojibwe. The Bonga family is
just one example of the diversity and
cultural exchange that resulted from the fur trade
in the Northwest Territory.
DECLINE: By the 1840s the fur trade had declined
dramatically in the Minnesota region, partially due
to changes in fashion tastes, the availability of lessexpensive
materials for hat-making, and because
Dakota and Ojibwe hunters had their available
hunting grounds reduced through treaties with the
U.S. government. Many fur traders took the
opportunity to become land speculators, and
economics in the region changed forever. For many
Dakota and Ojibwe people, who had by this time
become increasingly dependent on the trade,
exchanging land in order to pay off debts claimed
by traders became a matter of survival.