According to Wishart (2018), women played a crucial part in the American fur trade from its commencement. Nonetheless, the capacity of women, particularly Native Americans has often gone unnoticed in the fur trade history. Divergent from existing belief that the fur trade was dominated by men, it was actually dependent on the participation of labor of Native women for its existence and commercial success. From Wishart (2018), Women acted as integral producers in the fur trade of the American and Canadian Plains.
Women had varying roles in the fur trade. For instance, European women played an insignificant role in the fur trade. Caucasian women Eliza Spaulding and Narcissa Whitman acted as observers of the fur trade when they accompanied a caravan an attended th1 rendezvous in 1836 (Wishart, 2018). Native American women were the predominant participants in the fur trade. Their role in the fur trade was particularly significant because they acted as guides, producers, traders, and translators. According to Wishart (2018), marriage between Caucasian men and native women was integral to the stability of the trade it encouraged economic, political and social alliance in the fur trade structure. The Metis and Indian women were instrumental in the success of the fur trade because they participated in the fur operations by benefitting and promoting the trade of pans, awls, woolen blankets, cloths, needles, steel knives and glass beads. Fundamentally they promoted the fur trade through the production of furs; women were the primary producers of fur which was integral in the fur trade.
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Even though their role in the fur trade is overlooked, women were integral to its success because they helped in establishing an economic, political and social alliance in the fur trade structure through marriage, acted as translators and also were the sole producers of furs which was significant in the success of the trade.
Reference:
Wishart, D. (2018). Encyclopedia of the Great Plains | WOMEN IN THE FUR TRADE. [online] Plainshumanities.unl.edu. Available at: http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.gen.043 [Accessed 21 Mar. 2018].
