Page 11. P & E Organizations - Additional Reading A. Fur Trade

Just as First Nations had always adapted their lifestyles to accommodate nature’s changes – the seasons, migrating animals, climatic variations – so they adapted their ways to take advantage of the European visits. 

A profitable sideline soon arose during the occasional encounters between fishers and the First Nations and Métis.  While on their annual summer fishing trips, visiting Europeans traded with the First Nations, taking home furs that met a growing demand in Europe.  Beaver pelt hats were a status symbol in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

This early trade was relatively simple and beneficial to both parties.  First Nations and Métis brought furs and the Europeans brought other trade goods.