Wisconsin Fur Trade

History 318

Jeremy J Sorgent

Carroll University

History 318

History 318

Jeremy J Sorgent

Carroll University

History 318

Wisconsin Fur Trade

Wisconsin Fur Trade

Jeremy Sorgent

Dr. Markwyn

Research Paper

Wisconsin Fur Trade 1634-1750

From the moment of first contact, neither Native nor Frenchman could have foreseen how symbiotic these two nations would become with each other. Current historiographies either speak on the economics of the fur trading in Wisconsin, or briefly discuss the Woodland natives’ relationships with the French. The complexity of the fur trade industry still lacks consideration on how the fur trade impacted the Native Heritage. Woodland Natives’ way of life would be completely reshaped thanks to the French intrusion. These tribes would experience revolutionary alterations in their social, communal and spiritual lifestyles due to the French occupation. The affects from French occupation still plagues Wisconsin tribes today.

In the book, Native American Communities in Wisconsin, 1600-1960 by Robert E. Bieder, his research pertains to how various Woodland tribes lived amongst the French. This resource helps with the comprehension of tribal relationships with the French. However, what isn’t expounded upon was how the French altered the lives of the Woodland natives. Regardless how the natives felt about the French in Wisconsin; living amongst the French profoundly impacted native way of life.

In the book, Introduction to Wisconsin Indians by Carol I. Mason, she looks at the economic relationships of the fur trade. As these two nations would engage in fur trading, each party was able to ascertain desirable goods from the other. Through the fur trade came technological advances, social change and culture alterations in native tribes. The French occupation of Wisconsin was transformational for Woodland natives. Living amongst one another for approximately one hundred years, the societies began to intermingling....