The Fur Trade in the Eastern Subarctic

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the topic of acculturation among the Cree of the Subarctic. It demonstrates that the fur trade had less of an impact on the Cree than other groups who were exposed to more direct contact with the Europeans. In the area of James Bay, acculturative processes appear to have been gradual rather than sudden and dramatic.

From the Paper:

"The accounts of early missionaries and traders cannot be trusted, especially on the subject of subsistence, as they are often ambiguous and ethnocentric. Fur traders' journals overuse words such as "starve", creating misleading impressions (Black-Rogers, 1986). Analysis of these journals soon makes obvious that starving came in a number of different varieties. It is necessary to consider the context in which they were written as the intended meaning could be either literal, technical, or manipulative. In many cases, natives and their families were not starving at all. Meaning could be further confused if a trader was reporting what was actually said by a native as opposed to what he observed. It was sometimes customary in native culture to claim to be starving, in an effort to portray humbleness."

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