Change in European-Native relations from 1780-1850

Change in European-Native relations from 1780-1850

1. Resource depletion

   • decrease in game animals meant increase dependence on European goods
     • overhunting and trapping cause Ojibiwa to become indebted to the trading companies
   • heavy handed dominance over FN who were dependent on trade
     • demoralized
   • land taken decreasing ability to hunt and perform migratory way of life
     • violence on both sides to protect land base
     • fences erected to keep FN out
   • miners burnt villages and tried to exterminate FN
   • reserves set up and quickly cut in size
     • poor land
     • no access to water
   • began trading labour for goods

2. HBC/NWC merger

   • before merger rivalry between the two benefited FN
     • needed to keep FN working for them
     • higher quality goods
     • better prices
     • conveniently located posts
   • after merger
     • closed many posts
     • traded poorer quality goods
     • lower prices for furs and higher prices for goods
   • cut out gift giving
   • increased racism

3. Blackfoot

   • not interested in trading
   • livelihood buffalo which was plentiful
     • initially did not become dependent on European goods
     • after buffalo slaughtered became dependent and power and status decreased significantly
   • were able to expand due to metal weapons and disease decimating neighboring tribes
   • trade due to lack of dependence allowed prosperity and an increase in tipi and corral size
   • independence meant treated better
     • Europeans recognized they needed to use gentler methods to slowly bring them under their control

4. disease

   • created confusion for FN
     • elaborate kinship based social relations disrupted
     • lost heirs to positions and titles
       • increased potlatches for FN to determine legitamicy claims
     • weakend FN to European influence/conflict
   • many elders lost
     • lost oral histories
     • lost cultural knowledge
     • lost leadership
       • missionaries stepped in to fill gap
   • demoralized

5. Beothuk

   • Pilfered from empty camps so no need to trade
   • Europeans trapped furs so had no need of Beothuk
   • missionaries did not exist to mediate European contact
   • Europeans tried to capture members to establish relations but killed family members in process creating conflict