The Kootnay fur trade and its establishments 1795-1871

Chance, David

This is the first stage of an historical study of the fur trade period and posts, 1795-1871, in the country of the Kutenai Indians. Of particular interest is the almost bewildering series of trading posts where the furs were exchanged for industrial products. We are also interested in the men who supervised and performed the trade, and how it was done. The impact of the fur trade on the Kutenai Indians is all too briefly considered. Some attention is given to the character of the evidence and the potential and means of obtaining more of it. Additional historical and archaeological researches are suggested with the obj ectives of filling in some of the gaps in our knowledge, of clearing up a few of the problems of location and chronology , and of consolidating the fund of detail that is needed to recover the texture, and even the weave, of our heritage.