Colonial & Indigenous relationships, the fur trade, methods of transportation. From 1880 to 1896, these changes were happening faster than ever before in Northern Alberta!
Containing an overview of these transformations, this book documents several news stories from the time. Through it, you can relive one of the greatest expansion periods in Alberta’s history!
From starvation, epidemics and land surveys primarily affecting the Indigenous people, to the beginnings of missions and the exploding gold rush, this book documents key events that helped shape the Lesser Slave Lake Region.
During this time, life in the North was being tested. Settlers were moving into the area and the fur trade was considered an economic driver to place Edmonton as a commercial centre. At the same time, the old ways of life, transportation methods and cultural activities were still taking place.
While the focus of this book is the Lesser Slave Lake Region, other areas are included. Northern Alberta – which is now about half the province – is a vast geographical space. People were bound to each other through travel routes and the fur trade. What happened in one community often affected the next, even if they were several hundred kilometres apart.
Four themed commentaries give timelines and information on the following subjects: Fur Trade, Travel, Settlement/Development and Indigenous Impacts. An index of names, places and other information containing brief descriptions of events is available in the back of the book. The included articles offer newsworthy highlights and present a snapshot of the people and events in the region.
Here is a preview of the events you’ll find in this book…
- The fur trade economy becoming more popular
- Indigenous people being key to the fur trade in northern Alberta
- Beginnings of the missions and residential schools in the region
- Discovery of gold and oil in the area
- The presence of the Hudson’s Bay Company, which hired people to run trading posts and build a steamboat, Athabasca, that faced troubles during trial runs
- The evolution of transportation routes and the mail service to and through the area
- The settlement of people who established gardens, farms and cattle operations in the area
- Vickers’ misadventure having to bury his supplies when separated from Thompson’s survey party
- And much, much more!
This book focuses on the Lesser Slave Lake Region, which became part of the Treaty 8 territory in 1899. The articles are from an earlier time. Before the arrival of the fur traders, explorers and settlers, the entire region had been inhabited or visited by Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit people. It is their traditional territory.
A huge thank you to Joyce Aulenback, Shannon Cherkowski and Lyndsey Carmichael for assisting with the entry of the massive volume of data contained in this book.
Another special thanks to the author’s friends Charmaine Willier-Larson, Rosalie Nicholls, Curtis Cardinal, who helped with Cree words, cultural questions and more. For those of you who helped with names and other information through Willis’ requests on social media channels, your knowledge and the willingness to share with a stranger was appreciated. Ninaskomtin nitotimtik.
If you'd like to own a paperback copy, you can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09SC1CDQ2/
Image Credit: Provincial Archives of Alberta Objects # A3486, A3264, A11450, A20706, A5391, A2087