Minnesota History

Minnesota History
Read: “’Who Was Jane Lamont?’ Anglo-Dakota Daughters in Early Minnesota” and “From ‘Marrying-In’ to ‘Marrying-Out’: Changing Patterns of Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal Marriage in Colonial Canada” articles

What does the term “métis” mean? How did these residents in the fur trading regions of Minnesota negotiate between two social and cultural structures?

According to these two articles, how were women valued in their respective societies? What roles did they play in Native and European daily life during the North American Fur Trade or at Fort Snelling?

How did the fur industry’s successes and failures affect Native Minnesotans’ autonomy in the region?

How did the fur trade’s ebb and flow of economic power affect or change métis children’s access to European or American colonial society, education, inheritance or paternal recognition?

Why did the practice of “marrying in the style of the country” wane in the later years of the North American Fur Trade? What access or opportunities had it given Europeans while it was popular? What access or opportunities had it given Native Minnesotans?

Can you think of any French or French-sounding place names, terms, or surnames (last names) still used in Minnesota? Where are they located in the state? These can be notable or influential people, cities/towns, counties, rivers, lakes, state parks, etc.

Why might that location’s French-sounding name be significant or relevant when talking about the influence of the North American Fur Trade in Minnesota?

In your opinion, what makes someone a colonizer vs. a settler? What criteria or systems would likely be in place for either option to be successful?