Fur Trade – The Look Back – PBS Wisconsin Education

How did the exchange of animal furs, cloths and other items between Europeans and Native Nations shape the history of the Great Lakes region?

From the 1600s to the 1800s, the exchange of animal furs and skins was a major part of how Europeans and Native peoples interacted in North America. Europeans traded cloth, glass beads, metal goods and other items for the furs of beaver and other animals. Eventually, this global trade would change the course of history for Europe and North America.

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Questions to consider

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Who participated in the fur trade and why? How did the North American fur trade change global trade and relationships?

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Why were furs valuable to Native peoples and European traders? What were furs used to make?

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Why do people reenact historical events and life in past time periods? What are some ways you can learn about what life was like in the past?

Meet the historians

Person with long brown hair, red glasses, and a nose ring speaking outdoors.

Taylor L. Bailey

History Professor

I get to look at things and moments in history and teach others about them!

Person with long brown hair, red glasses, and a nose ring speaking outdoors.

Taylor L. Bailey

History Professor

I love all the t-shirts I get from seeing my favorite artists at concerts.

No, I don’t think I could.

No, I’ve never tried pemmican, but I will try anything at least once.

Person with long purple hair, purple glasses, and a piercing speaking outdoors.

Kacie Lucchini Butcher

Public Historian

I find and share stories from the past that have shaped our present, and love showing people how cool history is!

Person with long purple hair, purple glasses, and a piercing speaking outdoors.

Kacie Lucchini Butcher

Public Historian

I own an original 1970s USPS sweater that would’ve been worn by a postal worker! How cool is that?

Absolutely not! I need running water and internet access.

Nope! I prefer Taco Bell.

Man with white beard and red knit cap speaking outdoors in historical clothing.

Paul Rogovich

Historian and Re-enactor

I learn about the past through studying and re-enacting it!

Man with white beard and red knit cap speaking outdoors in historical clothing.

Paul Rogovich

Historian and Re-enactor

My toque, the red wool hat I wore during the filming. Dale-Harriet knitted it for me, as well as several others for our re-enactor friends.

Yeah, but I would miss my morning shower. I have taken a few “treks,” that is, backpacking trips with period clothes, equipment, and food.

I have eaten pemmican. There is an infinite variety of mixtures, some fair at best, others lousy. Like most voyageurs, I would eat pemmican as an alternate to starvation.

Older man in fur trade-era clothing and red knit cap holding a black top hat outdoors in a leafless forest

“It became an exchange also of the culture.”

Paul Rogovich

Episode credits

Producer
David Boffa

Hosts
Taylor L. Bailey
Kacie Lucchini Butcher

Special Guest
Paul and Dale Rogovich

Research and Writing
Taylor L. Bailey
David Boffa
Kacie Lucchini Butcher
Tori Charnetzki
Kylie Compe
Ian Glodich
Ryan Hendricks
Kate Melberg
Dale Rogovich
Paul Rogovich

Videography
Ian Glodich
David Boffa
Tori Charnetzki
Kylie Compe
Ryan Hendricks

Editing
Ian Glodich
David Boffa

Captioning
Catie Pfeifer

Translation Services
Rev

Educator Support Materials
David Boffa
Mia Forslund
Jen Kobylecky

Web Design
Charles Barrows
Erika Kachama-Nkoy

Web Development
John Vieth

Digital Content
Mark Riechers

Graphic and Motion Design
Danielle Riseley
Charles Barrows
Ian Glodich

Additional Production Support
Kerman Eckes

Executive Producer
Ryan Hendricks

Director of Education
Megan Monday

Director of Television
Jon Miskowski

Project Partners
Rebecca M. Blank Center for Campus History
UW–Madison Libraries
Wisconsin Historical Society

Special Thanks
City of Madison Parks Division

Funding provided by

Timothy William Trout Education Fund
a gift of Monroe and Sandra Trout

Eleanor and Thomas Wildrick Family

Focus Fund for Education

Friends of PBS Wisconsin