Lesson 5: History Through Art
As part of the fur trade, there was always the danger of having fractious relations with the people that you’re trading with. So both sides tried to do things to cement the relationship and make the trading successful. Intermarriage brought people together. The trapper was looking for someone to look after domestic affairs such as making clothing and food. The First Nations sealed their trading relationship to acquire valuable items such as tools, knives, and guns to make living easier.
In the painting, the father is presenting the daughter to the trapper. She looks demure, but probably in real life, she would have been scared, maybe unhappy, being given over to someone she doesn’t know. If we “decolonize,” does that mean Native girls will be exchanged again for guns and blankets? Let’s examine the ideas in this painting with Mr. McMurtry.
Art Featured: The Trapper’s Bride, by Alfred Jacob Miller (1847) source
