History of the Fur Trade

The first Hudson's Bay Post in Red Lake opened in 1790 at Post Narrows, and ran intermittently until 1822, when it closed due to over harvesting.  It reopened in 1918 and served the area until 1926, when the building was moved to Johnson's Point, closer to Red Lake, to accommodate the gold seekers. Early HBC stores were small log buildings where nearly all local business took place.  They were general stores where you could trade furs and buy food, sewing supplies, fishing and trapping equipment, as well as pick up your mail.

Hudson’s Bay Post at Post Narrows on Red Lake (1920s) Hudson’s Bay Company store in Red Lake.  This site is the present day location of the Red Lake Library

In 1933, the HBC opened a new, larger building on Howey Street.  The main floor was transferred to the Improvement District of Red Lake in 1957, and was used as a municipal office until 1996, when it was torn down and replaced by a new structure.  At one time, the Hudson's Bay Company had stores in every town in the district.  Today they are known as the Northern Stores, and operate mainly on Northern reserves.

Post managers were required to keep a Daily Journal of Events, recording fur trading and wildlife activity, significant events, and weather reports.  The following excerpts are from the Red Lake Post Annual Report for 1925-26. “Gold rush affected fur trade because Indians were engaged for portage and road cutting by the hundreds of prospectors going in to their hunting grounds.”

Above, Bob Alexander and Kenneth McDougall with customers at McDougall’s Store in Red Lake (1950).  A replica of McDougall’s Store now serves as the Red Lake Museum gift shop.

“Pine Ridge and Red Lake served by the Hudson transport, which is maintained by a gasoline tug and york boat service.  Goods all landed at Pine Ridge post and a canoe service over the lakes and portages used for Red Lake supplies.”

“... Indian trackers next used over this portage and the two following ones and canoes for the intermittent waters until the shores of Red Lake reached.”

Until the 1950s, trapping was the principal occupation of most Native people in the area.  Except for a small number of men who went to work in the gold mines of Red Lake and Pickle Lake, virtually every male over the age of sixteen was a licensed trapper. Over the last 20 years, the animal rights movement has nearly destroyed the fur industry, severing the very lifeline of many of the First Nations people in the region.  A lynx pelt that sold for $600 in the late 70s now sells for only $40.  Trapping today is more of a hobby than a way of making a living.

Patty Keesic demonstrates how to prepare a beaver pelt at the Red Lake Trapper’s Festival.