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Ancient Traders in Southern Manitoba

Ancient Traders in Southern Manitoba is a Manitoba Heritage Council commemoration in Melita, Manitoba.

Manitoba · 41 Ash Street, Melita · location approximate

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Native peoples of Manitoba established and used wide-ranging trade networks thousands of years before the arrival of European fur traders. Bands and trading parties brought goods over immense distances for exchange at a trade fair or rendezvous. A wide variety of goods, including ornaments and ritual objects made of special seashells such as dentalium from the Pacific Ocean and conch from the Gulf of Mexico, were exchanged in this area. Obsidian (volcanic glass), which produces the sharpest cutting edge ever known, came from Wyoming. Copper from Lake Superior, Knife River Flint from North Dakota, and catlinite (red pipestone) from southern Minnesota were also traded. Artifacts made from these rare materials were valuable economically and their exchange promoted social and political ties among neighbouring populations.

Français

Certains peuples autochtones du Manitoba ont établi et utilisé d'importants réseaux commerciaux plusieurs d'années avant l'arrivée des commerçants de fourrures européens. Des bandes et des petits groupes parcouraient d'immenses distances pour échanger des marchandises aux rendez-vous. Une grande variété de marchandises, y compris des ornements et des objets rituels fabriqués avec des coquillages spéciaux tels que le dentale, provenant de l'océan Pacifique, et la conque, du golfe du Mexique, ont été échangées dans cette région. L'obsidienne (verre de lave), avec lequel on obtient le tranchant le plus aigu qui soit, provenait du Wyoming. Ont été également échanges le cuivre provenant du lac Supérieur, le silex de la rivière Knife au Dakota du Nord et le catlinite (pierre de pipe rouge) du sud du Minnesota. Les objets fabriqués avec ces matériaux rares avaient une grande valeur économique et leur échange favorisait l'établissement de liens sociaux et politiques entre les populations voisines.

This is the Manitoba Heritage Council’s text as the Historic Resources Branch publishes it. The Branch calls these plaque inscriptions and says they reflect the time they were written; TreeAlive has not compared them with the plaques themselves, so a plaque may read differently. The Branch’s plaque list ↗

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Plaque text and location: Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques, Historic Resources Branch, Government of Manitoba, as the Branch publishes them on its plaque pages. The text is the Manitoba Heritage Council’s text as the Branch publishes it; the pin on this page is ours, worked out from the location the Branch gives and marked approximate. Contains information from the Government of Manitoba, licensed under the OpenMB Information and Data Use License (Manitoba.ca/OpenMB)
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