The Métis were the children born of "fur trade marriages" between
Indian women and the employees of the fur trading companies, in
particular the French-Canadian voyageurs. Their place in both
the society and the economy tied to the fur trade at the turn
of the 19th century was unique. At first scattered around trading
posts and across the plains, Métis families gradually founded
more, and more stable, communities in the the frontier country
of Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana, as well as in the southern
part of what would become Manitoba. The Métis primarily hunted
bison for their basic needs, but they also worked as trappers,
guides, interpreters and warehousemen for the fur companies. Some
of the heads of Métis families aspired to becoming independent
merchants, both "free" and prosperous.
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