The Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route: A Community Perspective on Waterways and the Development of a Trans-Canada Heritage Route
A Cultural Context Part I 
Part II   Part III

Although this predominantly 'northern' landscape of rock and water may appear as a barrier to habitation and growth, in many ways Canada developed as a nation not despite her geography, but because of it (Innis, 1967, p. xiv). Innis's reference to the role of geography in the development of Canada reflects the tremendous physical scale of the country, and the importance of access and transportation provided by what canoeist and explorer J.W. Tyrell described as, "certainly one of the greatest glories of Canada... her God-given waterways" (1898, p.12).

Whether described as an expanding political empire from the St. Lawrence River, an unfolding western frontier, or a developing regional economy based around urban centres (Careless, 1954), the 'Canadian' historical story always leads back to the importance of the land, its resources and the meeting of the native inhabitants and newcomers from Europe.

In recounting a cultural history of Canada it is essential to acknowledge that the story of Canada is incomplete without a valid representation of pre-European culture and economy. The historic timing of the early occupation of Canada is less important than the acceptance of a long history of Native occupation which includes rich cultural traditions, a diverse and organized economy and a diversity of autonomous Nations, each with well-established ways of living ~ stretching from the Pacific and Arctic to the Atlantic coast (Lunn and Moore, 1992, p. 14). Trade was important in establishing and maintaining relations between Nations, and the success of such trade networks relied especially on the ability to adapt to the natural transportation network of rivers and lakes (Ray, 1974, p.30). C.E.S. Franks (1977), reflects on the great influence of the Canadian landscape in the shaping of North American culture. The canoe, developed by Canada's aboriginal inhabitants long before the arrival of Europeans, was the means by which individuals were able to travel through a varied and often harsh landscape. The waterways were (and are) a valuable resource both as a transportation corridor and as a rich source of food and sustenance.

When Europeans arrived in North America, the value of Native technologies and the importance of the inland waterways were quickly realized, and were utilized for what was seen as a collective good. One account of Jacques Cartier describes his first experience with the canoe at the Lachine Rapids, a point at which he could sail no further up the St. Lawrence, and even his best men in row boats could make little headway. Cartier, then was resigned to "swallow [his] pride and imitate 'les sauvages' in adapting to the demands of geography" (Lavender, 1977, p. 26) ~ his adaptation was the acceptance of the canoe as the best 'technology' for travelling the Canadian waterways. It is likely that Cartier's recognition of the value of the eastern-Natives as trading partners ~"partners in furs" (Francis and Morantz, 1983) ~ began an association which was to direct the future of Canada for several hundred years.

The era of the fur trade was one of the most culturally defining periods in North American history. Miller (1991, p. xi) describes the early exchange of furs for trade goods as cooperative and mutually beneficial, creating a largely positive relationship into the 19th century. Early trading between fisherman and coastal Natives was a natural sideline to fishing, with Natives offering the furs off their backs in barter for ironware, beads and other manufactured goods. With a rising fashion trend for beaver felt hats in Europe, these "greasy beaver" were a valuable commodity, as was a cooking pot for Natives who had been boiling water in birchbark with heated stones.

Cultural traits related to acquiring beaver pelts and trade goods were stressed within this new Native/European cultural mix (Innis, 1956), and a new 'common history' of a developing Canada was launched. Fur traders and voyageurs ~ the workhorses of the trade ~ adapted in many ways to the Native way of thinking and most certainly to the Native modes of travel.

The active participation by Natives in various aspects of the fur trade encouraged profound changes in both European and Native cultures (Short and Neering, 1992, p. xi) which grew into an inter-dependence based around the trade of goods and European desire to find a passage across the continent. Miller (1989, p. 20), points out that it is a wonder that early contact through the fur trade was as cooperative as it was, as the newcomers and the Indians came from well established societies with clearly different political and cultural identities and vastly different lifestyles. Despite such differences, the trade in furs flourished through the 17th and 18th centuries, leaving its mark on Canadian cultural identity.

Without the fur trade there would have been no stimulus of competition to search out new fur lands, and without the profits to underwrite the voyages there would have bee no means to carry out the search. Most important of all, without the Indian, the canoe, maize and other products of indigenous society, none of the great exploratory trips would have got much further than Lachine (Miller, 1989 p.43).