[glossary slug=’barter’]Bartering[/glossary] was very important for Indigenous people, particularly for the Algonquians, because it allowed them to obtain products they could not make themselves. The Algonquian people, who hunted and fished, exchanged skins, fur and meat with other nations who did not have any. In exchange, they received, especially from the Iroquoians, agricultural products such as corn, squash, beans and tobacco. For example, the Algonquin nation (which belongs to the Algonquian family) sometimes traded the dried fish it prepared from fishing in exchange for corn grown by the Huron nation (which belongs to the Iroquoian family).
Fairs !
Since the Algonquians travelled a lot, they did not see other bands very often. So they organized fairs where they went to meet with members of other nations and bands for a few days to exchange goods; in other words, to [glossary slug=’barter’]. This was a bit like going to the market.
Author: Alexandre Lanoix
Important concepts and big ideas:
[glossary slug=’adapttotheenvironment’]
[glossary slug=’barter’]
[glossary slug=’resources’]
[glossary slug=’subsistence’]
[glossary slug=’tradenetwork’]
