The woman who married a beaver: Trade patterns and gender roles in the Ojibwa fur trade

The Southwestern Ojibwa (Anishinaabeg) participated in the fur trade from t he seventeenth century until recent times, trading animal skins and other i tems to obtain a variety of European goods that they valued. Many descripti ons of the fur trade suggest that it consisted of fur-merchandise exchanges between European men and native men, with women playing a largely subsidia ry role. In fact, trade among the Ojibwa was never exclusively a trade of f urs for merchandise, nor was direct trade the only form of transaction betw een the Ojibwa and fur traders. Men were the major participants in trade ce remonies and were recipients of credit from traders-the means through which most furs were exchanged. Given the flexibility of Ojibwa gender roles, wo men sometimes participated in these trade transactions. However, the major role of women in the trade was as suppliers of food and supplies, commoditi es that were exchanged in barter transactions. These other commodities prov ided women with many opportunities to participate in the trade. Women also exerted control over the trade as marriage partners for traders. All these roles for women in the trade were reflective of Ojibwa belief that women's roles were ultimately shaped by spiritual power rather than any gender cate gory based solely on a rigid division of labor.