Marriage à la façon du pays
Marriage à la façon du pays refers to the practice of common-law marriage between European fur traders and aboriginal or Métis women in the North American fur trade. The practice persisted from the early 17th century until the late 19th century. It has been suggested that it fell out of practice due to increasing pressures of Catholic ideology and a growing population of non-indigenous women including the new generation of "mixed-breed" daughters who eventually replaced their native mothers as fur traders' wives. Rituals surrounding the marriages were based on a mix of European and, predominantly, Indigenous customs.
The presence of women in the factories of what is now Canada had been banned by the Hudson's Bay Company as early as 1683. Intermarriage was common from the start of the fur trade and by 1739 the company overturned its ban. The practice was both a social and a political institution, securing trade relations between Europeans and aboriginals, just as intermarriage between tribes was a political instrument of the aboriginals themselves.
Women played several important roles in the Canadian fur trade. Indigenous women assisted with the survival and care of the fur traders who overwintered in North America. Europeans were less experienced with the vegetation, wildlife, and seasonal rhythms of North America, so they often relied heavily on the indigenous people for their survival. These marriages often came with the expectation that they would secure trade between the woman's relations and the trader and in times of need, would provide mutual aid. Sometimes, it may also have been the hope of the woman's family that the trader's generosity would increase after the marriage. The marriages between these two groups led to the creation of people referred to as Métis. One writer referred to them as the offspring of the fur trade. For the fur traders, indigenous women provided intimacy and companionship, as well as playing an economic role in the relationship by producing foods, including pemmican, and suitable winter clothing for the trader's survival.
Pre-contact Indigenous women
Before contact, Indigenous infant mortality rates were like infant mortality rates for pre-contact Europeans, and the overall mortality rate for both cultures was comparable. The difference was that Indigenous women breastfed longer than mothers in other parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Africa, because Indigenous people in North America did not have domesticated animals from which they could get milk for their children. So although the Indigenous population had similar mortality rates, they had lower pregnancy rates.The fur trade
The North American fur trade began in the seventeenth century when European and Aboriginal people began meeting at the St. Lawrence River to trade goods. The Europeans were mainly interested in buying furs for the luxury fur and felt market in Europe. Beaver pelts for use in millinery were particularly sought after. Aboriginal people knew the best places and methods for trapping, and therefore became valuable procurers for the Europeans. Because European traders did not know the Canadian landscape and climate, they needed Aboriginal assistance to survive. In contrast, Aboriginal people were interested in European goods that they previously had no access to, such as metal pots and utensils. As trade continued, the Ojibwe people would act as middlemen for the traders, bringing goods into the western interior to trade with the Cree and Assiniboine, and bringing furs back to the Europeans. As the trade progressed into the eighteenth century, the Cree and Assiniboine people would start becoming middlemen themselves, increasing their participation in the trade. As more Aboriginal people became involved in the trade, it became apparent that personal relationships were becoming an important aspect of the process. Fostering relationships was valuable for securing trade access and loyalty between Native groups and European traders. Some historians even believe that this is what caused the great success of the fur trade. For example, Brenda Macdougall writes that Aboriginal people refused to trade only for economic reasons, illuminating how personal relationships were pivotal for the success of the fur trade.Aboriginal women in the fur trade
Aboriginal women were also starting to foster important bonds with the traders at the same time the men were. Women's labour produced various goods that would become very important for the traders. These goods included wild rice, maple sugar, and woven mats. The women's production of food would become increasingly important to the traders when trade locations shifted to Native villages. Traders would have to depend on the food supply obtained from Aboriginal women for survival. For example, traders living in Ojibwe villages would consume a large amount of rice during their stays. Additionally, women were able to take part in the trade of goods that Aboriginal men and women made together. Ojibwe women contributed by making canoes used to take part in the trades. The trade of canoes allowed the Aboriginal women to obtain a wide range of goods for themselves. Since many Aboriginal women were also in charge of processing the furs that the men brought back, this gave the women a great deal of authority in the trading of the final product. Because of this division of labour, the fur trade consisted of multiple interwoven relationships between Aboriginal men, Aboriginal women, and male European traders. Moreover, these relationships illuminate that Aboriginal women had some forms of agency and control from the beginning of the fur trade.The different relationships between the Aboriginal people and the traders highlight how the trade became interdependent. Both Europeans and Aboriginal people would become reliant on each other to sustain the fur trade and their way of life. Many scholars have contemplated whether or not these relationships of interdependency were positive for everyone involved. For example, Mary C. Wright believes that while Aboriginal women were an important contributor to the success of the fur trade, their informal relationships with European men ultimately remained unrecognized and therefore left them with no more power than they had before the trade had begun. In contrast, Sylvia Van Kirk believes that even though the benefits that Aboriginal women gained were questionable, they were ultimately able to secure certain advantages for themselves through marriage. Despite historians questioning their power relationships within the fur trade, it is ultimately apparent that Aboriginal women were active participants in fur trade society.
The domestic roles played by Indigenous women
In fur-trade society, there was a severe imbalance of genders. Only men were permitted to travel overseas from Europe to North America because the frontier was not seen as safe for "civilized" women. This meant that there were many more men than women, and the available women were Indigenous. The fur traders who came to Canada were away from home for years, leaving them longing for a life that felt like home. Marriage a la façon du pays meant that European fur traders would marry Indigenous women, more by Indigenous customs than European because Catholic priests would not agree to such a union. These marriages were taken seriously by the fur traders and the Indigenous families even though they were not a legal agreement according to the Church. European suitors were required to pay a bride price to her family. Often the agreement was a horse for a wife. One account from a trader was that he was required to pay her family 15 guns and 15 blankets as well as other items in order to take his brideAt first, the Hudson's Bay Company forbade their men from marrying or having sexual relations with Indigenous women. There were HBC men that defied those orders and married anyway. Soon the HBC realized that there were advantages to having marriage ties to the First Nations people in the area.
The North West Company was a little more forward-thinking than HBC and encouraged marriages between their officers and Indigenous women. For the fur traders who were away from their home for many years at a time, having a relationship with a woman made life more bearable. To add to that, having children in the house-made things even better. A fur trader who had a wife to look after the house when he is away and to prepare meals and mend clothing would be better off than a trader who is alone to do all the work on his own. There would be more mouths to feed but living with a family would have been healthier than living in isolation. Life was more bearable when the trader had someone to share it with.
Indigenous women who married fur traders tended to have more children than those who married tribally. Traditionally, Indigenous women would have a child every three to four years. This could be attributed to the length of time women breastfed, which somewhat inhibited ovulation. An Indigenous woman who lived with her tribe may have had about four children from 18 to 30 years old. However, a woman who married a fur trader would have had a significantly higher number of births. A woman who married a fur trader at age 18 may have had seven or more children by the time she was 30. This could be attributed to her husband's expectations and a different diet than her tribally wed peers. Many tribes made annual migrations, especially Plains tribes. Whether a woman lived as a settler or lived a migratory life would impact the number of children she had. Traditionally women co-mothered their children, but an Indigenous woman who married a fur trader was likely to have raised children on her own, which also adds to the workload of parenting.
When a fur trader married an Indigenous woman, he gained sexual and domestic rights to her in exchange for her family receiving rights to the trading posts and to other provisions brought from Europe. It was a reciprocal relationship that benefited both sides. The woman would have benefitted economically by having first access to certain goods such as tools, glass beads, sewing needles, and knives. Having access to European tools meant a lighter workload for the Indigenous people. For example, copper pots and pans lasted longer than clay and were lighter to carry, changing how women worked. A benefit to the fur trader was that his wife's family would reliably return to trade with him. Also, he benefited from having a companion with whom he could share work and leisure time. Intermarriage between traders and First Nations women was encouraged because it helped the fur trade industry grow.