Part 2: In a Nutshell
- The Hudson’s Bay Company of Great Britain and the North West Company of France were the leading fur trading companies in Canada.
- The Canadian fur trading companies extended south along the Red River into North Dakota.
- Charles Chaboillez started the first trading post in North Dakota.
- Alexander Henry started the first permanent trading post in North Dakota, Fort Pembina.
- Mrs. Pierre Bonza gave birth to the first non-Indian child in North Dakota.
- Alexander Henry was the first non-Indian to farm in North Dakota.
- Alexander Henry had the first library in North Dakota.
- Alexander Henry enjoyed eating water plants called “cattails.”
- Furs were divided into two classes—fine furs and rough furs.
- John Fubbister was really Isobel Gunn.
- The first European settlement in North Dakota that included women and children was the Selkirk Colony at Pembina.
- The Earl of Selkirk brought displaced Scottish people to the Red River Valley to farm.
- An 1818 treaty between the United States and Great Britain set the U.S.-Canadian boundary line at the 49th parallel.
- In 1823, Major Stephen Long led a survey party that located the 49th parallel which proved that Pembina was in the United States, not in Canada.
- The Hudson’s Bay Company and the Selkirkers moved from Pembina into Canada after the border was located.
- The American Fur Company, established by John Jacob Astor, set up at Pembina after the Hudson’s Bay Company left North Dakota.
- A child who has an Indian and a white parent is called Métis.
- The Métis lifestyle blended parts of both the Indian and European cultures.
- By the 1820s, the Métis made up most of the population of the Red River Valley.
- The Red River was a water highway used by the fur trading companies in the Pembina area.
- The Red River cart, pulled by a horse or an ox, was invented by the Métis.
- Red River carts became the primary means of transportation for the fur trading companies.
- Joe Rolette, a Métis, was the first person to organize Red River cart caravans between Pembina and St. Paul.
- Red River carts trails ran between Fort Garry (Winnipeg) and St. Paul.
- Norman Kittson established the first post office in North Dakota.
- The first school in North Dakota was taught by a priest in his home at Pembina in 1818.
- Father George Belcourt and Norman Kittson established a new settlement at St. Joseph (Walhalla), 30 miles west of Pembina.
- Kittson’s trading post is the oldest building in North Dakota.
- Father Belcourt established the first flour mill in North Dakota.
- Reverend Barnard of Pembina brought the first printing press to North Dakota.
- Charles Cavaleer established the first permanent non-Indian agricultural colony in North Dakota.
- Cavalier County and the city of Cavalier were named after Charles Cavaleer.
- Pierre Bottineau was a Métis who was called “The Walking Peace Pipe” because he worked at keeping peace between the settlers and the Indian tribes.
- Bottineau mapped the townsite for Wahpeton.
- Bottineau County and the city of Bottineau were named after Pierre Bottineau.
- The Anson Northrup, piloted by Anson Northrup, was the first steamboat to travel on the Red River.