French cartographer Nicolas Sanson prints the first map showing all five Great Lakes in the 1600s, though Minnesota is not yet included. French explorers Radisson and Groseilliers reach Lake Superior's south shore by canoe in the 1650s and meet Dakota Indians. Fur traders interacted with Dakota and Ojibwe Indians in Minnesota for hundreds of years, trading European goods for beaver and other furs.

2. 
French cartographer (map maker) Nicolas Sanson
prints the first map to show all five Great
Lakes….but Minnesota does not appear on the
map.

3. 
The French explorer Radisson and Groseilliers
reach the south shore of Lake Superior by canoe.
They meet the Dakota Indians.

4. Explorers and voyageurs meet the Dakota and Ojibwe
Indians who have been living in Minnesota for hundreds
of years. The explorers and voyageurs trap and trade for
furs from the Native Americans.

5. The Native Americans brought
furs of many kinds to trade,
beaver being the most
valuable. All other furs and
goods were valued in beaver
skins. Other furs brought in
were fisher, otter, mink, bear,
deer, fox, muskrat, badger,
raccoon, rabbit and even
skunk!

6. European traders brought many things the Native Americans
desired. Things such as, metal cookware, wool blankets,
traps, metal axes, files, knives, silver jewelry, glass beads,
cotton calico cloth, flint and steel, muskets, shot and powder.
Some of the trade goods caused problems for the Native
Americans such as, tobacco, and alcohol.

7. 
Claude Allouez publishes a map of his journeys in
what is now Minnesota. He was a Catholic priest.

8. 1675 Daniel Greysolon du Luth
French soldier and explorer who was responsible for
helping the French get control over the country north
and west of Lake Superior. The city of Duluth, Minn.,
was named for him.

10. Pierre-Esprit Radisson
Médard Chouart
Sieur Des Groseilliers
•Established trading routes that led to
the creation of the Hudson's Bay
Company.
•They were the first Europeans to
extensively explore the forests of the
North.
•The first to explore the upper part of
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

11. The fur trade was one of the
earliest and most important
industries in North America.
The fur trade began in the
1500's as an exchange
between Indians and
Europeans.
The fur trading industry
played a major role in the
development of the United
States and Canada for
more than 300 years.

12. The Indians traded furs for
such goods as tools and
weapons.
Beaver fur, which was used
in Europe to make felt hats,
became the most valuable of
these furs.
The fur trade prospered until
the mid-1800's, when furbearing animals became
scarce and silk hats became
more popular than felt hats
made with beaver.

14. The fur trade began
because of men’s
fashions in Europe.
Men were wearing
top hats made of
beaver fur. These
hats cost the average
worker 6 months of
their wages, so only
the rich purchased
new beaver top hats.

16. There were 3 main sizes of canoes used in the fur
trade. The smallest was called the Ojibway canoe.
It was 10 to 12 feet long, paddled by 1 or 2 people
and used on small lakes and rivers.
The most common canoe was the North Canoe. It
was 24 to 36 feet long and was used on larger
lakes and rivers, had between 6 to 10 paddlers and
could handle 3000 lbs. of cargo.
The Montreal canoe was used on the Great Lakes.
It was 36 to 48 ft long, carried 5000 lbs. of cargo. If
empty it could have up to 20 people on board.

18. • Beaver pelts were very perishable and need to be
treated quickly to prevent decay.
• Indian women prepared the pelts in several steps.

19. 1: They washed the pelts
to remove dirt and blood.
2: They scraped the
flesh and fat off the pelts
with a bone or metal
flesher.
3: Next the women
stretched and dried the
pelts by tying them on
willow hoops.

20. Fur trade clerk Michel Curot builds a fur post near
the St. Croix River. Minnesota’s fur trade booms.

21. By 1840 there were several issues that lead to end
of the fur trade.
1.Settlers were moving into Minnesota and forcing
out the fur gathering Native Americans.
2.The
number of fur bearing animals was going
down.
3.There
was a change in fashion. Men’s top hats
were now being made of silk.