CHANGING TIMES: THE HISTORIC PERIOD
In old days women did a lot of beadwork. Used Hudson’s Bay beads, porcupine quills, dyes from plants like blueberries, cranberries. At this time our people adopted new materials used to adorn clothing including stroud, velvet, thread, metal needles and other metal trinkets, as well as a variety of glass beads. Seed Mary McLeod, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in beads became very popular among Archives women decorating clothing. Older seed beads were smaller than those used today and came in many different colours. It has been reported that In those days, the girls were taught Traders attempted to order in specific to sew and if it was not done propcolours at the request of First Nations erly, then it was the mother’s duty to take the sewing apart and get the HBC Traders moved into present-day women. girl to redo it again until she thought Yukon in the mid-1800s establishing posts at Fort Yukon and Fort Selkirk, it was acceptable. This is what they did to them in order for them not to among others. Our people would travel to these posts to trade furs for sew lazily and to do the job right. European goods including beads and other sewing materials. In 1874 the Mary Vittrekwa published in first trading post in our traditional Thompson 1994 territory was established at Fort Reliance, 10 kms downriver from Dawson City.
Photo: Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Archives.
In the mid-1800s the Hudson’s Bay Company moved into the Territory and introduced a variety of glass beads including seed beads which remain common today. The presence of HBC Traders brought many changes to Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in including the introduction of new materials, styles, and economic opportunities, all of which are reflected in the clothing from the historic period.