The fur trade influenced the historical development of Canada in a number of ways including: the development and expansion into western and northern Canada; the significance of Canadian place names; the origin and rise of the Métis Nation; the impact of interaction between the First Peoples and the Europeans-and these connections can be found in personal and commercial stories about the people and events of the fur trade.
John Tanner
b. c. 1780 - d. c.1846
Hunter, Guide & Narrator
Tanner was kidnapped in Kentucky by Ojibwes at the age of nine and then sold to an Ottawa woman who brought him to Red River. His native name is Shaw-shaw-wabe-nase, and in English they would call him "The Falcon." Dr. Edwin James wrote down the stories John Tanner told about his life.
Other
Related Material
Read more excerpts from Tanner's autobiography - enter 'Tanner' in the search box to your left.
Check the Beaver Index - e.g., Captors and Their Captives, by J Maurice Hodgson, Spring 1971.
Check your local or school library for Tanner's autobiography entitled, The Falcon.
