Highlights Archives
New Exhibit Offers Window to the Fur Trade Era
In 1986 the Wisconsin Historical Museum opened People of the Woodlands to the public. This second-floor exhibit explores the rich history and diversity of Native Nations in Wisconsin. In one of its many efforts to update the exhibit, the museum decided to broaden the content of People of the Woodlands. Museum staff researched, designed, and built a Fur Trade Post display to better interpret the complex relationship between Native Nations and new European arrivals, particularly French and British traders.
Recently the Wisconsin Historical Museum received a grant from the Evjue Foundation, the charitable arm of The Capital Times, to renovate the Era of Exchange: Trade and Treaties section of the People of the Woodlands exhibition. In December 2007 the Wisconsin Historical Museum unveiled its replica Fur Trade Post.
This addition helps visitors understand the basic concepts of trade and explores the notion of trading without money. Portrayed in the gallery are various players in this complex economic structure such as a voyageur, trading post manager, and Native Americans. When visiting the Fur Trade Post, guests will be able to see the various goods the Europeans brought to the Great Lakes and the furs and foods the Native People brought to trade for them.
The Fur Trade Post engages visitors, both young and old, and facilitates intergenerational learning. On select dates, families can interact with museum staff and try their hand at trading or exchanging goods from Wisconsin's past and discover why they were important. Costumed interpreters will be on hand Saturday, January 12,
and during the Madison Winter Festival February 2-3.
An unstaffed Fur Trade Post will be available to visitors during all regular museum hours.
:: Posted January 7, 2008
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