Criticism of Thistle (1986) for Future Consideration

From Thistle (2007: 75).

This is the third in a series of blog posts aimed at advancing the historiography of trade relations between the Western Woods Cree & Hudson’s Bay Company & other traders in the above study area from contact up to 1840—a date selected because it was the time when the exclusive fur trade contact period ended in the region with the commencement of missionary activity.

For many years, the your blogger has been a member of the Centre for Rupert’s Land Studies (CRLS) at the University of Winnipeg, located a rather short walk from the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives at the Provincial Archives of Manitoba in Winnipeg. In the Spring 2019 edition of the CRLS Newsletter, I noted a comment on one of my  publications addressing the above subject.

It was made by the highly respected historian Dr. Robert Coutts whose bio in The Canadian Encyclopedia (2021) by Historica Canada includes the following:

Robert Coutts worked as a historian with Parks Canada for over 30 years. He has a doctorate in history from the University of Manitoba and is currently a research scholar at the University of Winnipeg. Robert has authored or co-authored three books, including (with Flora Beardy) Voices from Hudson Bay: Cree Stories from York Factory, as well as numerous articles on western Canadian history. He is editor of the journal Manitoba History.

Reporting on the results of the “Six Seasons of the Asiniskow Ithiniwak: Reclamation,
Regeneration, and Reconciliation” project a brief overview of the existing published literature that deals with the early history of the Rocky Cree people of what is now northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan,” Dr. Coutts (2019: 13 [PDF p. 2]) states the following opinion on my book Indian-European Trade Relations in the Lower Saskatchewan River Region to 1840 (Thistle 1986):

. . . The advent of the fur trade enhanced the middleman role of western Hudson Bay subarctic groups. Historian Paul Thistle refers to this period as the era of “symbiotic” relations between Indigenous peoples and Europeans, suggesting a mutually beneficial arrangement between the two cultures.14 (How long this symbiotic culture existed, or whether it existed at all, is debatable.)15

[Footnote] 15. Certainly Thistle’s date of 1840 is too late for his argument that the fur trade was mutually beneficial. Indigenous Peoples like the Rocky Cree were brought into a larger capitalist system of exchange that was less than “symbiotic” and ultimately resulted in exploitation and resource depletion [emphasis added].

Readers are encouraged to read the entire article for context—or at least the “Seasonal Life and Trade” section in Coutts (2019: 15-17 [PDF pp. 4-6]).

My note on the above quote that I posted on my marked-up copy of the CRLS Newsletter has been highlighted at footnote 15. in Coutts (2019: 16 [PDF p. 5].  It reads as follows:

Dr. Coutts: On what specific grounds? Thistle (1986) brings a rather high number of Cumberland House journal quotations & secondary sources to bear on this question right up to 1840. Which ones are not applicable or misinterpreted &, if so, how? Also please refer to the definition of “symbiotic” in Thistle 1983: 72): “Symbiosis” i) non-hierarchical, ii) ecological interdependence, iii) separate political organisation, iv) exchange relations between separate ethnic groups (Van den Berghe 1981: 41; Van den Berghe 1970: ix-x, 11-12).

This sociological definition used for the term “symbiosis” is found in Thistle (1983: 72) located in the slide show in Thistle (2021b) most easily accessed at the first slide by clicking the left arrow. Any readers who may be interested in seeing my full mark-up & commentary on the entire Coutts (2019) article may request it by using the Contact function on the top ribbon here.

Next Step:

The following post here will set out a detailed challenge to the above quoted comment. I will be introducing various specific questions & soliciting evidence with citations along with related reasoning from scholars, history students, or any other interested parties who are able to contradict my findings outlined in Thistle (1986) & Thistle (1983)—this in order to advance the historiography of the study region & specific period.

Those who have not yet done so are encouraged to read the 2 previous posts here (Thistle 2021a; Thistle 2021b). Stay tuned for the upcoming challenge to provide actual evidence that may support the above critique of Thistle (1986).

References Cited:

Coutts,Robert. 2019. “The Six Seasons of the Asiniskow Ithiniwak: A Preliminary Survey of Published Historical Sources.” The Rupert’s Land Newsletter, No. 42, Spring 2019, pp. 13-18 [PDF pp. 2-7] at Coutts Rocky Cree CRLS Spring 2019 Excerpt .

Thistle, Paul C. 2021a. “Initial Response to Unsupported Critique of Indian-European Trade Relations (Thistle 1986).” Saskatchewan River Region Indian-European Trade Relations blog posted  October 4, 2021 at https://indianeuropeantraderelations.wordpress.com/2021/10/04/initial-response-to-unsupported-critique-of-indian-european-trade-relations-thistle-1986/ .

Thistle, Paul C. 2021b. “Access to Original Thesis (Thistle 1983) re Indian-European Trade Relations Book (Thistle 1986).” Saskatchewan River Region Indian-European Trade Relations blog  posted October 8, 2021 at https://indianeuropeantraderelations.wordpress.com/2021/10/08/access-to-original-thesis-thistle-1983-re-indian-european-trade-relations-book-thistle-1986/.

Thistle, Paul C. 2007. “The Twatt Family, 1780-1840: Amerindian, Ethnic Category, or Ethnic Group Identity?”  In The Western Metis: Profile of a People.  Patrick C. Douad ed.  Regina: University of Regina & Canadian Plains Research Center [reprint of author’s 1997 Prairie Forum 22 (2): 193-212 article. In Douad, it appears with contributions from several eminent scholars in the field of Metis history & has been cited as “Perhaps for Métis researchers, the most interesting articles are those …by …and Paul C. Thistle” (New Breed Winter 2008: 24).]  at http://ourspace.uregina.ca/bitstream/10294/24/46/metis_whole.pdf  or http://books.google.ca/books?id=4rFxv-jyuS0C&pg=PA286&lpg=PA286&dq=paul+c.+thistle&source=bl&ots=FDRye-fun_&sig=6I-sJOxrKNP51HbGSYz5y2JAvK8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sRLhU5epFMySyASc3ICYBQ&ved=0CF8Q6AEwDw#v=onepage&q=paul%20c.%20thistle&f=false .

Thistle, Paul C. 1986. Indian-European Trade Relations in the Lower Saskatchewan River Region to 1840. Manitoba Studies in Native History II.  Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press https://indianeuropeantraderelations.wordpress.com/ .^[1]

^[1] This book was awarded the 1988 Regional History Prize by the Canadian Historical Association being cited as “an exemplary ethnohistorical study that should serve as a model for others” and the 1987 Margaret McWilliams Medal for Scholarly Book by the Manitoba Historical Society stating it “demonstrated a mastery of the literature.” http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mcwilliams/index.shtml#1987 . Review by Jacqueline  Peterson can be found at  http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/51/v51i07p281-288.pdf .

Thistle, Paul C. 1983. “Indian-Trader Relations: An Ethnohistory of Western Woods Cree Contact with Hudson’s Bay Company Traders in the Cumberland House-The Pas Region to 1840.”  Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Interdisciplinary Masters Thesis^[1] [freely available at http://hdl.handle.net/1993/29921 OR https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1993/29921/Thistle_Indian-trader.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y .

^[1] This Masters thesis received the 1983 Interdisciplinary Approach to History Award from the University of Manitoba.

Van den Berghe, P.L. 1981. The Ethnic Phenomenon. New York: Elsevier North Holland lnc.

Van den Berghe, P.L. 1970. Race and Ethnicity: Essays in Comparative Sociology. New York: Basic Books.