When Skins Were Money: A History of the Fur Trade by James A. Hanson

Abstract

lustr?tes the frequent confusion resultingfrom "loan translations," "folk-etymologies," "terms associated with American Indian culture and history,""invertedwords," and "bogus words" (pp. 5-15). In so doing, he brings clarity into a vastly confusing situation inwhich, until now, ithas been virtually impossible to determine thevalidity of local assertions by non-Indians as towhether place-names are American Indian inderivation. Although therearemany place-names omit tedfrom Bright's extensive inventory,it is clear thathis work represents amajor step forward. Not only has he compiled a very lengthy list of such place-names, but he has also relied on thebest experts in thefield ofAmerican Indian linguistic scholars. This reliance on the best experts isan essential requirement foraccuracy thathas eludedmost of theamateurish attempts seen inmany local and regional place-name inventories. Although Bright's compilation isorganized alphabetically, for easy referenceuse, it could also have been organized geographically by region.Regional maps with locations of place names would enable teachers, students, and researchers to more easily locate place-names within specific regions. It should also be noted that this inventory of place-names does not obviate theneed to compile local tribalplace names thathave not been entered into thegnis. I am particularly struck by the very detailed geographical place-names typically used by tribalgroups in the western U.S. andAlaska and how thatcontinuing use preserves theiridentity and connections with traditional homelands. Of course, this taskwill require amuch larger multi-cultural study than Bright's inventory. For example, his inventoryprovides less than a dozen places for theNez Perce, with whom I am familiar. My own listofNez Perce place-names ex tends to more than twohundred, and this isan incomplete listing. My reason fornoting this is that non-Indian readers of this inventory should understand that only a small percent age of American Indian place-names have ever become U.S. place-names. Nevertheless, this inventory is a sobering, concrete reminder for most readers of theoriginal Indian occupation and ownership of theU.S. now dominated by Euro-Americans and others. Further, it will be a valuable reference work for teachers, students, authors, scholars, and laymen interested in the American Indian heritage of theUnited States. DEWARD E.WALKER University ofColorado, Boulder WHEN SKINS WEREMONEY: A HISTORY OF THE FUR TRADE by James A. Hanson Museum of the Fur Trade, Chadron, Nebraska, 2005. Illustrations, maps, bibliography, index. 228 pages. $34.95 cloth, $24.95 paper. FROM THE OUTSET, JamesA. Hanson writes as though on amission to set therecord straight and to purge fur-tradehistory ofwhat he be lieves aremyths and criticisms thathave ma ligned it.Inhis introduction,Hanson identifies theculpritsas academics from past generations, such asW. J. Eccles, who blame fur traders for thedegradation of aboriginal culture aswell as modern anthropologists and historians more interested in"political correctness" than in rec ognizing the realityof furtraders' experiences. Hanson s real target, however, becomes evident intheepilogue,where he assails peta (People for theEthical Treatment ofAnimals) and similar organizations. In characterizing the ideology of peta and the animal rights movement, Hanson attributes to them extreme positions, such as arguing that the lives of rats and humans are of equal value and "the practice of bestiality is acceptable if the animal is not physically injured" (p. 191). He then assumes theperspective of the In ternationalFurTrade Federation as his own and presentswhat he considers a reasoned antidote to the fanaticism of peta and its ecoterrorist cohorts such as theEarth Liberation Front (elf ) and the Animal Liberation Front (alf ). In short, 146 OHQ vol. 107, no. 1 When SkinswereMoney isa polemical treatise packaged as a popular history of the furtrade. Having said this, it must be candidly stated that JamesHanson is a capable and colorful writer.According to information provided on the back cover, he has written fifteenbooks, serves as editor of the Museum of theFur Trade Quarterly, and has held appointments with the Smithsonian Institutionand the Nebraska State Historical Society.His knowledge of theNorth American furtrade isbroad. Inbetween intro duction and epilogue are twenty-one chapters covering his understanding of the fur trade from aboriginal pre-contact trading patterns tomodern furfarms.There are few who would have theknowledge or thepresumption to cover such a broad range of topics under a single cover.Each...