Arthur J. Ray 
Indians in the Fur Trade [PDF ebook] 
Their Roles as Trappers, Hunters, and Middlemen in the Lands Southwest of Hudson Bay, 1660-1870

First published in 1974, this best-selling book was lauded by Choice as ‚an important, ground-breaking study of the Assiniboine and western Cree Indians who inhabited southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan‘ and ‚essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the Canadian west before 1870.‘ Indians in the Fur Trade makes extensive use of previously unpublished Hudson’s Bay Company archival materials and other available data to reconstruct the cultural geography of the West at the time of early contact, illustrating many of the rapid cultural transformations with maps and diagrams. Now with a new introduction and an update on sources, it will continue to be of great use to students and scholars of Native and Canadian history.