The resilience of the Babine: The economic and social relations of the Babine to 1830.

The Resilience of the Babine' argues that the arrival of the fur trade did not alter fundamentally the economic and social networks of the Babine before 1830. These conclusions are drawn through examining the relevant Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) archival materials which serve as the foundation for this research. Literature from anthropology, the cultural material found in the Delgamuukw court case, linguistics, and environmental science corroborate and provide context for the evidence found in the HBC journals. The conclusions reached run counter to the general scholarly trends regarding the impact of the fur trade on aboriginal networks and suggest the need for a significant re-evaluation of not only the history around Babine Lake, but of all interior regions where the indigenous inhabitants had access to coastal markets through trade networks. --P. ii.