An Indian Traveling with his Family in Winter, ca. 1825.
Much of what is known of the material aspects of Indian culture in the early nineteenth century comes from contemporary illustrators such as the Swiss artist Peter Rindisbacher (1806-1834), the son of a Selkirk colonist. Rindisbacher recorded a variety of scenes detailing aspects of Indian, European and MÄtis lifestyles in the Lake Winnipeg region in the 1820s. This lithograph shows a "Souteaux" Indian (Saulteaux, a name given to Ojibwa in what is today Western Canada) travelling with snowshoes and using dogs to pull a toboggan of supplies and furs. Additional furs for trade are carried. The youngest member of the party carries a bow, still used for small game and birds. The leader carries a valuable trade gun protected by a decorated leather gun case. Their clothing is a mixture of native and trade materials. Fur robes and the Hudson's Bay blanket worn by the youngest member of the group ward off the winter cold.
Courtesy: Picture Division, Public Archives of Canada (C-40820)
