The Hudson’s Bay Company is on its way to being lost to the history books. In March, the company filed for creditor protection, which forced it to liquidate all its outlets across the country except for six key stores in major cities – including the historic flagship location on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto.
As an Indigenous person who grew up in the shadow of this all-consuming company in my community of Attawapiskat, I am happy to see it disappear from the landscape. To many Canadians, the HBC conjures up nostalgic images of Hudson’s Bay blankets, Canadian store fronts and an historic name that occupied the history of Canada since before the country was even founded. My people only saw this company as a black hole that drained any wealth we may have had in the North.
The Bay was founded in 1670 as a trading company monopoly to gather valuable furs from Indigenous people over an expansive territory. Incorporated under a royal charter by King Charles II of England, it grew enormously wealthy by buying furs from Indigenous people for a pittance and then selling them in Europe at a huge mark up.
The company’s first trading post was founded in 1668 at Rupert House, which is today known as Waskaganish. Later came Moose Factory in 1673 and Fort Albany in 1679. From the start, the James Bay Cree were the first to be exploited by this company.
My ancestors harvested furs from the land, which was a monumental challenge that required years of training, skill and knowledge to find the animals, harvest them and carefully process their pelts. It would take months to gather enough furs to trade for small amounts of flour, lard, sugar and tea, along with blankets, clothing and metal tools. It took loads more furs to trade for a firearm.
I grew up watching my parents deal with the local HBC trading post in our community. In the early 1980s, I watched dad trade the last of his furs with the HBC. I can still remember entering that store and walking towards the rear to the manager’s desk which sat on a raised platform inside a booth. Dad would have to talk through a small divider window to negotiate a price for the furs with the manager.
Even as a child, I knew it was difficult for my father because English was his second language. It wasn’t easy for him to deal with a fast-talking highly trained salesman about how much a set of furs should cost. A staircase led up to the entry of the platform and a second set was for the exit. Every time I went there with my parents, there was always a line of trappers waiting their turn along with women coming to negotiate their debts with the only company in town.
When I think of it now, there was incredible wealth extracted from our communities and our people from the imbalanced fur trade and from the monopoly of having the only grocery and supply store in town. People always seemed to be in debt to Hudson’s Bay.
The company store in Attawapiskat transitioned to The North West Company in the early 1990s. Furs were no longer traded but the monopoly on food, hardware items and supplies remained.
Even though other, smaller grocery stores developed over the years, the North West Company store was the main grocer for the community. I am proud of my family members who recently opened a grocery, convenience store and gas station for the people of Attawapiskat.
The fading of HBC reminds me of the lesson that my Elders always taught us about how to see the land, the people and life in general. No matter what business or development may take place on Indigenous lands, companies don’t last and projects don’t endure forever. The only thing that stays constant is the land, the waterways, the creatures and the people who live there.
Our experience with De Beers diamond mine has been a bittersweet experience for Attawapiskat. This is the reason why many Indigenous leaders want to tread carefully on any development proposed in the Ring of Fire scheme in northwestern Ontario.
They know that any developer that starts work there will only last years, perhaps decades – maybe even a century or two like the Hudson’s Bay Company. But in the end, these businesses disappear and the only ones left are the people who have to deal with the aftermath. Companies come and go, but Mother Earth will always be there and we have to take care of her.