The Fur Trader : From Oslo to Oxford House

A critical edition of a Norwegian free trader’s account of the fur trade in Manitoba.

The Fur Trader is a critical edition of Einar Odd Mortensen Sr.’s personal narrative detailing the years (1925–1928) he spent as a free trader at posts in Pine Bluff and Oxford Lake in Manitoba during the waning days of the fur trade. Mortensen’s original narrative has been translated from Norwegian to English, and supplemented with a scholarly introduction, thorough annotations, a bibliography, and a reading guide. This additional material presents the author as a product of Norwegian culture at the time, and guides the reader through a close reading of Mortensen’s interpretations of his work and travels, the people he encountered, the Indian Residential School system, and Indigenous participation in the First World War. Mortensen’s insights and experiences will be of interest to scholars, students, and enthusiasts of the fur trade and contribute to literary, Indigenous, and Scandinavian studies.
• This personal narrative details the years (1925-28) that Norwegian Einar Odd Mortensen spent as a free trader at posts in Pine Bluff and Oxford Lake in Manitoba. There are not many published first-hand accounts by free traders, making this a key primary resource.
• Mortensen Sr. left behind notes, a draft manuscript, and pictures. Gerd Kjustad Mortensen, his daughter-in-law, brought them together into a book, published in Norwegian in 2007. There is also an edition in Finnish.
• Mortensen’s original narrative has been translated from Norwegian to English, and supplemented with a scholarly introduction, thorough annotations, and a bibliography.
• There is also a reading/study guide with questions for use in class discussions and writing assignments. Some of the questions focus on literature and history, while others are interdisciplinary in nature. These questions are also suitable as a reading guide for book clubs and individual readers.
• This additional material presents the author as a product of Norwegian culture at the time, and is intended to guide the reader through Mortensen’s interpretations of the Indian Residential School system, the people he encounters, and Indigenous participation in the First World War. There are discussions of race, gender, and class.
• Mortensen’s insights and experiences will be of interest to scholars and students in literary, Indigenous, and Scandinavian studies. It will be accessible and of interest to a general audience as well, especially enthusiasts of the fur trade.