Trading with the Blackfeet - Montana Territory, 1860 by artist Zhou S. Liang

Trading with the Blackfeet, Montana Territory, 1860 by artist Zhou S. Liang available from Prickly Pear Galleries.

 

It is a good day for trade as a warm September sun adds to the genial quality of this Plains gathering. From the early 19th centurey to the 1870's, trade for furs and hides was a lucrative business.  Traders and bands of Plains Tribes would gather at prearranged locations and exchange tools, cloth, blankets, finery and guns for the Indians' pelts and hides. This group of Indians is well known to the traders, as the chief trader has been married to the sister of this band's chief for several years. Other members of the trading party have Indian wives as well, so a familiar atmosphere of mutual trust and friendship prevails.

 

MasterWork giclee canvas released June 2009.