Secondary Sources

This paper presents the results of Park Canada’s 1984 excavations at The Forks. The excavation recovered remains from: modern times (1950-1984), railway (1880-1950), pre-railway/post-Fort Gibraltar I (1826-1880), immediate post-Fort Gibraltar I (1826), Fort Gibraltar I (1810-1816) and pre-Fort Gibraltar I (pre1810). The layers analyzed include the Experimental Farm, 1826 flood, and several middens (ash-filled pits and a cribbed cellar). There was evidence of 9 to 10 prehistoric occupation levels (with three dates), pertaining possibly to Blackduck. There are a map and photographs.

Reference for costume style and construction, binder of photocopied photos, fabric swatches, and drawings.

This artifact catalogue was prepared as a guide to the inventory of Forks artifacts stored at the Western Canada Service Centre in Winnipeg. Consisting of a dataset of 151 reference collection artifacts, it reflects the following periods: Precontact (ca. 8000 B.P. – AD 1737); Fur Trade (1737-1821); Northwest Company Forts Gibraltar I & II (1810-1821); Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Garry (ca. 1821-1882); Hudson’s Bay Company Experimental Farm (1836-1841); and Railway Period (1888-1988). Artifacts were recovered during archaeology testing programs in the summers of 1984, 1987, and 1988 in the areas of Forts Gibraltar I and II, the Railway Period occupation, North Point, and during the public archaeology program from 1989 to 1991.

This report is a summary of archaeological projects on The Forks National Historic Site and over 50 projects on The Forks Site from 1984 to 2001. Geological and human history are briefly introduced, covering the following Periods: Palaeo-Indian (ca. 12,000-8000 B. P.); Archaic (ca. 8000-2000 B.P.); Woodland (ca. 2200-200 B.P.); Contact (1737-1821); Fort Gibraltar I & II (1810-1821); Transition (1821-1870); Experimental Farm (1836-1841); Industrialization and Immigration (1870-1888); and Railway (1888-1988). Stratigraphic developments and cultural deposits are summarized by area across the sites. Included are an annotated bibliography, historic maps, and the only summary maps showing the distribution of all archaeological projects at The Forks sites.

This booklet describes, briefly, the 6000 year history of The Forks. The titles include: Land Use at The Forks in the Precontact Period, Native-European Contact at The Forks 1734-60, The Forks and the Competitive Fur Trade Period: 1760-1821, The Forks, Native Settlement and the Hudson’s Bay Company: 1821-50, Transition at The Forks: 1850-1900, Winnipeg and the Junction – A Metropolis in the Making: 1870-86, The Junction and the Railway Era: 1886-1923, The Forks and Immigration: 1870-1920, and Environmental Citizenship.

Beginning with the first Aboriginal group on written record as controlling the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers - the Assiniboines (Nakota), this report briefly traces developments at The Forks from the arrival of La Verendrye's nephew, La Jemeraye (1736) to the railroad era (1880s - 1980s).

This report covers the history of The Forks from 1734 to 1850, focusing on Aboriginal history: Native/Euro-Canadian contact (1734-1760) including subsistence and migration patterns, and the establishment of Fort Rouge; Native Society and Economy During the Competitive Fur Trade Period (1760-1821) including Euro-Canadian commercial competition (pre-1800 and 1800-1821), Cree and Salteaux settlements (1790-1821), and Métis settlement; and Native Settlement and the Hudson’s Bay Company (1821-50) including the church’s role, economy, civil government, agriculture, and the disintegration of company rule. Reproductions of 51 maps, diagrams and photos from the Glenbow and Manitoba Archives are included.