<P> By the 1820s, the fur trade had expanded into the Rocky Mountains where American and British interests begin to compete for control of the lucrative trade . The Métis would play a key role in this competition . The early Métis congregated around trading posts where they were employed as packers, laborers, or boatmen . Through their efforts they helped to create a new order centered on the trading posts . Other Métis traveled with the trapping brigades in a loose business arrangement where authority was taken lightly and independence was encouraged . By the 1830s Canadians and Americans were venturing into the West to secure a new fur supply . Companies like the NWC and the HBC provided employment opportunities for Métis . By the end of the 19th century, many companies considered the Métis to be Indian in their identity . As a result, many Métis left the companies in order to pursue freelance work . </P> <P> After 1815 the demand for bison robes began to rise gradually, although the beaver still remained the primary trade item . The 1840s saw a rise in the bison trade as the beaver trade begin to decline . Many Métis adapted to this new economic opportunity . This change of trade item made it harder for Métis to operate within companies like the HBC, but this made them welcome allies of the Americans who wanted to push the British to the Canada--US border . Although the Métis would initially operate on both sides of the border, by the 1850s they were forced to pick an identity and settle either north or south of the border . The period of the 1850s was thus one of migration for the Métis, many of whom drifted and established new communities or settled within existing Canadian, American or Indian communities . </P> <P> A group of Métis who identified with the Chippewa moved to the Pembina in 1819 and then to the Red River area in 1820, which was located near St. François Xavier in Manitoba . In this region they would establish several prominent fur trading communities . These communities had ties to one another through the NWC . This relationship dated back to between 1804 and 1821 when Métis men had served as low level voyageurs, guides, interpreters, and contre - maitres, or foremen . It was from these communities that Métis buffalo hunters operating in the robe trade arose . </P> <P> The Métis would establish a whole economic system around the bison trade . Whole Métis families were involved in the production of robes, which was the driving force of the winter hunt . In addition, they sold pemmican at the posts . Unlike Indians, the Métis were dependent on the fur trade system and subject to the market . The international prices of bison robes were directly influential on the well - being of Métis communities . By contrast, the local Indians had a more diverse resource base and were less dependent on Americans and Europeans at this time . </P>

When did the fur trade start and end