American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Native Americans developed during prehistoric times a continent-wide system of trade between ethnic groups. Foodstuffs and highly valued perishable and imperishable commodities moved sometimes very long distances along major trade routes linking numerous ethnic groups. Europeans could establish trading relationships with Native Americans only because the latter already engaged in international trade on a significant scale and well understood the principles of commodity exchange. Within the aboriginal trading system certain “trading centers” stood out as major nodes of exchange on long-distance inter-ethnic trade routes. This paper outlines basic characteristics of trading centers, then identifies and briefly describes one that has not been recognized before. Some sedentary Peoples living in the Great Plains Culture Area never abandoned their riverine oasis settlements and horticultural habits to become transhumant mounted folk. Historically well-known among these cultural conservatives are the Mandan who lived on the middle Missouri River or its tributaries. The Mandan first came to colonial European attention, in fact, as active traders. At the time of the initial French visit during the winter of 1738-39, and certainly later, the Mandan villages (and later single village) constituted what John C. Ewers labeled a ’’trading center. ’’