Author — Listening to the Fur Trade

Daniel Robert Laxer

Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. I fell in love with history and ethnomusicology as an undergraduate at the University of Alberta
, and became fascinated with fur trade history that was replete with music and cultures of sound-making not well studied. I moved to Toronto in 2006 to research this subject with a master’s in history from York University
, and Ph.D. in history from the University of Toronto
in 2015. I’ve continued researching the fur trade, as well as Indigenous and colonial history, until the present day.

Scholarly publications of Daniel Robert Laxer

Refereed Articles:

1. “Hybridities and Exchanges: Red Leggings and Rubabboos in the Fur Trade, 1600s – 1800s.” Material Culture Review 82:83(Spring 2016): 97-112.

2. ““Row, brothers, row:” Canadian Boat Songs, Imperial Glee, and National Identity, 1805 – 1867.” Journal of Canadian Studies. 50:1(Winter 2016): 70-99.

3. "A Reservoir of Voices: Franco-Ontarien Folksongs." Ontario History. C1:1 (Spring 2009): 46-63.

Other Articles:

1. “A Short History of Treaty Nomenclature in Ontario” Active History. <http://activehistory.ca/2018/11/a-short-history-of-treaty-nomenclature-in-ontario/>. Published November 05, 2018.

2. “Drums, Bugles, and Bagpipes in the Seven Years’ War.” Borealia: A Blog on Early Canadian History. < http://earlycanadianhistory.ca/2016/02/22/drums-bugles-and-bagpipes-in-the-seven-years-war/>.

3. “Echoes of Exploration: Two Songs of Franklin.” Champlain Society Findings / Trouvailles. <http://www.champlainsociety.ca/echoes-of-exploration/>.

Articles Published from Conference Proceedings:

1. "The Musical Encounters of David Thompson." In Papers of the Rupert's Land Colloquium May 19 to 22, 2010 (The Center for Rupert's Land Studies at The University of Winnipeg, CD-ROM, 2010).

Book Reviews:

1. “Review of An Ethnohistorian in Rupert’s Land: Unfinished Conversations by Jennifer Brown. Ontario History. CXI:1(Spring 2019): 98-100.

2. “Review of Masters of Empire: Great Lakes Indians and the Making of America by Michael McDonnell. Ontario History. CIX:2(Autumn 2017): 276-277

3. "Review of Dance to the Piper: The Highland Bagpipe in Nova Scotia by Barry Shears." Canadian Historical Review. 90:3(September 2009): 549-552.

Conference presentations

1. “Listening to the Fur Trade.” Rupert’s Land Colloquium, virtual. 2022.

2. ““Paddle-Mobility: From Canoe Connectivity to Isolation in Canada’s Fly-In First Nations Communities.” Canadian Historical Association Conference, Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario. 2017.

3. “Fur Trade Masculinities: Lusty Lyrics and Dancing with “Light Fantastic toe.” Canadian Historical Association Conference, University of Calgary, Alberta. 2016.

4. “Music and Dance in the North American Fur Trade, 1760-1840.” Canadian Society for Traditional Music Annual Conference, Laval University, Quebec City. 2016.

5. ““Listening to the fur trade:” alternative approaches to studying history.” Toronto District School Board Conference. University of Toronto. Ontario. 2016.

6. “’The Sound of Creation:’ Gourd Rattles among Eastern and Plains First Nations.” Artifacts in Agraria Conference. University of Guelph. Ontario 2015.

7. “Sensory Encounters in the Fur Trade: Dress, Diet, and Dance,” Canadian Historical Association Conference. University of Ottawa, Ontario. 2015.

8. “Tradition and Innovation in Sound Making Materials: Drums, Bells, and Flutes.” GRASAC Research Conference - Indigenous Heritage of the Great Lakes: New Perspectives, New Knowledges. Woodland Cultural Center, Brantford, Ontario. 2014.

9. “Canadian Boat Songs: Musical Appropriation and Conquest in the Nineteenth Century.” Canadian Historical Association Conference. “Boundaries of Historical Inquiry.” Brock University, St. Catherine’s, Ontario. 2014.

10. "Instruments of Exchange: Music in the Fur Trade and the Arrival of European Instruments in the Canadian West 1760-1821." Canadian Universities Music Society conference: CUMS/SMUC. Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick. 2011.

11. "Musical Instruments in the Cultural Intersection between Europeans and First Nations in the late 18th and early 19th-century fur trade." Scots and Irish Encounters with Indigenous Peoples Conference. University of Toronto, Toronto. 2010

12. "The Musical Encounters of David Thompson." Rupert's Land Colloquium. University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg. 2010.

13. "The Songs of Pierre Falcon: Music and Métis Ethnogenesis." Canadian Historical Association Conference: "The Fur Trade and Métis Ethnogenesis." Carleton University, Ottawa. 2009.

14. "Musical Rituals along the Ottawa River, 1780-1820." Graduate History Symposium. University of Toronto, Toronto. 2009.

15. "From 'Chansons de voyageurs' to 'Canadian Boat Songs': constructing class, gender, and nationalism through song in the 19th-century." Pierre Savard Graduate History Conference. University of Ottawa, Ottawa. 2008.

My journey

Writing this book required years of tracking down and researching historical documentation, both published and unpublished - journals, letters, memoirs, oral histories - and material objects of the fur trade era. It took me to archives and museums across Canada and beyond, and fuelled real world experiences: canoeing and hiking along historic fur trade routes, visiting Indigenous communities, and learning to play historic tunes on the fiddle. It’s been an incredible journey.

Lake Superior, 2021