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Thanadelthur
Thánadëltth'ér or Thanadelthur (c. 1697 – 5 February 1717) was a woman of the Chipewyan Dënesųłı̨ne nation who served as a guide and interpreter for the Hudson's Bay Company. She was instrumental in forging a peace agreement between the Dënesųłı̨ne (Chipewyan) and the Cree people. She was trilingual, able to speak English, Chipewyan, and Cree.
Thanadelthur is thought to have been born during 1697. In early 1713, a party of Dënesųłı̨ne was attacked by Cree, who captured their women. Among them was Thanadelthur. Competition for women was sometimes the catalyst of tribal warfare; they were taken as prizes by the victors. Female slaves were valuable to the tribal workforce. Serving in this role contributed to the high female mortality rate.
After spending the winter with their Cree captors, Thanadelthur and one other woman escaped and attempted to rejoin their people. Cold and hunger prevented them from doing so, however. The two endured a year of hardship until Thanadelthur's travelling companion died.
Five days later Thanadelthur was discovered by goose hunters from the Hudson's Bay Company. She never wrote her own story although she became fluent in English while dealing with the Hudson's Bay Company. Her legacy as a guide and interpreter has been pieced together from references in the journals of members of the HBC.
She reached the safety of York Factory, Manitoba on 24 November 1714. At this time, James Knight, a director of the Hudson's Bay Company, was seeking an interpreter to help convince the Cree to allow other northern Indians to reach bay-side trading posts to trade furs with his company. The Cree had acquired firearms through trade with Europeans, and objected to what they considered as other tribes attempting to invade their tribal territory. They posed a significant hindrance to the expanded, lucrative trade the company wanted to conduct. Also the Cree were York Factory's main fur suppliers and did not want to compete with others.
In 1715, Knight enlisted the aid of Thanadelthur to forge a peace agreement between the Dënesųłı̨ne and the Cree. On June 27 of that year, Thanadelthur, along with one hundred and fifty Cree and Englishman William Stuart of the HBC set out from York Factory on the mission to make peace between the Dënesųłı̨ne and the Cree. While James Knight was the one who had enlisted her aid, he assigned her to William Stuart, who was the lead HBC representative to meet the tribes for negotiations.
Knight arranged for Thanadelthur to take many gifts to present to her people once the negotiations were complete. Knight gave her the name "Slave Woman Joan," after Joan of Arc. The title "slave woman" referred to her status as a Cree slave. Since she had escaped, Knight added "Joan" to her name for her valiant efforts in translating the agreements among the HBC, the Cree, and the Dene.
Initially, Knight intended to provide safe passage for Thanadelthur and the Dënesųłı̨ne so that they could return to their home country in 1716. A harsh winter and enduring fear of bands of Cree who had not been parties to the peace agreement prevented this, however. He allowed the Dënesųłı̨ne to spend the winter at the company factory.
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Thanadelthur
Thánadëltth'ér or Thanadelthur (c. 1697 – 5 February 1717) was a woman of the Chipewyan Dënesųłı̨ne nation who served as a guide and interpreter for the Hudson's Bay Company. She was instrumental in forging a peace agreement between the Dënesųłı̨ne (Chipewyan) and the Cree people. She was trilingual, able to speak English, Chipewyan, and Cree.
Thanadelthur is thought to have been born during 1697. In early 1713, a party of Dënesųłı̨ne was attacked by Cree, who captured their women. Among them was Thanadelthur. Competition for women was sometimes the catalyst of tribal warfare; they were taken as prizes by the victors. Female slaves were valuable to the tribal workforce. Serving in this role contributed to the high female mortality rate.
After spending the winter with their Cree captors, Thanadelthur and one other woman escaped and attempted to rejoin their people. Cold and hunger prevented them from doing so, however. The two endured a year of hardship until Thanadelthur's travelling companion died.
Five days later Thanadelthur was discovered by goose hunters from the Hudson's Bay Company. She never wrote her own story although she became fluent in English while dealing with the Hudson's Bay Company. Her legacy as a guide and interpreter has been pieced together from references in the journals of members of the HBC.
She reached the safety of York Factory, Manitoba on 24 November 1714. At this time, James Knight, a director of the Hudson's Bay Company, was seeking an interpreter to help convince the Cree to allow other northern Indians to reach bay-side trading posts to trade furs with his company. The Cree had acquired firearms through trade with Europeans, and objected to what they considered as other tribes attempting to invade their tribal territory. They posed a significant hindrance to the expanded, lucrative trade the company wanted to conduct. Also the Cree were York Factory's main fur suppliers and did not want to compete with others.
In 1715, Knight enlisted the aid of Thanadelthur to forge a peace agreement between the Dënesųłı̨ne and the Cree. On June 27 of that year, Thanadelthur, along with one hundred and fifty Cree and Englishman William Stuart of the HBC set out from York Factory on the mission to make peace between the Dënesųłı̨ne and the Cree. While James Knight was the one who had enlisted her aid, he assigned her to William Stuart, who was the lead HBC representative to meet the tribes for negotiations.
Knight arranged for Thanadelthur to take many gifts to present to her people once the negotiations were complete. Knight gave her the name "Slave Woman Joan," after Joan of Arc. The title "slave woman" referred to her status as a Cree slave. Since she had escaped, Knight added "Joan" to her name for her valiant efforts in translating the agreements among the HBC, the Cree, and the Dene.
Initially, Knight intended to provide safe passage for Thanadelthur and the Dënesųłı̨ne so that they could return to their home country in 1716. A harsh winter and enduring fear of bands of Cree who had not been parties to the peace agreement prevented this, however. He allowed the Dënesųłı̨ne to spend the winter at the company factory.