By Museum of the Fur Trade
CHADRON, Neb. - Museum of the Fur Trade Director NaKaya Fester, President of the Museum of the Fur Trade Board Kirk Budd, and board member Sydney Brown visited the Sicangu Heritage Center at Sinte Gleska University in Mission, South Dakota Wednesday, Sept. 10 with a donation of 400 copies of MATO: The Life and Times of James Bordeaux, the museum’s most recent publication. The donation honors shared history and supports academic and cultural enrichment, which align with the museum’s mission.
MATO: The Life and Time of James Bordeaux is written by Museum of the Fur Trade Historian Dr. James A. Hanson and chronicles Bordeaux’s influence on regional relationships between French traders and indigenous peoples during the fur trade. The publication highlights Bordeaux’s contributions to plains history and culture, as well as the Bordeaux family’s impact on trade with indigenous peoples.
“With support from the Heritage Center, and funding from the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, we are enthusiastic about sharing the Bordeaux legacy and highlighting its significance in history,” Fester said.
The Sicangu Heritage Center hosted a reception in conjunction with the donation. In attendance were many Bordeaux descendants, including Adelita Bordeaux Guerue, a third-great granddaughter of Bordeaux.
The impetus for this donation stemmed from the large population of Bordeaux descendants within the Sicangu Oyate.
“Dr. Hanson told me that his father, the founder of the [Museum of the Fur Trade], kept track of Bordeaux descendants who visited the museum over a 50-year period. He was able to note over 700. I was astounded,” Budd said.
Numerous relatives of Bordeaux continue to visit the Museum of the Fur Trade, established on the historic site where Bordeaux once operated his trading post, seeking to connect with and learn more about his history and enduring legacy.
The gesture was met with gratitude at the Sicangu Heritage Center. “We are excited to have them come all the way up here to donate these books,” said Museum Curator of Sicangu Heritage Center Keli Brings Three White Horses.
The donated books will be distributed across the Sinte Gleska University campus to support the college’s needs as determined by the administration.
Located only three miles east of Chadron, Nebraska, the Museum of the Fur Trade stands on the site of James Bordeaux’s trading post, which was established for the American Fur Company in 1837 and is now included in the National Register of Historic Places. All items in the collection are original pieces and include the oldest known point blanket from 1775, firearms that were owned by Kit Carson and Tecumseh, and crop seeds that were obtained directly from American Indians over 125 years ago. With new exhibits being added every season, the Museum of the Fur Trade’s collection continues to grow and allows for a new experience with every visit. To learn more, visit furtrade.org.