“In the early days of contact between the Colonial Frontiersmen
and Native American Nations, it became apparent that each wanted
something of the other . . . thus began trade, primarily the fur
trade,” explains artist John Buxton. “Native territories
held good habitat for many fur bearing species and the various
Indian Nations took advantage of this bounty to procure those
European goods that would change their way of life. The old ways
of the bow and arrow, stone axes and the original life of their
ancestors would be altered with the introduction of wool and cloth
for clothing, metal pots for cooking, sharper knives and hatchets,
iron traps and, of course, the flintlock gun. All of these products
resulted in culture change and a growing dependence upon these
trade items in order to maintain the good life.”
In John Buxton’s "How Many Beaver?," an Indian holds a trade
gun and asks how many beaver pelts-like the stretched & dried
skins behind him—it would take to keep the flintlock. This painting
was awarded First Place out of 4,000 entries in the Portrait category
of the 2005 "The Artist’s Magazine" competition and graced the
cover of the December issue.