Hudson’s Bay Company’s first inland trading post was established by Samuel Hearne in 1774 in Cumberland House, Saskatchewan.

In its trade with native peoples, Hudson’s Bay Company exchanged wool blankets, called Hudson’s Bay point blankets, for the beaver pelts trapped by aboriginal hunters. By 1700, point blankets accounted for over 60% of the trade. The number of indigo stripes (a.k.a. points) woven into the blankets identified its finished size. A long-held misconception is that the number of stripes is related to its value in beaver pelts.