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In the early encounters with Europeans, Indigenous tribes often found themselves embroiled in conflicts with one another over access to European trading posts. These posts, which offered valuable goods—including firearms and liquor—were highly coveted. Indigenous groups such as the Cre and the Iroquois became pivotal middlemen in the fur trade, acquiring beaver pelts from other tribes and exchanging them for European commodities. These transactions not only facilitated economic exchanges but also introduced a new military dynamic, as tribes equipped with European firearms gained significant advantages over rival groups.