AUGUST 8:

 Georges Erasmus 1948- Dene leader, was born in the Fort Rae, NWT. After working with the Company of Young Canadians in the 1960s, Erasmus became President of the Dene Nation from 1976-1983. He became national chief of the Assembly of First Nations in 1985, and in 1991, co-chaired the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Affairs with René Dussault of the Quebec Superior Court.

August 8, 1744:  Today France will give trader Joseph Deruisseau the sole rights to trade with Indians in the area of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. He will build Fort Cavagnial in what is now modern-day Kansas City.

August 8, 422:  Maya King Casper is born, according to some sources. Eventually, he rules over Palenque, Mexico.

BACKGROUND:
 
 

This fort was in existence before the United States made the Louisiana Purchase. Established in 1744 or 1745.  It was located below the mouth of the Kansas River, possibly on the site of present Kansas City, Kansas. Built by Joseph Deruisseau, who, on August 8, 1744, was granted a monopoly to trade with the Indians along the Missouri River.  The post was connected with the French plans to open trade with Santa Fe.  It consisted of a circular palisade, enclosing a few cabins.  In 1758, it was garrisoned by one officer and even or eight soldiers.  The French and Indian War seriously affected the Indian trade and the post was abandoned before 1760.
 

>From http://history.cc.ukans.edu/heritage/res...h/kansfort.html

*****

The oldest culture in the (Wyandotte) county is the Archaic group which was rapidly subjugated by the Hopewell group, relatives of the Ohio and Mississippian moundbuilders. The Hopewell occupied the area between 100 AD and 400 AD when they were replaced by the Late Woodlands culture which lived here unitl about 1500 AD. These groups relied on a mix of agriculture and hunting and gathering for subsistence. The Hopewell had an extensive trade network and practiced elaborate religious rituals.

The Kansas or Wind People lived in the region between 1500 and 1828. Like the Hopewell and late Woodlands people, the Kansa relied on a mixture of agriculture, hunting, and gathering for food. Annual trips to what is now western Kansas provided supplies of buffalo meat and hides while they could hunt elk, deer, and bear locally. When the French built Fort Cavagnial in 1743 near present Fort Leavenworth, the Kansa traded extensively with them and sent a war party to support the French in the French and Indian Wars.

European Contact

The earliest known appearance of this region on a map in 1687 is attributed to Father Hennepin. Hennepin gathered his information from tribes visiting his Illinois mission. Fort Cavagnial was built by the French in 1743 and garrisoned until the area was turned over to Spain in 1763. The Chouteaus, a family of French fur traders, were licensed to trade with the Kansa after 1763. In 1804 Lewis and Clark spent several days at Kaw Point where the Kansas and Missouri Rivers meet. By 1821 the Chouteaus built the first permanent trading post in what is now Wyandotte County. Four Houses was built on a hill in the vicinity of Bonner Springs and traded with the Kansa until they were removed further west in 1828.When the Kansa were removed they were replaced by the Emigrant Tribes (Shawnee, Delaware and Muncie) and the Chouteaus relocated their post near Turner to trade with the Shawnee.
 

>From "A Short History of Wyandotte County" website at
http://www.kumc.edu/wcedc/museum/wchist.html#europe