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Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims 2016

This is the story of the canoe, that singular American artifact so little changed over time. Featured here are canoes old and new, from birch bark to dugout to carbon fiber; the people who made them; and the adventures they shared. With features of technology, industry, art, and survival, the canoe carries us deep into the natural and cultural history of North America.

Follow author Mark Neuzil on Twitter: @mrneuzil

ISBN(s)

9780816681174 (hardcover)

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A watercolor painting of two people paddling through rapids in a birch-bark canoe.

Canoe in Rapids

From Foreword

Winslow Homer, Canoe in Rapids, 1897. Watercolor over graphite on off-white wove paper, 35.4 × 53.3 cm (13 15/16 × 21 in).

Canoeists in a birch-bark canoe near Steamboat Rock, Wisconsin Dells.

Steamboat Rock

From Introduction

Photograph by H. H. Bennett, canoeists in a birch-bark canoe near Steamboat Rock, Wisconsin Dells.

An oil painting of four canoes traveling past Picture Rock.

Picture Rock at Crooked Lake (Return of the Voyageur)

From Introduction

Francis Lee Jaques, Picture Rock at Crooked Lake (Return of the Voyageur), 1947. Oil on canvas, 83.8 x 106.6 cm.

A color photograph of four birch-bark canoes in the water near rocks and grass on the shore.

Birchbarks at Batchewang

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birchbarks at Batchewang, 2012.

A color photograph of Erik Simula working on a birch-bark canoe.

Erik Simula Working

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Contemporary birch-bark builder Erik Simula working on a bark canoe in 2009.

A color photograph of Erik Simula's canoe in the water, tied near the shore and packed with gear. His dog stands on a log by the shore.

Erik Simula's Canoe and Dog

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Erik Simula's canoe, Nama, and his dog, Kitigan, at Mountain Lake in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota.

Solitary paddler sits in a birch-bark canoe at Moose Factory, Ontario.

Solitary Paddler at Moose Factory

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Solitary paddler sits in a birch-bark canoe at Moose Factory, Ontario.

An oil painting of Cartier and crew on canoes in the water; larger ships are in the background.

Jacques Cartier Discovering the St. Lawrence River

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Jean Antoine Theodore Gudin, Jacques Cartier Discovering the St. Lawrence River, 1847. Oil on canvas, 142 x 266 cm.

A color photograph of a model of a Beothuk canoe with two paddles and a pole.

Edwin Tappan Adney's Model of a Beothuk Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Edwin Tappan Adney's model of a Beothuk Canoe.

A photograph of three outer hulls of birch-bark canoes, decorated with silhouettes, symbols, animals, and shapes.

Decorated Birch-Bark Hulls

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The outer hulls of bark canoes were often engraved with symbols, animal silhouettes, and geometric shapes. Bark collected in the winter was purportedly better for such etchings than summer bark. Edwin Tappan Adney featured these designs on a canoe built in Old Town, Maine and exhibited at the New York Sportsman’s Show in 1897.

An illustration of a birch-bark canoe and a paddle. The ends of the canoe are shaped similarly to the ends of the Kutenai canoe.

Amur River Valley Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birch-bark canoe from the Amur River Valley region in Russia. From Puteshestvie na Amur . . . (Expedition to the Amur), Richard Karlovich Maack, 1859.

A black-and-white photograph of a couple in a canoe. Several boxes and packages are being transported in the canoe as well.

Kutenai Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Phyllop Peter and his wife paddle a Kutenai canoe on Kootenay Lake in 1922.

A map of the range of the paper birch (Betula papyrifera) in North America.

Range of the Paper Birch

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The range of the paper birch (Betula papyrifera) in North America. The tree is sometimes called canoe birch.

A color photograph of a forest of birch trees.

Birch Forest

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birch trees at Bognor Marsh near Georgian Bay off Lake Huron.

An oil painting of two canoes in the water near a small waterfall. Several other canoes are being portaged up a hill and around the waterfall behind them.

White Mud Portage, Saulteaux

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Paul Kane, White Mud Portage, Saulteaux, ca. 1776–1780.

The Ojibwe (also called Chippewa) built different styles of canoes, including this distinctive long-nose model.

Long-Nose Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The Ojibwe (also called Chippewa) built different styles of canoes, including this distinctive long-nose model.

Birch-bark baskets, like this Ojibwe example from Grand Portage, are used for winnowing wild rice.

Birch-Bark Basket

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birch-bark baskets, like this Ojibwe example from Grand Portage, are used for winnowing wild rice.

A black-and-white photograph of two women making birch-bark containers on the ground outside.

Mary Bigwind & Maggie Skinaway

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birch had a number of uses for native tribes. Two Ojibwe women, Mary Bigwind and Maggie Skinaway, make birch vessels for maple sap, which could be made into syrup, supplying the tribe with its sugar.

A painting of about eight figures (some babies or children) paddling a canoe.

Canoe of the Indians

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Eastman Johnson, Canoe of the Indians, ca. 1856–1857.

A color photograph of a birch-bark canoe.

Birch-Bark Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The Cree were excellent birch-bark builders, as seen in this boat dating from the period 1875–1900.