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Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims

Overview

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

Citable Link

Published: 2016

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

ISBN(s)

9780816681174 (hardcover)

Subject

Resources

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Black and white photograph of a woman posing with an oar in a dugout canoe. The canoe is full of vegetables, and the staged river is lined with vegetation.

Woman in Canoe

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Woman In Canoe. Photograph from collection of Cruces y Campa Mexican Occupationals “cartes-de-visites” series, 1862–1877.

A black and white photograph of two men and one barefoot child standing beside a long dugout canoe. The unifinished canoe is held up by a wooden structure.

Natives Making Canoe from Tree Trunk

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Natives making canoe from tree trunk at Mission ca. 1900. Photograph by Alexander McLean.

A black and white photograph of a group of people on the shore of a lake. A group of men relax on the sand as a woman sits in a canoe and a man points a gun across the lake.

Picnic along Shore of Lake, near Mouth of Socateau

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Joseph John Kirkbride, Picnic along Shore of Lake, near Mouth of Socateau, ca. 1884, photograph.

A black and white photograph of a man bent over a birch-bark canoe on the shore of a lake. Large teepees are visible in the background of the photo. Hand written text on the photograph reads "Mending his canoe. Linde."

Mending His Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Carl Gustave Linde, Mending His Canoe, ca. 1912.

A black and white photograph of three men lounging beneath a makeshift canvas tent on the shore with the river flowing behind them. Their birch-bark canoe sits beside them propped up agains a pine tree

Views of Dalles of the St. Louis River

From Chapter 8: Canoe Tripping

T. W. Ingersoll, Views of Dalles of the St. Louis River, ca 1890, photograph.