Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Neuzil, Mark; Sims, Norman

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims

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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

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Myron Nickerson

From Introduction

Myron Nickerson, a former employee of J. Henry Rushton appears on the far right in this 1894 photograph.

This woodcut illustration of a Taino dugout canoe first appeared in Girolamo Benzoni’s La Historia del Mondo Nuovo in 1562. It is titled Modo di nauigare nel Mare di Tramontana, or “navigating into the north wind.” Since the canoe and paddle shapes are not accurate, this illustration probably came from Columbus’s written description rather than from personal contact.

Modo di nauigare nel Mare di Tramontana

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Woodcut illustration of a Taino dugout canoe, Girolamo Benzoni’s La Historia del Mondo Nuovo, 1562.

A dugout next to an oyster house on the water near New Haven, Connecticut, 1872.

Oyster Dugouts

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

The oyster industry of the East Coast relied on dugout canoes to navigate the rivers of Connecticut during the nineteenth century. This photograph dates to 1872 and depicts a dugout next to an oyster house near New Haven.

A black and white photograph of five indigenous men and women standing in or around a long dugout canoe. Written text in white on the bottom of the photograph reads, "Indian Family near Chimacum Creek, Wash."

Hicks Family of the Clallam Tribe

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Photograph of the Hicks family of the Clallam tribe posing with a canoe near Chimacum Creek, Washington, ca. 1914.

Canoes: A Natural History in North America

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