The Canoe in Canadian Cultures

Gordon C. Shaw is professor emeritus in the Faculty of Administrative
Studies at York University.

The Canoe in Canadian Cultures is a collection of 18 well-written and
informative essays that originated at a 1996 conference sponsored
jointly by the Frost Centre for Canadian Heritage and Development
Studies at Trent University and by the Canadian Canoe Museum. The canoe
in its various forms is depicted throughout as a significant contributor
to Canadian history and culture and as a “symbol joining the Native
Peoples to the two founding cultures of Europe.”

The essays address a wide range of topics, including the origins of the
canoe and its counterparts in modern Asia, the different types of canoes
that were developed by various Indian tribes, and the use of canoes in
the fur trade. One essay describes how the canoe allowed Quebec traders
to open the American Midwest, while another speculates on how the large
freight canoes navigated the French River at various water levels. An
essay titled “The Dark Side of the Canoe” explores the tensions that
can arise among members of a canoeing party when, for example, supplies
get low or danger threatens.

The book, which includes well-chosen illustrations and extensive
endnotes, has limited appeal but nevertheless accomplishes its goal of
presenting the canoe as a symbol unique to Canada.