Canoe Nation

Nature, Race, and the Making of a Canadian Icon

Bibliographic Data

ID19933738
AuthorsBruce Erickson (0000-0002-4389-4986, corresponding author)
Year2013
Publication date2013-06-15
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueCanoe Nation (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity of British Columbia Press (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.59962/9780774822503
OpenAlexW4385594497
ISBN9780774822503
Open LibraryOL44251868M
LanguageEN
Citations received10

More than an ancient means of transportation and trade, the canoe has come to be a symbol of Canada itself. In Canoe Nation, Bruce Erickson chronicles the story of the canoe in the Canadian imagination. He argues that the canoe's sentimental power has come about through a set of narratives that attempt to legitimize a particular vision of Canada and explores how the canoe went from being an industrial-economic vehicle to a purely recreational vessel. From Alexander Mackenzie to Grey Owl to Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the canoe has been overvalued as a connection to the "nature" of Canada. Examining voyageur re-enactments, turn-of-the-century sportsman stories, and the subsequent "greening" of the canoe, this book shows how this symbol authenticates Canada's reputation as a tolerant, environmentalist nation, even when there is abundant evidence to the contrary. Ultimately, the stories we tell about the canoe need to be understood as moments in the ever-contested field of cultural politics

Geography · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society · Canoes and canoeing · National characteristics, canadian · Nature

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