This work draws upon the collection of Nez Perce-made dugout canoes belonging to the Nez Perce National Historical Park, National Park Service, and the Nez Perce Tribe to examine canoe making and use, and the importance of canoes in Nez Perce society. It documents the only surviving examples of Nez Perce-made canoes and suggests a typology based on them and historic images from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Canoe use was a specialized and long tradition that required an intimate knowledge of the resources used to make canoes and the river network which served as its highway. Canoes facilitated a wide and rich understanding of other native peoples of the Pacific Northwest and made cultural and material exchange possible. The study argues that settlement patterns, social organization, travel, and resource gathering, were strongly tied to canoe making and use, even after the arrival of the horse. Nez Perce knowledge of the rivers and canoe design enabled "The Corps of Discovery" of Lewis and Clark to complete their journey to the Pacific and to return back to the Clearwater region and home. The Nez Perce collection offers the only realistic foundation point to understanding the canoes made by these early explorers.

Tags: Nez Perce  travel  rivers  water  canoes  trade  movement  Clearwater  boats