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Social Science Native American Studies

Inheriting a Canoe Paddle

The Canoe in Discourses of English-Canadian Nationalism

by (author) Misao Dean

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Mar 2013
Category
Native American Studies, Canadian, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442644809
    Publish Date
    Mar 2013
    List Price
    $76.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442612877
    Publish Date
    Feb 2013
    List Price
    $43.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442661769
    Publish Date
    Feb 2013
    List Price
    $33.95

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Description

If the canoe is a symbol of Canada, what kind of Canada does it symbolize? Inheriting a Canoe Paddle looks at how the canoe has come to symbolize love of Canada for non-aboriginal Canadians and provides a critique of this identification’s unintended consequences for First Nations. Written with an engaging, personal style, it is both a scholarly examination and a personal reflection, delving into representations of canoes and canoeing in museum displays, historical re-enactments, travel narratives, the history of wilderness expeditions, artwork, film, and popular literature.

Misao Dean opens the book with the story of inheriting her father’s canoe paddle and goes on to explore the canoe paddle as a national symbol – integral to historical tales of exploration and trade, central to Pierre Trudeau’s patriotism, and unique to Canadians wanting to distance themselves from British and American national myths. Throughout, Inheriting a Canoe Paddle emphasizes the importance of self-consciously evaluating the meaning we give to canoes as objects and to canoeing as an activity.

About the author

Misao Dean is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Victoria.

Misao Dean's profile page

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