Oops

In my previous post, I drew a conclusion about the differences between the American Indians of the Northwest and the Northeast, stating that while those of the NW used their canoes in seasonal migrations, those of the NE did not.

I should have read further in the book that I was then citing, The Canoe: A Living Tradition, for it states that the woodland Indians of the northeast did indeed use their bark canoes in seasonal migration. No details given, but I'll keep my eyes open and report more if I find any discussion.

American Canoe Culture, East vs. West

In the chapter "Vessels of Life: Northwest Coast Dugouts" of The Canoe: A Living Tradition, Steven C. Brown noted that "the existence of sea-going canoes enabled the Aboriginal Northwest Coast peoples to become the masters of their worlds, living in a seasonal round of camp and village locations that were advantageous for the harvesting of varied and plentiful food resources."

This represented a fundamental difference from the canoe culture of the American northeast, beyond the very distinct craft that predominated in those two areas. For where the Northwest cultures (ranging from present-day Washington state to Alaska) relied upon their large dugouts for seasonal migration, the Northeast cultures did not rely on their smaller dugouts and bark canoes for the same purpose. Both cultures, of course, used their canoes as hunting tools (seeking different game), but the Indians of the northeast did not engage in coastwise migrations. Northeast seasonal migrations were, I believe, primarily movements from the coast to inland and back. Canoes would have been superfluous during the winter months spent inland, when all surface water is frozen.

The Indians of the Northwest, in addition, seem to have maintained a richer material culture, and their large dugouts were well-suited to carrying everything owned by a village. (Indeed, it is said that there were enough canoes in the region to carry every single person living there, plus virtually all of their portable goods.) Northeast Indians had less to carry on their migrations and could do it on their backs.

I suppose this just demonstrates what is a well-known distinction; that the Northwest Indians were a maritime culture, as distinct from the Northweast Indians, who were a woodland culture.

By the way, The Canoe: A Living Tradition is a very pretty book. Its content is uneven -- the level of detail and method of treatment varies from chapter to chapter, each of which was written by a different author -- but there's much interesting information here for a canoe history novice like myself, and lots of nice photos.

The photo above shows a 63' Haida canoe from the Queen Charlotte Islands off British Columbia and was built in 1878. It is from the website of the American Museum of Natural History and is described in detail here.

Dragon Boats Are Good for Your Health

Right. Or so says an article on Science Daily, adapted from a press release from McGill University. Dr. Catherine Sabiston of McGill's Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education conducted research on health and survival rates among female cancer survivors who are also dragon boat racers, and found a positive correlation compared to competitive canoe polers, canoe freestylists, and backcountry trippers.

No, really, according to the SD article, the study didn't compare the health outcomes of dragon boat racing to any other paddlesport (or to any other sport or lack thereof, for that matter), but interviewed the women about the psychological benefits they perceived from participating with other female cancer patients. Not surprisingly, the women were very positive about the experience, agreeing that it helped their attitude toward life and illness.

Wonderful. Sounds approximately as useful as my thesis for my Marine Affairs degree at the University of RI, in which I "analyzed" hundreds of photos in dozens of powerboating magazines to determine if they were placing extreme emphasis on the qualities of high speed (and implied, a disregard for high fuel consumption) over other qualities of the boating experience like comfort and quality. (My surprising conclusion? They weren't!)

At least the SD article gave a useful description of dragon boat racing:
Dragon boat racing is an ancient Chinese sport dating back to the 4th century BCE. The boats are long, narrow, canoe-like craft, crewed by teams of anywhere from 10 to 20 paddlers, plus a drummer at the bow and a tiller (or steerer) at the stern. Once restricted to China and to Chinese expatriate communities, over the last quarter-century the sport has become increasingly popular worldwide, particularly on Canada's west coast.

(Photo Credit: Dr. Catherine Sabiston)