TY - BOOK ID - 136292035 TI - Canoe nation AU - Erickson, Bruce AU - EBOUND Canada PY - 2013 SN - 0774822503 9780774822480 0774822481 9780774822503 9780774822510 0774822511 PB - Vancouver UBC Press DB - UniCat KW - Canoes and canoeing KW - Nature KW - National characteristics, Canadian KW - History. KW - Social aspects KW - Political aspects KW - Canada UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:136292035 AB - 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. ER -