A potent symbol and practice of Indigenous traditions, the canoe has also been adopted to assert conservation ideals, feminist empowerment, citizenship practices, and multicultural goals. Documenting these various uses, this book asserts that the canoe is not merely a matter of leisure and pleasure; it is folded into many facets of political life.

Popularly thought of as a recreational vehicle and one of the key ingredients of an ideal wilderness getaway, the canoe is also a political vessel. The Politics of the Canoe expands and enlarges the stories that we tell about the canoe's relationship to colonialism, nationalism, environmentalism, and resource politics.