Canoeing with the Cree by Eric Sevareid

Essential Questions How does the struggle to overcome challenges play a role in self-discovery? How does a wilderness experience shape one’s world view? Can you be human without a sense of your environment?

Who are the Cree? The Cree are one of the largest Native American groups in North America. Historically: Cree lived in Canada around the Great Lakes and westward into what is now the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In the U.S. they lived in northern Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Today: 200,000 Cree live in Canada; in the U.S. the Cree are concentrated in Montana.

Cree girl, 1928 Hunting camp, late 20 th century Cree family, Alberta, 1927 Unloading supplies, Quebec, 2011 WWII soldiers, Quebec Canadian winter camp, 1936

Canoeing with the Cree … begins in Minneapolis in 1930 (Great Depression). is told by Eric Sevareid in 1st-person point of view. records the 2,250-mile journey by canoe to the Hudson Bay in Canada of Sevareid and his friend, Walter Port. They have just graduated from high school when they start their voyage.

Allusions, Chapter 1 Rudyard Kipling ( ) : British author popular in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. He wrote poetry, short stories, novels, and children’s stories, among them The Jungle Book. Lines from Kipling’s poem “The Feet of the Young Men” begin Canoeing with the Cree. Paradise Lost (1667) is an epic poem by poet John Milton. It is his version of the story of Adam and Eve and their loss of the Garden of Eden.

Allusions, Chapter 1 Lewis and Clark Expedition ( ): first U.S. expedition to explore the American West, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. Robert Louis Stevenson ( ): Scottish poet, novelist, essayist, and travel writer. He wrote, among many other stories, Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Allusions, Chapter 1 Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Mounties or Mounted Police): Canada’s national police force. It began as a mounted police force, meaning they rode on horseback. The modern Royal Canadian Mounted Police now use horses only for ceremonial purposes. Dudley Do-Right, an often confused cartoon Mountie from the 1960s.

Allusions, Ch. 2 U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862: This conflict involved 5 weeks of warfare between some of the Dakota in Minnesota and white settlers. Many died on both sides. Many Dakota were frustrated over the loss of traditional land, broken promises of the U.S. government, hunger, and general hardship caused by white settlement. The U.S. military eventually ended the conflict; Dakota people were rounded up as a result whether they were really involved or not. The conflict resulted in the mass execution by hanging of 38 Dakota men—the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Many scholars now believe that some hanged were actually innocent of what they had been tried for. The Dakota people were also driven out of Minnesota completely as a result. Bitterness on both sides still remains to this day.

Allusions, Ch. 1-4 Fort Snelling: Military fort at the merging of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, in the Twin Cities. Established during Minnesota’s frontier days (1819) to protect new settlements from perceived threats. Now a historic site and state park. You should go and visit it yourself!

Allusions, Ch. 1-4 Sir Galahad is a character from the English legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He is the son of Sir Lancelot, the most famous knight from the legends. He is known for bravery, gallantry (courteous behavior, especially toward women), and purity.

Allusions, Ch. 1-4 Tom Sawyer is the young protagonist of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) by Mark Twain. Tom is an imaginative mischief-maker, but he has a good heart. Aunt Polly is his guardian. Above: Tom cleverly tricks his friends into doing his chore— whitewashing a fence—while he sits back and watches. At left: Mark Twain.