The History of the Snowshoe by: Cameron Pike Grade 10 Native Studies For: Ms. Vanderburg

Harmony with Nature: Native Indians used the snow shoe to be in harmony with nature.

The Snowshoe arrives in North America - Canada was built on immigration - Many other countries were using some form of a snowshoe - The Snowshoe is thought to have arrived to Canada between 30, B.C. From Central Asia

Free Template from The Early Snowshoe Used by natives to walk on the snow Believed to be invented before the wheel and the ski

Free Template from Modern Snowshoes Materials: Aluminium & Polymers- Allows manufacturers to create new forms that increase efficiency of the snowshoe. The new materials also reduce the weight of the snowshoe. Innovation: The addition of spikes under the snowshoe to allow for better grip in the snow that did not exist with the older style of snowshoes.

Many uses for the Snowshoe: - Allows for more efficient movement over snow in winter especially in areas where there are no cleared roads - In ancient times, an instrument of primary necessity to mankind

Where does the word “SNOWSHOE” come from ? - From early French settlers arriving in New France in Gave them the name “Raquette” because they resembles the tennis racket used in Europe - In English, they call id the “Snowshoe”

Colonization of New France - Allowed missionaries & discoverers to follow the natives in their journeys - Allowed trappers and traders to hunt fur animals deep into the forests where the snow was untouched by man - Allowed our ancestors to travel to one another

Snowshoes & Canoes - Snowshoes were winter transportation for the Natives - They traveled by canoe in the other seasons

Adopting the Native ways -The white man realized how easily the natives could travel by snowshoe & canoe. They quickly adopted these forms of transportation according to the seasons. Their survival depended on the native ways.

The Army & the Snowshoe The snowshoe was used by French settlers in the northern part of America to outwit their enemies who were unaccustomed to traveling by snowshoe. The French settlers were comfortable using snowshoes.

Development in the first Snowshoe Clubs in Canada. This happened due to the declining need for the snowshoe. Groups of people organized, made rules, and formed snowshoe clubs to preserve the history of the snowshoe

Canadian snowshoe club document 1878

References: GV Snowshoes (n/d). History of the Snowshoe in Canada. Retrieved March from: ml