Tappan Adney: From Birchbark Canoes to Indigenous Rights

Shortlisted, NB Book Award (Non-Fiction) The remarkable life and legacy of an extraordinary man whose influence echoes through time. Tappan Adney travelled from New York to New Brunswick for a summer holiday at the age of 19 in 1887, and it changed the course of his life. Adney is best known for a singular achievement.

He was the artist, writer, and illustrator whose chance encounter with Peter Jo, a W?last?kwi Elder–craftsman, led to a passionate, lifelong interest in the birchbark canoe and W?last?kwey culture. But that is only part of the story. Throughout his life, little escaped Adney’s curiosity.

From his extensive documentation of the design of Indigenous canoes to his reportage on the Klondike Gold Rush; from his work as an illustrator, photographer, and designer to his natural history journalism; from his activism for Indigenous rights to his documentation of the W?last?kwey language, Adney’s mind roamed from one passion to another, leaving behind a treasure trove of natural history and ethnographic research. This book tells the intriguing story of his remarkable life and his multifaceted legacy.