Toy Canoe
Toys often reflect what is important in adult society. Before the horse, rivers that criss-crossed Nez Perce country served as transportation corridors, making canoes an important tool for traveling and trading. This extremely rare toy speaks to the importance of canoes in Nez Perce and Columbia Plateau societies. It is one of only two such toys known in the Pacific Northwest to represent the interior Plateau canoe. This toy represents the bluff-ended, straight gunwaled canoe common in Nez Perce Country. The wood is possibly cedar.
Wood. L 29.6, W 6.2 , H 4.4 cm
Nez Perce National Historical Park, NEPE 1114