The Purpose of the 1997 Lewis & Clark Experience is to rekindle the fire, to remind us that the challenges of a New World are still with us, that our past is not some single event or some inert thing that lies dead and buried beneath our feet. On the contrary, our history is alive, as visible as the currents in the Snake and Clearwater Rivers where the events of the 1997 Lewis & Clark Experience will take place in various forms along the lines of a living museum.
Here are descriptions of the events which will take place during the Lewis & Clark Experience.
The Corps of Discovery
River Experience.
The Clearwater and Snake Rivers will be filled with history as dugout canoes float from Orofino, Idaho to Clarkston, Washington. Local citizens will re-enact a part of the historic journey, which changed the fate of our nation, by building and launching replica dugouts from Canoe Camp. President Jefferson's Corps of Discovery will once again be waterborne.
The canoes, dug out of pine using the same design as Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery, will be constructed from Idaho timber over the summer at building sites in Lewiston and Orofino, Idaho and feature the work of community-based business leaders and historical groups' members. Watching the process of recreating the canoes from raw logs to finished dugout canoes will itself create a unique educational experience for those who witness the operations and those who accept the challenge.
Now available: Dugout Canoe Application Form
Launched from Canoe Camp near Orofino on July 26, the flotilla will challenge the same rapids as did the 1805 Corps and will face many of the same challenges of canoes of primitive construction in the rough river environment they faced. All of those in attendance at the event will indeed have a close-up view of the Lewis & Clark river experience.
On the first night after the launch, the 1997 Corps of Discovery will set up camp on the south bank of the Clearwater River near Myrtle. The campsite is a short distance from where the Corps of Discovery camped 192 years ago.
The next morning, the Corps will break camp and travel downstream to Clarkston, Washington, where they will land their craft near the site of the old Nez Perce village at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers.
The Clarkston Camp & Village Site
The educational park, by the banks of the Snake River in Clarkston, Washington, will become the setting for various Lewis and Clark expedition re-enactments, including the arrival of the flotilla of dugout canoe re-creations launched from Canoe Camp near Orofino, Idaho (the location of the building and launch of the expedition canoes in 1805).
The Nez Perce Village and the Trading Experience.
Ticket holders to the educational park will be able to travel in time back through two centuries to an Indian village on the site of a twenty acre, educational park. Here, ticket holders will also receive a one ounce replica of the Jefferson Peace Medal.
As visitors walk through the entry into the Lewis & Clark educational park, they will be stepping back into 1805 and joining the Corps of Discovery. They will leave the modern world behind and join the Tribal members around their camp as they go through their daily activities. Visitors will eat the same meal prepared in much the same manner as the Nez Perce and the Corps of Discovery would have in 1805.
To enhance the education of those attending the event and the historical accuracy of the experience, money will not be exchanged within the event site; instead, trading beads and ribbons will be make available through area merchants or just outside of the event site. These beads and ribbons will be used for bartering with native craftsmen in the event. Ribbons and beads will come in $1.00 and $5.00 denominations and can be combined when trading for items.
Those attending events scheduled for July 27th at the site will also be served a traditional, 1805-era, Indian meal consisting of the same types of food shared with the Corps of Discovery in the company of the Nez Perce.
Visitors will have the opportunity to meet and listen to presentations by noted historians and writers, including Steven Ambrose, the author of the recently-released book, Undaunted Courage, and Clay Jenkinson, in the roles of President Thomas Jefferson and Meriwether Lewis.
The Premiere of Lewis and Clark: Journey of the Corps of
Discovery.
One of the highlights for everyone attending the Lewis & Clark Experience will be the premiere of the film produced by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, Lewis and Clark: Journey of the Corps of Discovery. The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) will televise the movie nationally in early November. But those who participate in the Lewis & Clark Experience will see parts of the film months before the rest of the world. Mr. Burns and Mr. Duncan will be in attendance. They will talk about their experiences in shooting, writing, and editing the movie and will highlight what they learned. All of those in attendance will be given a trip through the movie making process and through history.
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Saturday, July 26, 1997 |
Orofino, Idaho - Canoe Camp |
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Opening Ceremonies |
10:00 a.m. |
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Canoe Launch |
11:00 a.m. |
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Canoe arrival at the Myrtle overnight campsite |
5:00 p.m. |
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Sunday, July 27, 1997 |
Clarkston, Washington - Event Site |
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Gates Open |
11:00 a.m. |
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Program Activities Begin |
12:00 noon |
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Salmon, Beans, and Wild Berry Meal |
12:00 to 6:00 p.m. |
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Stage Play with President Thomas Jefferson and Captain Meriwether Lewis |
1:00 & 4:00 p.m. |
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Native Trading, Educational Program, and the Native Village |
11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. |
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Canoe Arrival from Orofino |
5:00 p.m. |
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Presentations by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan and the Movie Premiere |
8:00 to 10:00 p.m. |
Event Costs and Ticketing Information
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Adult with meal |
$20.00 |
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Adult without meal |
$16.00 |
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Child (12 and under) with meal |
$16.00 |
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Child (12 and under) without meal |
$12.00 |
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Family Pass (2 adults, 3 children) |
$75.00 |
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recognizes the support & contributions of The National Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Council and its many members. |
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will go to area Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Committees for future educational programs. |
