Navigating Our Passages: The Corps of Discovery Negotiates a Course Across America 

A presentation of the Missouri Humanities Council 
in partnership with the Kansas Humanities Council and the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library 
in observance of the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 

September-October 2002 

Tim McNeil September 16, 2002 Meriwether Lewis: Letters Home
Tim McNeil re-created three scenes of the Lewis and Clark journey in the first program of "Navigating Our Passages" at the West Wyandotte Library.

Based on the journals of Lewis and Clark and letters of Lewis to his mother, Tim McNeil re-created three scenes of the journey: Ft. Mandan; Canoe Camp on the Clearwater River in Idaho after crossing the mountains; and central Idaho in 1806 after a winter on the Pacific Coast. He assumed the character of Lewis as he reminisced about the Expedition. Mr. McNeil is an actor, writer, historian, carpenter, canoeist, and naturalist from Boise, Idaho. His various interests and skills help him to continually refine his portrayal of Meriwether Lewis, a complex character and a man of the Enlightenment. As Thomas Jefferson wrote of Lewis, “… Whatever he should report would be as certain as if seen by ourselves. I would have no hesitation in confiding the enterprise to him.”

Robert Dorian September 30, 2002 Dangerous Passages: Medical Theory and Practices of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Robert Dorian presented "Dangerous Passages: Medical Theory and Practices of the Lewis and Clark Expedition".

This presentation involved the medical theory and practices of the early 1800s and how they affected the medical treatments of the members of the Corps of Discovery. The presentation included a selection of period medical equipment similar to that taken on the expedition. Mr. Robert H. Dorian is affiliated with the Frontier Army Museum of Fort Leavenworth, KS. He is a social historian and experimental archeologist specializing in the exploration of the Louisiana Purchase and the territory acquired from Mexico in 1848. Areas of special interest include the Lewis & Clark Expedition, the Santa Fe Trail, the War of 1812, the Mexican War (1846-48) and the medical practices of the period. 

Truman Black October 7, 2002 Untested Maneuvers
Mr. Truman Black, a member of the Otoe-Missouria tribe, presented "Untested Maneuvers" the third program in the Lewis & Clark series. He spoke about the meeting between the Otoe Indians and Lewis and Clark's expedition.

As they crossed the territory of what is today modern Kansas, Lewis and Clark encountered the Otoe-Missouria tribe. This meeting with Native Americans was their first tribal gathering. Truman Black discussed that experience. Truman Black is an elder of the Otoe-Missouria and Iowa tribes. He is a Tribally recognized Spiritual Leader of the Otoe-Missouria tribe. He is a leader of the Elk clan, the clan that is credited with bringing knowledge and use of fire to the tribe. Truman is one of the last remaining people that can speak the Otoe language. He is a retired teacher. 

by Dr. Carol MacGregor October 14, 2002 Intelligent Strategy, Cooperating Community
Dr. Carol MacGregor of Boise State University believes that it took more cooperation and intelligent strategy than military discipline or bravura on the part of the personnel to make the Lewis and Clark journey successful.

Furthermore, she asserted that to navigate the passage from St. Louis to the Pacific and back this multi-ethnic group enjoyed the largesse of many Native American tribes along the route. Carol MacGregor, an Idaho native, has long compared the original journals for her own book, The Journals of Patrick Gass of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, published by Mountain Press of Missoula in 1997 and in its fourth printing. Dr. MacGregor served as chair of the Idaho Governor’s Committee on the Lewis and Clark Trail for two years. She teaches early American history and Native American history at Boise State University. 

Dr. James Harlan October 21, 2002 Landscapes Old and New
Dr. Harlan and his team have reconstructed the Old Missouri landscape as Lewis and Clark must have observed it. No one has ever done this before. His work was featured in the April 2002 issue of National Geographic. He also has a website: http://lewisclark.geog.missouri.edu/index.shtml

 

Dr. Fred Fausz October 28, 2002 Passages to the West: From Lewis and Clark to Many Trails of Tears
Dr. Fred Fausz from the University of Missouri-St. Louis had many vintage artifacts  which he employed in a show and tell style for his presentation.

Between 1802 and 1838, the United States transforming the Trans-Mississippi west, inhabited by tens of thousands of Indians and traversed only by fur traders, through acquisition and administration, exploration and exploitation. In this show-and-tell presentation using illustrative vintage artifacts, Fred Fausz explained how Lewis and Clark’s journey through the West advanced Jefferson’s plans for a settler empire and promoted the forced relocation of many Indian nations in passages that were both geographical and cultural. Dr. Fausz, history professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has published extensively on the ethnohistory of European-Indian relations and was a consultant on Kevin Costner’s 500 Nations CBS documentary.

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