Initial+Proposal

What purpose have canoes served throughout history, specifically dealing with the Oberholtzer-Magee Expedition?
 * What is your driving question?**

I have always had a great passion for the outdoors, as I am an Eagle Scout and have been involved in scouting for almost all my life. Canoeing is one of my favorite outdoor activities, and I also have a great passion for history, so I feel that this project is a great opportunity for me to combine these two interests and learn more information about something I love to do, and also I can present what I love to do to others and introduce them to something they may not have been familiar with before. Also, I hope to major in history in college, so researching a very specific historical topic, with regards to the Oberholtzer-Magee Expedition, will help me to determine if I want to spend the next four years in college studying history, and if I have what it takes to make a career out of my love for history.
 * What is the story behind your question or idea? Why do you want to do this project?**

First, I want to learn about the function the canoe played throughout history. I know that the canoe was essential to transportation for many groups of people, and I am just starting to discover research that shows that the canoe played a much more important role than I ever imagined. Furthermore, I want to organize a canoe trip with my friends and family for sometime in mid-May on the Delaware River. Not only will I be doing something I love with my closet friends and family, but I will be able to gain an appreciation for what it would have been like to have to depend on the canoe as my main method of transportation, as many indigenous peoples of North America did. Also, this trip will take a fair amount of planning, such as getting canoes and supplies to go, mapping out a route, finding a place to sleep, and planning meals and buying food, so I will certainly gain experience in planning, which I can use throughout my life.
 * What do you want to do?**

I am going to research a general history of the canoe, which groups of people first used them, how these people made them, and what they were used for. Then, getting more specific, I am going to take a closer look at the Oberholtzer-Magee Expedition, in which two explorers used canoes to explore uncharted territory in North America. I hope to learn more about this expedition, the significance of it, and what the role of canoeing was to these explorers.
 * What are possible areas of research needed to complete this project?**

Pelly, David. __The Old Way North: Following the Oberholtzer-Magee Expedition__. Ontario: Borealis Books, 2008. This book provides an incredibly detailed look at this expedition, which the canoe was a central component of.
 * What is the highest quality source that you have found?**

I think that the research piece of this project will be the most time consuming. This topic is somewhat obscure, and there is not a plethora of information, which isn't to say that quality research can't be found, it will just make a little more digging to find it. It will certainly take up a good part of my time, and will be a lot of work, but I don't mind, because I am researching something that I have a great interest in. Also, planning the canoe trip I want to do and actually carrying out the trip will take up a good amount of time.
 * What do you anticipate this project involving in terms of work, time and resources?**

Both my mentor and topic expert can provide me with a second opinion on my work, and they can help me to make sure that I stay on track and that my project is going in the right direction. I can bounce any ideas I have off of them, and they can contribute their own knowledge to help me make my make my project as detailed and accurate as it can be. My mentor, Vince Giordano, is a fellow Eagle Scout who I have gone canoeing and camping with many times, and is also a Senior at Shippensburg University who is working to become a history teacher, so he can certainly help me throughout this project. However, this means that Vince is not currently living near me, so communication with him will be more difficult. It will be easy for me to not talk to him for a few weeks because I don't see him physically on a regular basis, and this is something I want to prevent from happening. My plan is to email, text, or call Vince at least twice a week to let him know what is going on with my project, and try to get as much feedback from him as possible.
 * How will your mentor and topic expert assist you with this project?**

My biggest challenge will be to keep my project focused, as I may stray away from my central point too much and incorporate too many things. Another challenge will be making sure that my trip ACTUALLY occurs, as many things can happen that could affect it, such as weather, people backing out at the last minute, not being able to get supplies, etc. It will take good planning to make sure that it happens when it's supposed to.
 * What problems/challenges do your foresee happening?**