Lewis and Clark - across the Divide

Two hundred years ago Lewis and Clark, two men shaped by Jefferson's Enlightenment ideas, encountered an Indian world they only partly understood. Their discoveries and the artifacts from their journey reveal the contrasts, similarities, and creative exchange of ideas that occurred when different worlds met each other face-to-face. "Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide" expands and transforms a familiar story by exploring fully the cultural landscapes the expedition traversed. Author and exhibition curator Carolyn Gilman draws from 50 different lending institutions to reassemble for the first, and likely the last time the authentic artifacts of Lewis and Clark's journey across Indian lands. The result is a breathtaking new view of both the equipment the expedition used and the colour, complexity, and diversity of the cultures they encountered. Because of the fragility of artifacts, the book documents more fully than the exhibition itself the equipment Lewis and Clark carried and the rich diversity of what was collected in this historic encounter of two worlds. To complete the picture, Native Americans share their experiences since Lewis and Clark's visit, and embrace a hopeful vision for the future.