Visual Essay Examines 1884-1885 Nile Expedition Through Indigenous Canadian Voyageurs' Perspectives

In ARTMargins Volume 13, Issue 1, a visual essay delves into the British expedition along the Nile River from 1884 to 1885, which utilized Canadian voyageurs, including members of the Mohawk community from Kahnawake near Montreal, Quebec. These boatmen were enlisted to ferry troops and supplies through the Nile's cataracts. The expedition comprised Egyptians, Sudanese, around one hundred indigenous Canadians, and individuals from various parts of the British Empire. Central to the essay are primary sources from four participants, notably Louis Jackson's 'Our Gaughnawagas in Egypt' (1885) and James D. Deer’s 'The Canadian Voyageurs in Egypt' (1885), both authored by Mohawk writers. The study investigates how contact and exchange during imperial conquests shaped notions of indigeneity, featuring maps, historical illustrations, and travelogues from Canada, Britain, Egypt, and Sudan in the 19th and 20th centuries. This work appears on pages 119-138, with DOI 10.1162/artm_a_00376, accessible through MIT Press, exploring the interplay of visual documentation, colonial narratives, and indigenous agency.